Blue Shield of California has won the 2006 Web Marketing Association's WebAward Competition as the best insurance Web site. The competition included 96 business fields, and judging was conducted using seven criteria: design, ease of use, copywriting, interactivity, use of technology, innovation, and content. The Blue Shield site can be found at www.blueshieldca.com.

"Insurance industry Web sites are very competitive in terms of Web development," says William Rice, president of the Web Marketing Association. "Insurance Web sites continue to lack in innovation and use of technology. Web sites that fall behind the industry standards can improve by leveraging the judges' feedback following the WebAward competition and elevate their sites to attract a larger Web audience."

Web sites not selected as the Best Insurance Web Site also are eligible for an Outstanding Web Site Award or a Standard of Excellence Award. Seven insurance carriers were named outstanding Web sites, including GEICO, Progressive, New York Life Insurance, Benfield Group Ltd., MetLife, and Medical Mutual of Ohio. Medical Mutual of Ohio was the 2005 winner of the WebAward.