P-C ACORD-XML Standards Advance

For many companies, finding an implementation project that will result in a wide adoption by agents is essential now, since many companies invested millions of dollars in upload projects that few agents used. So billing, claims, policy, etc. inquiries have become the current area of development. Fortunately, standardizing the inquiry business messages and utilizing XML to do it real-time has a significant impact on the bottom line for agents and improves customer service, too.

Inquiries tend to be very labor intensive and time consuming. Hundreds of thousands of claims and quotes are processed on a daily basis, so it stands to reason that moving towards a quicker and more efficient electronic transaction process is extremely beneficial in meeting or exceeding customer expectations. Much in the same way the banking industry took a costly and time consuming transaction through the teller and dropped the cost down to pennies and the time to seconds through the widespread installation of ATMs and their related standards, insurers are taking the cost out of inquiries.

When, through standards, carriers are able to take what normally is a minimum transaction of about 5 minutes (often more when a CSR is unable to connect with the right company person) down to 5 seconds by having the information gathered automatically, everyone wins. Companies win because they dont have to have a live person respond to the inquiry. Agents win because they spend less time on a highly repetitive daily task. And consumers win because they get the information they want, when they want it, without having to wait. All of this contributes toward enhancing the overall customer/client experience.

So the movement by companies toward real-time, standards-based transactions is possibly a sign that all of the partners in the insurance value chain recognize that collaboration can lead to synergies. Those companies that offer their agents standards-based solutions are presenting themselves as “easy to do business with,” a key element in the placing of business.

Collaboration in standards development is also a growing trend in and of itself. Whether its the more than 400 volunteers that make up the working groups, subcommittees and steering committees that drive ACORD industry standards growth and implementation, or the dozens of other standards organizations around the world with whom ACORD participates, collaboration within the insurance industry is very strong.

ACORD recognizes that there are many standards throughout the world that have been very successful in addressing the local needs of their respective domestic markets. And where these standards exist, ACORD takes steps to ensure its standards are compatible and harmonized with them.

So, as the development and growth of industry standards continue, the ways in which companies will implement and utilize them will evolve.

is vice president of standards for ACORD based in Pearl River, N.Y.

ACORD developed 44 new XML messages for property-casualty in the last year, bringing the total to 644 in all With agents
wishes in mind, current development areas are billing, claims and policy inquiries.

Reproduced from National Underwriter Edition, May 12, 2003. Copyright 2003 by The National Underwriter Company in the serial publication. All rights reserved. Copyright in this article as an independent work may be held by the author.