ACORD And The Big "I" Announce Partnership To Develop Digital Standards In Support Of Independent Agent Community

Industry organizations to extend ongoing collaboration in order to effectively meet the needs of agencies for efficient next-generation data exchange

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ACORD

May 15, 2019, 14:01 ET

PEARL RIVER, N.Y., May 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- ACORD, the global standards-setting body for the insurance industry, today announced that it will be aligning its efforts to develop new Digital Standards for efficient data exchange with members of the independent agent distribution channel via a partnership with the Agents Council for Technology (ACT).

The ACORD Digital Standards will complement existing ACORD standardized forms and electronic messages, enabling streamlined data exchange capabilities which are optimized not only for mobile devices, but also the "Internet of Things," distributed ledger technology, and other emerging technologies. ACT, a Big "I" program, will provide an additional forum for independent agents and other ACT members to participate in the development of the ACORD Standards.

"ACORD and ACT have always shared the mission of facilitating fast, accurate data exchange for insurance agencies and their business partners," said ACORD CEO Bill Pieroni. "Agents are a critical link in the insurance value chain, and bring a unique perspective to our standards development process. With ACT as the voice of the agent community, we will be able to more effectively meet the needs of the industry."

In addition to contributing to the development of ACORD Standards, ACT will collaborate with ACORD on education and advocacy on behalf of the agent community. ACORD will offer discounted registration to independent agents at its annual conference, ACORD Connect, taking place October 29^th-30^th in Boston.

"We recognize the critical need for our independent agents, insurance companies, and technology vendors to provide guidance on needed standards changes as technology evolves," said Big "I" President and CEO Bob Rusbuldt. "Having an additional platform for submission of Standards Enhancements requests is one way ACT can help amplify the voice of IA stakeholders."

Malou August (SVP of Standards & Membership, ACORD) and Ron Berg (Executive Director, ACT) will be presenting more details on this collaboration and the standards development process at the ACT meeting to be held May 20^th-21^st in conjunction with Accelerate 2019 in Cincinnati.

About ACORD
ACORD (Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development) is the global standards-setting body for the insurance industry. ACORD facilitates fast, accurate data exchange and efficient workflows through the development of electronic standards, standardized forms, and tools to support their use. ACORD members worldwide include hundreds of insurance and reinsurance companies, agents and brokers, software providers, financial services organizations and industry associations. ACORD maintains offices in New York and London. Learn more at www.acord.org. For more information about the ACORD Connect conference, please visit www.acordconnect.org.

About ACT
The Agents Council for Technology (ACT) was established in January 1999 by the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America (IIABA or the Big "I") to provide a candid, action-oriented forum to address the critical workflow and technology issues facing the independent agency system. ACT helps participants understand the perspectives of the other stakeholders in the process and provides excellent networking opportunities with the participants who are shaping the future for the industry on these issues.