Seminar to Offer Demos, Case Studies and Guidance for Operations, Compliance, IT, Legal, and Govt. Affairs Personnel from Organizations Implementing STP Standards Initiative

RESTON, VA - December 1, 2008 - NAVA, Inc., the Association for Insured Retirement Solutions, today announced that it will be hosting for the second year a comprehensive seminar for insurance carriers, annuity distributors and technology solution providers that are in the process of implementing NAVA's Straight-through Processing (STP) Standards Initiative.  STP is an industry-backed initiative establishing an automated standardized process that streamlines the sale of annuities.

The "On the Road to STP" Seminar will be held December 18-19, at the JW Marriott Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC.  The seminar will offer information to assist the industry in the implementation of the STP standards, including a state regulatory view of the STP Standards Initiative and inherent consumer protections, technology updates, and a review of several existing pilot programs to provide attendees with real-world guidance on deployment and integration of the STP Standards.

"The STP Standards Initiative has made great progress since its inception, and we are now at a point where annuity distributors and insurers require detailed information to begin the implementation phase," said Deborah Tucker, vice president of NAVA.  "The goal of the seminar is not only to arm the industry with the tools and information to begin implementing the STP Standards, but also to educate software product and service
providers on how to develop supporting STP-compliant solutions for insurers and distributors.  We also hope to establish an open dialog for the exchange of STP-related data and information to help all industry trading partners throughout the entire STP implementation process."

At the "On The Road to STP" Seminar, some of industry foremost experts and active participants will offer insight and guidance on developing and implementing STP-compliant solutions, including a panel of independent broker-dealers discussing their firms' plans to roll out STP programs, as well as a session outlining how STP and other industry efforts will help enhance industry transparency and reduce unsuitable annuity sales.  In addition, NAVA and IBM will demonstrate the STP Common Reference Architecture Model, which was developed to provide a framework for implementation of the NAVA STP Standards by annuity distributors and their insurance carrier partners.

Individuals interested in attending the "On the Road to STP" Seminar should visit http://navanet.org/frames/conf_dex.htm for details and registration information.  The preliminary conference program can be downloaded at http://navanet.org/conf/pdf/STP-2008edsiminar-prelimprogram.pdf. 

About NAVA's STP Standards Initiative

The NAVA STP Standards Initiative was created to help the industry meet the expected growth in the annuity market as the baby boomer generation enters retirement with more than $17 trillion in retirement assets.  STP-compliant annuity sales processes will enable the annuity industry to effectively address this opportunity by allowing for seamless interoperability between distributors and insurance carriers, improving "in-good-order" business, ensuring transparency, and enhancing the overall consumer experience.  The STP Standards include automated processes to help ensure annuity sales suitability, as well as uniform processes for e-signatures, electronic forms, privacy policies, and records management.  

About NAVA - NAVA, Inc. (www.navanet.org), the Association for Insured Retirement Solutions, is a non-profit trade association located in suburban Washington D.C.  NAVA provides a variety of services to the industry, including educational forums, research and conferences aimed at furthering the development and understanding of fixed and variable annuities, income annuities and variable life insurance.