Data Standards, Financial Reporting Focus of Joint ACORD, XBRL White Paper
[February 2005]
ACORD and XBRL examine the need for data standards and their own roles in the overall communications flow in their newly released white paper -- XML Standards and the Insurance Value Chain. The document focuses on the flow of data within the insurance value chain and the importance of data standards to transport the information along the path for financial reporting and regulatory compliance.

Life and Annuity Release Candidate Version 2.12 Standard Released
[January 2005]
Following the November ACORD Standards Forum plenary sessions and on-line voting on maintenance requests (MRs), the new release candidate for version 2.12 was released for public review. This was the first cycle under the new standards process whereby voting was done on-line rather than during face-to-face meetings.

CIECA and ACORD Pilot Program Focus of Session at Forum
[November 2004]
The current CIECA and ACORD Pilot Program was the Focus of a session at ACORD Standards Forum. Fred Iantorno, executive director, CIECA, the Collision Industry Electronic Commerce Association (www.cieca.com) discussed his organization's data standards and the current effort underway to examine potential touch-points between the ACORD and CIECA XML standards.

ACORD, XBRL, and SOX Compliance Featured at ACORD Standards Forum
[November 2004]
Corporate reporting, from Sarbanes-Oxley compliance to SEC filings to data transparency across industries was the focus of a presentation by Mike Willis, founding chairman, XBRL International and partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers, during the ACORD Standards Forum in Ft. Lauderdale.

ACORD Strategic Briefing Examines Impact of Technology and Data on Fitch Ratings
[October 2004]
ACORD released a new Strategic Briefing, Impact of Technology and Data in Rating A Company's Financial Strength, that provides insight into the process used by one of the industry's leading ratings agencies when evaluating the technological capabilities of an insurer, reinsurer, or intermediary. The document was written by John Bareiss, senior director, Fitch Ratings, and provided to ACORD for distribution as an ACORD Strategic Briefing. It details the questions Fitch commonly asks during CIO ratings interviews and offers commentary on the "big picture" insight sought. Among those questions are some designed to evaluate a company's data architecture strategy and use of standards-based interfaces.

ACORD Releases Best Practices for Standards Implementation
[September 2004]
As a service to its members and to encourage implementations, ACORD made public their ACORD Best Practices for Standards Implementation. These best practices are based findings from ACORD's Strategy document, released earlier this year, and are designed to make implementations faster, more effective, and more successful.

ACORD & NAPSLO Seek To Expand Use of Exposure Standards, Plan Next Stages
[August 2004]
ACORD and NAPSLO (National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices, Ltd.) will host their next Data Standards Focus Group on September 19 in Orlando, FL. One of their major goals is to identify and lay out a plan of action to improve the flow of information within the surplus lines distribution system both domestically and internationally.

ACORD Launches Online Adoption Report and Survey (OARS) System
[July 2004]
ACORD recently launched its new Online Adoption Report and Survey (OARS) system making it faster and easier for all members to report their standards implementation activities and accomplishments. Implementations can be reported by visiting the OARS web page, downloading the appropriate Standards Program Excel spreadsheet, saving the file, applying updates based on your implementation activities, and sending it to ACORD for inclusion in the reports and statistics. The former Certification Page and Standards Capabilities and Implementation Reports will now be replaced with the OARS functionality.

Document Repository Interface Standard Approved
[July 2004]
One of 2004's standards development highlights thus far is the approval of the ACORD Document Repository Interface standard, version 1 during the June voting cycle. The standard was developed in response to the escalating number of insurance industry members requiring access to free format documentation to make business decisions (i.e., accepting risk submissions, negotiating, agreeing and paying claims). This need also emerged from the rise in computerized trading which also requires electronic free format documentation.

ACORD/RIMS Data Standards Focus Group Tackles Risk Management Needs
[June 2004]
Members from ACORD, RIMS and other major industry organizations gathered on June 23 in Pearl River to engage in an all-day roundtable discussion focusing on risk managers' needs and ACORD data standards solutions. The ACORD/RIMS Data Standards Focus Group of risk managers, carriers, brokers, and vendors discussed how, through the implementation of existing data standards; they could facilitate risk assessments and management.

ACORD P&C/Surety Standards 2.0: Transition Begins
[June 2004]
On May 22, the P&C/Surety Steering Committee reached agreement on the transition plan for Version 2.0 of the ACORD P&C/Surety XML Standard. The Version 2 Working Group (V2 WG) will develop an initial draft that is based, in both scope and content, on v1.5.0.

Inaugural ACORD LOMA Insurance Systems Fourm News
[May 2004]
The ACORD LOMA Conference has come together on the first day of its first year as a successful and powerful fusion of two popular conferences. Over 2400 have come to the 3-day event in Las Vegas that has superceded and united the ACORD Conference and LOMA Insurance Systems Forum to make the event greater then the sum of its parts.

Reinsurance Panel Discusses London Market Reforms
[March 2004]
The London Market was the topic of a March teleconference/webex briefing and panel discussion. The discussions focused on an overview of the London insurance/reinsurance community as well as details of the latest standards implementation initiatives being driven forward by this dynamic market.

ACORD Presents Recent Research on Trends and Challenges at NAVA Conference
[March 2004]
Strategy, best practices, new technology, and new regulations were the focus of a presentation by Denise Garth, vice president, Membership and Development, at the recent NAVA 2004 Operations and Technology Conference in Atlanta. The session, Life and Annuity Industry: Recent Research on Trends and Challenges, discussed these subjects and the recent research from noted research organizations that support the concepts. Both ACORD and NAVA have worked closely in creating the data standards for annuities, ensuring that the standards were complimentary and interoperable. While ACORD focuses on the full insurance value chain and NAVA the annuities area, the combined efforts yielded harmonized XML standards that will benefit the entire industry as a whole.

Document Repository Interoperability Pilot Underway
[January 2004]
ACORD will begin pilots of its recently developed XML standards for exchanging electronic documents between repositories. The pilots cap a year-long development of standard processes and messages by the Document Repository Interface Working Group. Successful implementation of the standards is expected to bring a new level of automation within the reinsurance and large commercial insurance community which is seeking greater access to electronic documentation for business decision making (i.e. for processing Claim Advices and Rick Submissions). Two communities -- the London large commercial and reinsurance and US reinsurance - have volunteered to move forward with the pilot.

ACORD Adds New Metadata Format to Life Tool
[January 2004]
ACORD recently released a new and enhanced version of the ACORD Life Tool that included a new metadata format database. This new version provides improved data quality and usability to the Life Tool while providing the spec in an XML format, facilitating implementation of ACORD XML.

Celent CIO/CTO Research Results Available
[January 2004]
Recently, ACORD assisted one of insurance industry's major research firms, Celent, in soliciting participation for their 2003 Insurance CIO/CTO survey. The full report also shows the progress being made to achieve industry wide adoption of ACORD XML Standards, claiming that ACORD XML is poised to become the industry's data standard for systems integration and partner communication. In fact, when asked, approximately 80% of respondents reported using ACORD XML in live or pilot projects.

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