Business Insurance's 2009 Readers Choice Awards recognize the best overall commercial insurance industry companies in 18 different categories, reflecting key partners and service providers for risk managers, benefit managers and insurance organizations.

2009 marks the fifth year of this annual award program. BI launched the Readers Choice Awards in 2005 to let readers vote for the companies that they believe offer the best combination of service, value, quality and innovation.

The categories are:

• Best admitted commercial property insurer.

• -Best admitted liability insurer, including professional liability and general liability lines.

• Best workers compensation insurer.

• Best employee assistance program provider.

• Best employee benefit consulting firm.

• Best insurance wholesaler.

• Best health plan provider.

• Best property/casualty reinsurer.

• Best reinsurance intermediary.

• -Best retail brokerage, in four different revenue subcategories.

• Best risk management consulting firm.

• Best surplus lines insurer.

• -Best third-party administrator of employee benefit claims.

• -Best third-party administrator of property/casualty claims.

• Best captive manager.

BI invited readers of the newsmagazine as well as BusinessInsurance.com to cast their votes through confidential electronic ballots. Balloting closed Aug. 31, and the results were tabulated and analyzed to determine the winners as well as members of the Silver Circle for runners-up.

Profiles of the winning companies begin on page 12. The profiles also can be viewed online at www.BusinessInsurance.com.