PEARL RIVER, NY – October 15, 2008 – As Solvency II moves forward in Europe, ACORD (www.acord.org) examined the ways in which existing ACORD standards can help companies, brokers, and supervisors prepare to meet the requirements.
Companies that write business in Europe are already evaluating their internal systems to meet these requirements as well as the role that ACORD standards can play in supporting their efforts. Those companies along with brokers and supervisors can advance their Solvency II initiatives by utilizing existing ACORD standards for data and information flow, both internally and externally.
“ACORD standards are already used by companies around the globe for improved data flow. With data an essential part of Solvency II, it’s important to examine just how these existing standards and implementations can expedite preparations for the Solvency II directive,” said Ann Henstrand, assistant vice president, Compliance and Government Affairs, ACORD. “We’ve spoken to and worked with a number of international members to see how they could best take advantage of the standards and implementations to support their efforts and facilitate the process.”
By using standard ways to define data elements and messages, agreed upon by members of the community, communication can be simplified as all parties use a shared vocabulary. ACORD data standards enable all participants across all geographies to utilize a common vocabulary or lingua franca from the most basic data element to transactions and business processes, standards establish a shared understanding, allowing participants to communicate and do business more efficiently.
The paper was released at this week’s International Association of Insurance Supervisors Annual Conference in Budapest, Hungary and is available on the ACORD website at www.acord.org.
About ACORD
Based in New York, ACORD (Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development) is a global, nonprofit insurance association whose mission is to facilitate the development and use of standards for the insurance, reinsurance and related financial services industries. With offices in London as well, ACORD accomplishes its mission by remaining an objective, independent advocate for sharing information among diverse platforms. ACORD Standards and services improve efficiency and expand market reach. Affiliated with ACORD are hundreds of insurance and reinsurance companies, and thousands of agents and brokers, related financial services organizations, software providers, and industry organizations worldwide. www.acord.org.
