AnnuityNet Contributes Proprietary XML Standard As Open Standard for Annuity Industry.

Business Editors

LEESBURG, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 6, 2002

Powerful Data Model for Annuity Application Information

to Jump-Start Industry Standardization Efforts by NAVA 

AnnuityNet, Inc., a leading eCommerce provider of online technology solutions for the financial services industry, is giving to the industry its formerly proprietary standard for transmitting and exchanging annuity account and transaction information across the Internet.

In relinquishing its intellectual property and offering it for use as an open standard, AnnuityNet hopes to support and accelerate efforts by the National Association for Variable Annuities and key industry participants toward creating a universally adopted industry standard for annuity application data exchange. The goal is to significantly accelerate the industry's efforts to produce a standard that supports full, robust electronic transport of complete and accurate data between annuity manufacturers and distributors.

AnnuityNet was the first company in the world to implement full-service annuity transaction processing via the Internet, and it has been processing annuities online since 1998. Its technology enables nearly error-free completion of online applications and full account servicing capabilities, all driven by its comprehensive, scalable XML data standard.

XML (eXtensible Markup Language) has rapidly become the vehicle of choice for carrying business information over the Internet, and customized XML document types (or schemas) are being developed to meet the needs and business processes of a wide range of industries. In the annuity industry, the movement toward developing common data interchange standards has been spearheaded by the National Association for Variable Annuities (NAVA), working with the insurance industry's main standards-setting body, the Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development (ACORD).

The industry's movement toward a common data exchange standard for annuity applications follows a highly successful effort by NAVA and ACORD to integrate annuity product profiles into ACORD's XMLife standard.

In offering its formerly proprietary intellectual property to NAVA for use as an open standard, AnnuityNet's XML schema will be folded into the application data standard being developed for the annuity industry by NAVA and ACORD. This will allow the industry to significantly speed up the development process, and avoid duplication of effort already accomplished.

AnnuityNet's unique XML standard supports any mix of annuity products or product features, and is compatible with any distribution system. Using this open standard, any industry organization will now be able to exchange, transmit, and integrate electronic annuity application data into their own systems seamlessly, transparently, and with no need for complicated and error-prone translation schemes.

"Now that the industry is making definitive moves toward standardization, it's in our best interest to help support the industry in achieving data standards of the highest possible quality," says AnnuityNet CEO Shane Chalke. "AnnuityNet's robust XML has been field tested and refined by real-world loads moving billions of dollars across the Internet. AnnuityNet is pleased to offer this important intellectual asset for application by the insurance and financial services industries, and we believe it will make significant contributions toward the growth and maturity of annuity online distribution systems."

"The integration of the AnnuityNet XML schema into the standards being developed by ACORD gives the annuity industry a tremendous assist toward interoperability and transparency in the exchange of annuity information," comments Mark Mackey, president and CEO of NAVA. "We view this as an important advance toward our goal of ensuring that all annuity distribution and servicing operations are powered by open standards and best-of-breed technology solutions."

About AnnuityNet, Inc.

AnnuityNet, a Leesburg, VA-based software technology company, pioneered the Web-based approach to powering transactions in the annuity market space with an Internet platform that connects all industry constituencies -- carriers and manufacturers, distributors and point of sale representatives, and customers -- into a seamless, secure and information-rich process. After becoming the first company to engineer paperless annuities on the Web, AnnuityNet designed and developed technology solutions for financial services institutions that are transforming the way the industry sells and services annuities. AnnuityNet's Web technology currently processes nearly $1.5 billion per month in annuity transactions over the Internet. AnnuityNet was founded in 1997 by well-known actuary and entrepreneur Shane Chalke, and is owned by a blue-ribbon consortium of financial industry organizations including GE Equity, Lincoln Financial Group, Conning Capital Partners, SunLife Financial, Phoenix Life, Ohio National Financial and Bank One. The company's Web site address is www.annuitynet.com.

Securities offered through AnnuityNet Insurance Agency, Inc., a broker-dealer.