The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York recognized six insurance companies as outstanding partners this year.

The companies received the nonprofit association’s 2010 Outstanding Company Partner Awards in a ceremony during its annual Capital Event at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Albany, N.Y., for earning the best scores in the annual IIABNY Industry Index. The group calculates an overall industry score and individual scores based on the results of twice-yearly surveys of New York insurance producers.

The recipients in the personal insurance category included Kemper, A Unitrin Business in the national category, Safeco Insurance in the super regional category and Midstate Mutual Insurance Co. in the regional category.

Those honored in the commercial insurance category were Chubb Group of Insurance Cos. in the national category, Peerless Insurance Co. in the super regional category and Dryden Mutual Insurance Co. in the regional category.

The IIABNY Industry Index rates the insurance industry’s overall performance in personal and commercial insurance and assigns individual performance index scores to companies in both categories. The index, which IIABNY publishes in the winter and summer of each year, measures performance in areas such as underwriter empowerment, ease of use of technology, honest and fair treatment of agencies and customers, responsiveness of company personnel and fairness of compensation arrangements.

The IIABNY represents more than 1,800 independent insurance agencies and their 18,000 employees.