Chicago, IL., Oct. 07, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Applied Systems® today presented its annual Pinnacle Awards at Applied Net® 2025, the company’s flagship industry event, at the Aria Resort in Las Vegas. The Pinnacle Awards are Applied’s highest customer honor, recognizing standout partnerships and celebrating how agencies, carriers, and industry partners harness Applied technology to accelerate the Digital Roundtrip of Insurance within their businesses and across the insurance industry.
The 2025 Pinnacle Award winners are Affordable American Insurance, The Centre for Study of Insurance Operations (CSIO), Auto-Owners Insurance Group, C3 Risk & Insurance Services, and High Street Insurance Partners. Award recipients are selected based on their embodiment of the Pinnacle Award spirit, including innovation in product deployment, the power of partnership, and the ability to deliver tangible business results to their organizations and the insurance industry.
“The Intelligent Insurance Era is here, bringing the value of AI into daily workflows across the Digital Roundtrip of Insurance to reshape how our industry operates,” said Taylor Rhodes, chief executive officer, Applied Systems. “We celebrate the 2025 Pinnacle Award winners for leading this transformation, showing how forward-thinking organizations can harness innovation to create smarter, more connected, and more resilient insurance experiences.”
2025 Pinnacle Award Winners
Affordable American Insurance
Founded in 2005, Affordable American Insurance (AAI) is a dynamic insurance network that helps independent insurance agency owners diversify their offerings from single to multiple insurance carriers. AAI provides business development support services to agencies spanning 30 states at every phase of their business journey, from managing a nascent book of business to upwards of $15 million in premium. AAI’s robust services include marketing support, technology integration, data analytics, including through use of a proprietary dashboard, and legal and compliance support, to enhance agency performance. AAI’s partnership with EZLynx® is critical to these supports, helping agencies optimize the adoption process and realize the full benefit of their new technology straight out of the gate. For the last 20 years, AAI has aimed to improve the business of insurance, regularly providing valuable insights to the EZLynx team as it looks to the next 20 years.
The Centre for Study of Insurance Operations (CSIO)
Headquartered in Toronto, The Centre for Study of Insurance Operations (CSIO) is Canada’s industry technology association of property and casualty insurers, vendors and more than 43,000 brokers. CSIO has been a partner to the insurance industry since 1981, spearheading the standardization of both personal and commercial lines within the Canadian market. Applied shares this mission, and together with CSIO, is leading the industry in advancing the broker distribution channel by becoming eDocs, CL Data Standards, and API Security Standards Certified, enhancing connectivity in both personal and commercial lines processes. Applied is proud to be Certified to the highest standard with CSIO.
Auto-Owners Insurance Group
Founded in 1916 and headquartered in Lansing, Michigan, Auto-Owners Insurance Group stands as one of the nation’s largest and most respected insurers, with over 6.3 million policies across the country. Their longstanding commitment to empowering independent agents is exemplified through their deep integration with Ivans, positioning them as a forward-thinking partner in digital distribution. With over 4,500 agencies actively leveraging Auto-Owners’ comprehensive suite of Ivans Download services across both Personal and Commercial Lines, they rank among the top carriers driving adoption and efficiency in the channel. Their leadership extends beyond downloads—Auto-Owners is a pioneer in book roll innovation, having successfully executed more than 90 book transfers across 16,000 policies, including collaboration with affiliated companies such as Concord Group and Capital Insurance. What truly sets Auto-Owners apart is their strategic partnership with Ivans. They don’t just participate—they help shape the future. With a seat at the innovation table, Auto-Owners plays a key role in influencing product direction to ensure Ivans delivers maximum value to agencies and their clients.
C3 Risk & Insurance Services
Founded in 2017, C3 Risk & Insurance Services is locally owned and headquartered in San Diego. C3 is a P&C, Benefits and Personal Lines agency that takes a fresh approach to managing risk for clients of all sizes, using Applied Digital Agency® to deliver core capabilities across the policy lifecycle and seamlessly connect the Digital Roundtrip of Insurance. Leveraging Applied Epic® as its foundation, C3 integrates Indio® to streamline the new and renewal experience, Applied Benefit Designer™ to craft and deliver plan options, Applied Marketing Automation® to support client communications, while Applied CSR24® and Applied Pay® give clients the flexibility to access documents and pay premiums whenever and however they choose. C3 works closely with Applied to drive innovation across the portfolio, using their cutting-edge technology mindset to provide feedback and test capabilities for the benefit of all Applied customers.
High Street Insurance Partners
Founded in 2018, Highstreet Insurance Partners is a community-focused national insurance broker, headquartered in Traverse City, Michigan. Having formed more than 210 partnerships and welcomed over 3,000 employees, Highstreet is one of the nation’s fastest-growing insurance brokers. Together, Highstreet’s teams deliver comprehensive personal and business insurance solutions in communities across the US.
By unifying its operations on the Applied platform, Highstreet empowers partners and employees with best-in-class tools and clear visibility into their books of business, while driving consistency, efficiency, and reliability across the organization. Client experiences are enhanced with seamless self-service through Applied Pay and Applied CSR24. This technology framework also better enables Highstreet’s local teams to spend more time building lasting client relationships, working with customers in communities to best protect people, places, and futures. In close collaboration with Applied, Highstreet continually advances innovations that shape the future of the insurance industry.
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About Applied Systems
Applied Systems is the leading global provider of cloud-based software that powers the business of insurance. Recognized as a pioneer in insurance automation and the innovation leader, Applied is the world’s largest provider of agency and brokerage management systems, serving customers throughout the United States, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, and the United Kingdom. By automating the insurance lifecycle, Applied’s people and products enable millions of people around the world to safeguard and protect what matters most.
