NEW YORK, July 2 -- Accenture issued the following news release:

Accenture (NYSE: ACN) announced that Mountain States Insurance Group has selected the Accenture Duck Creek property and casualty (P&C) policy software suite to help the insurer accelerate its product development processes and enhance customer service. The insurer, which provides commercial P&C products, will use Accenture Duck Creek Policy Administration and Accenture Duck Creek Billing as its core policy administration and billing systems.

Mountain States will also use Accenture Duck Creek Templates, Accenture's product configuration software application to help support rapid implementation and ongoing maintenance of ISO (Insurance Services Office) based commercial lines and NCCI (National Council on Compensation Insurance) based workers' compensation products.

"At Mountain States, our focus is on our customers," said Beau Irwin, Mountain States' Chief Risk Officer. "We need to be able to quickly adjust to new market demands and streamline internal processes, to achieve a higher level of customer service. After an extensive vendor search, it was clear that the modern technology and highly flexible configuration capabilities of the Accenture Duck Creek software would enable us to meet our goals. Our decision to implement this software is a key part of our long-term strategy for increasing customer service and satisfaction."

"We are pleased that Mountain States has selected our software as the foundation of their technology modernization initiative," said Michael A. Jackowski, global managing director of Accenture Software for P&C Insurance. "Higher customer expectations need to be met by the highest level of customer service, and modern technology is a critical part of that. Our mission is not only to develop and implement the leading integrated suite of software in the P&C industry today, but to also help our clients use our software to drive better customer service and improve their overall business results."

About Mountain States Insurance Group

The Mountain States Insurance Group of companies is a leading provider of commercial property and casualty insurance throughout the Southwest. The Group traces its roots back to its founding in 1937 by Clifford P. Anderson who later represented New Mexico in the United States Senate. The Group provides a full suite of insurance products including Workers' Compensation, Commercial Automobile, Business Owners, Inland Marine, Property and General Liability coverages in New Mexico, Colorado, Texas and Utah. The Group has two insurance entities - Mountain States Mutual Casualty Company and Mountain States Indemnity Company. Visit www.msig-nm.com for more information.

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