The Word & Brown Companies Achieve HITRUST Risk-based, Two-year Certification to Manage Risk, Improve Security Posture, and Meet Compliance Requirements

Certification Marks Third Consecutive Certification

ORANGE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Word & Brown Companies today announced that key operating systems in use by Word & Brown^® General Agency and CHOICE Administrators^® have earned Certified status for information security by HITRUST.

HITRUST risk-based, two-year (r2) Certified status demonstrates the organization’s key operating systems managing customer data have met key regulations and industry-defined requirements and are appropriately managing risk.

“This achievement places our businesses in an elite group of organizations worldwide that have earned this certification,” said Word & Brown co-founder John M. Word III. “This marks our third, consecutive two-year HITRUST risk-based certification, and we’re proud of our team that helped us earn it and is committed to maintaining it.”

By including federal and state regulations, standards, and frameworks, and incorporating a risk-based approach, the HITRUST Assurance Program helps organizations address security and data protection challenges through a comprehensive and flexible framework of prescriptive and scalable security controls.

“Organizations like ours are continually under pressure to meet complex compliance and privacy requirements,” said Word & Brown co-founder Edward J. “Rusty” Brown, Jr. “We are pleased to demonstrate to our business partners, their employees, and their customers that we’ve implemented the highest standards for data protection and information security by achieving this certification.”

“The HITRUST Assurance Program is the most rigorous available, consisting of a multitude of quality assurance checks, both automated and manual,” said Bimal Sheth, Executive Vice President, Standards Development & Assurance Operations, HITRUST. “The fact that The Word & Brown Companies have achieved HITRUST risk-based, two-year Certification attests to the high quality of their information risk management and compliance program.”

About The Word & Brown Companies

The Word & Brown Companies are comprised of three distinct businesses, all with the mission of simplifying access to greater health insurance choices. Established in 1985, the Word & Brown General Agency is among the nation’s largest General Agents, with a focus on group and individual and family health insurance. CHOICE Administrators is the parent organization for CaliforniaChoice, the nation’s largest multi-carrier, employee-choice small business health insurance exchange, and ChoiceBuilder, the nation’s first ancillary benefits exchange. The Companies also offer a no-cost prescription drug discount card, the California Rx Card. For more information, visit www.wbcompanies.com.