Awards & Recognitions
DALBAR Ranks GAFRI.com No. 25 for 4Q06
For the quarter ending December 31, 2006, GAFRI.com climbed nine spots in its DALBAR ranking from 34th to
25th. This new No. 25 ranking marks the first time GAFRI.com has placed in the top 25 Web sites among
life insurance, annuity, and mutual fund firms leading the industry in Web-based technology. The top 25 Web
sites are evaluated and ranked on a variety of measurement criteria, including scope of
functionality, usability, timeliness, relevance, and quality of content.
Dedicated to raising the standards of excellence in the financial-services industry, DALBAR develops standards for,
and delivers research, ratings, and rankings of intangible factors (e.g., customer satisfaction, service quality, and
Internet services) to the mutual fund, broker/dealer, discount brokerage, life insurance, and banking industries.
Celent Recognizes GAFRI as "Model Carrier"
As reported in the January 18, 2007, issue of Insurance Networking News, a new report by Boston-based Celent LLC recognizes Great American
Financial Resources®, Inc. (GAFRI), as one of 39 companies that are "Model Carriers" for "doing everything right" in the realm of technology initiatives. Celent's Model Carrier research
asked the question, "What would it look like for an insurance carrier to do everything right with today's technology?" After identifying examples
of successful technology initiatives, Celent presented the case studies together as different elements of a theoretical model carrier's insurance
IT systems and practices. GAFRI's Data Model and Repeatable Integration Methodology was one of the selected effective uses of technology.
Windows in Financial Services Honors GAFRI
with 2006 Innovator Award
Windows in Financial Services – a quarterly magazine reporting on the most important developments
in financial services information technology – honored GAFRI as one of 10 companies in 2006 that discovered innovative ways
to employ the strength, flexiblity, and reliability of Microsoft technology. After realizing that some of its mainframe applications might impede
future growth, GAFRI undertook a major IT transformation to make sure it would reach the company's profitability goals. A collaboration among Microsoft, HP, and Microsoft Technology Centers led to a customized solution to replace the
mainframe, reduce the number of major systems from 63 to 22, and place all of them on a standardized architecture. As a result, IT
spending and policy processing fees were cut in half. This creative restructuring also led to straight-through business processes for new claims and has
positioned GAFRI for better growth and acquisition/integration of new blocks of business. Once again, GAFRI's IT best practices make an impact.
Innovation Leads to 2006 CIO 100 Award
GAFRI takes pride in receiving national recognition for its
innovative programs and business practices. In its August 15, 2006, issue, CIO magazine recognized
GAFRI’s IT organization as one of the top 100 organizations around the world that exemplifies the
highest level of operational and strategic excellence in information technology. GAFRI's ability to
standardize and simplify its infrastructure over the past five years has allowed it to cut IT costs in half
while building a comprehensive solution for all supported lines of business and allowing the Company
to grow and acquire business at low incremental cost.
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