MINNEAPOLIS, MN -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 06/04/07 -- FirstBest Systems(TM) announces its launch here today at the IASA 2007 Annual Conference of the Insurance Accounting & Systems Association. FirstBest was formed to deliver advanced Underwriting Management Systems(TM) that enable commercial insurance carriers to profit from better underwriting. The FirstBest Underwriting Management System (UMS) is a business solution provided as a Web-based platform, for underwriting all lines of business.

"Commercial lines carriers are looking for improvements in their underwriting systems in order to stay competitive and grow their portfolio," states Mark Gorman, Strategic Research Advisor in TowerGroup's Insurance Practice. "Carriers are seeking to use enhanced data and predictive analytics for more precise pricing and more granular risk segmentation. What they desire is to enhance the entire underwriting process lifecycle through a solution that utilizes flexible open system tools and capabilities, dynamic user interfaces and robust industry content."

Based in Lexington, Mass., the company was formed in 2006 with seasoned leadership and funding from NextStage, LLC, a private equity firm. FirstBest's founders are former executives of BEA Systems, partners of NextStage LLC, and successful entrepreneurs, including John Belizaire, CEO; Joseph Pilkerton, COO; Julian Pelenur, CTO; Meira Primes, vice president of marketing; Paul Cummings, vice president of engineering; Bob Lukas, vice president of underwriting sciences; Kelly Lynch, senior director of underwriting sciences; and Tony Rosati, director of business development.

"We recognized an un-met need in the commercial insurance market," said John Belizaire, CEO of FirstBest Systems. "Current market forces are putting intense pressure on insurance carriers' profitability and focusing their attention on the underwriting process. Especially in the mid-tier sector, these carriers have several inefficiencies and challenges to overcome. We developed a new category of business solution specifically to address their underwriting challenges in a fully integrated underwriting platform."

The FirstBest UMS(TM) uniquely delivers straight through processing, exception-based underwriting, real-time collaboration, knowledge management, a management dashboard, and an execution platform for predictive modeling -- in one integrated solution -- to carriers' vital underwriting operations. In addition, the company offers a suite of consulting services from education to integration to ensure successful implementation of its solutions.

The deployment of this solution results in increased revenue and profitability, closer agent-underwriter relationships, management visibility into the underwriting process, increased speed and business agility, and the continuous capturing and sharing of underwriting experience and best practices.

About FirstBest Systems

Founded in 2006, FirstBest Systems delivers advanced Underwriting Management Systems (UMS) that enable commercial insurance carriers to profit from better underwriting. FirstBest's UMS is a business solution provided as a Web-based platform for underwriting all lines of business. It uniquely delivers straight through processing, exception-based underwriting, real-time collaboration, knowledge management, a management dashboard, and an execution platform for predictive modeling -- in one integrated solution. The deployment of this solution results in increased revenue and profitability, closer agent-underwriter relationships, management visibility into the underwriting process, increased speed and business agility, and the continuous capturing and sharing of underwriting experience and best practices.

Attendees of the IASA Conference, held June 3-5, 2007 at the Minneapolis Convention Center, can visit FirstBest Systems at Booth #1006.

For more information, please visit www.firstbest.com.

Press contact:
Meira Primes
VP, Marketing
FirstBest Systems
781.863.6005
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