Orlando, FL (May 19, 2009) – Temple Insurance and Frank Cowan Company received the Innovative Implementation Award from ACORD, the global insurance data standards body, for pioneering work in using standards to improve information exchange in the data intensive world of commercial insurance. The award was presented on May 17, 2009 at the annual ACORD/LOMA Insurance Systems Forum.
“Underwriting and servicing our clients’ insurance programs requires exchanging a high volume of data with multiple insurance partners. Our goal with standardization of this process is to improve service and ensure the consistency of data,” said Rick Purdy, President & CEO of Frank Cowan Company.
Temple Insurance Company President & CEO, Ken Irvin, concurred, noting, “We are committed to streamlining the exchange of data with our clients. Converting the separate and unique interfaces we have into one common standard based on ACORD, provides us with a solid foundation going forward.”
An analysis of alternatives was undertaken by both organizations in 2008, which resulted in the selection of the ACORD Standards. “We were familiar with ACORD through reinsurance projects we had completed in the London Market,” said Peter Walker, Executive Vice President and CIO of Temple Insurance Company. “Although the Canadian Managing General Agent (MGA) business environment is different, we felt we could leverage our knowledge and understanding,” he continued. This proved to be the case, according to Walker.
While the ACORD Standards have been widely used for personal lines and commercial lines in the U.S., and have received acceptance in the London market with reinsurance transactions, the Canadian implementation is unique functionally and geographically, and shows the extensibility of the data Standards, according to ACORD officials.
“ACORD congratulates both Frank Cowan Company and Temple Insurance on their implementation accomplishments. We’re happy to present them both with ACORD Innovative Implementer awards in recognition of their hard work, successful results, and dedication to ACORD Standards,” said John Kellington, Senior Vice President, ACORD.
At present, Frank Cowan Company is sending policy coverage and financial details to Temple Insurance using a combination of the ACORD Property Casualty Surety and ACORD Messaging Library Standards. Plans are to expand this to include Claims information in the near future. Both Temple Insurance and Frank Cowan Company have kept other business partners informed of the progress and hope to extend the use of the Standards to as wide an audience as possible. “We would like to extend the benefits of Standardization to all our other insurance carrier partners,” Purdy said.
About Frank Cowan Company Limited
Frank Cowan Company Limited (www.frankcowan.com) is a Managing General Agent, serving the risk management and insurance needs of public sector clients including municipalities, hospital and educational institutions. Temple Insurance Company (www.templeinsurance.ca), a primary insurer, is wholly owned by Munich Holdings Limited. It focuses primarily on underwriting niche products and specialty lines through a network of MGAs, including Frank Cowan Company. Both organizations share a commitment to continuously improving business processes and service levels.
