Aflac, the leading provider of voluntary insurance sales at the worksite in the United States, announced that the company has been chosen by the members of the Novarica Technology Research Council, a membership group of hundreds of insurance-related Chief Information Officers, as the winner of the 2016 Novarica Research Council Impact Award for a Core Systems Initiative at a Large Insurer. Aflac was recognized for its innovative One Day Pay initiative. With One Day Pay, when an eligible claim is submitted via SmartClaim by 3 p.m. ET, Monday-Friday, with all supporting documentation, Aflac processes, approves and disburses payment for the claim within one business day.

The Novarica Research Council Impact Awards are the largest purely peer-judged awards in insurance technology, according to Novarica. Dozens of CIO members of the Novarica Insurance Technology Research Council, a free, moderated, knowledge-sharing community of more than 300 insurer CIOs and senior executives, vote annually to recognize the efforts of their peers who use technology to drive business value in digital, data/analytics, core systems and IT operations.

"It is a great honor for Aflac to be recognized by the Novarica Insurance Technology Research Council to win the prestigious 2016 Impact Award," said Aflac Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer Julia Davis. "One Day Pay is impactful not only for the success of the company, but for the peace of mind it helps us provide to our customers, who trust us to be there in their time of need, giving them the ability to get cash quickly so they can turn their focus from finances to feeling better."

"Aflac's successful One Day Pay initiative is a great example of starting with a desired customer experience and then driving technological change to make it happen," said Matthew Josefowicz, president and CEO of Novarica and lead moderator of the Research Council. "This can be very challenging for large insurers both in terms of technology and business practice, but this Aflac initiative shows that it can be done effectively. Novarica's council members recognized the magnitude and impact of this achievement."

Aflac's award-winning case study, along with dozens of other eligible cases, has been published in the Novarica Best Practices Case Study Compendium 2016, which is available at novarica.com/compendium2016.