The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York (IIABNY) gave awards to six insurance companies at the group’s annual Capital Event.

The 2011 Outstanding Company Partner Awards are given to the best national, super-regional and regional companies in the personal insurance and commercial insurance categories based on who earned the best scores in the IIABNY Industry Index, according to IIABNY.

Winners in the personal insurance category were Kemper, a Unitrin business, which has won the personal lines national company award all three years; Preferred Mutual Insurance Co. as the super regional company; and Dryden Mutual Insurance Co. as the regional company, which also won the personal lines regional company award in 2009 and the commercial lines regional company award in 2009 and 2010, the association reported.

Winners in the commercial insurance category were Travelers Group as the national company; Peerless Insurance Co. as the super regional company, which won the commercial lines super-regional company award the last two years and the personal lines super-regional award in 2009; and Sterling Insurance Co. as the regional company, according to the association.

IIABNY’s annual index measures performance in areas such as underwriter empowerment, ease of use of technology, treatment of agencies and customers, responsiveness of company personnel, and fairness of compensation arrangements.