ACORD
{{Short description|Non-profit organization in the insurance industry}}
{{Infobox company
| name = ACORD
| logo = ACORD_2021_Logo.png
| industry = Insurance, Insurance Technology
| founded = 1970
| hq_location = Little Falls, New Jersey; London, UK
| key_people = Bill Pieroni (CEO)
| website = {{URL|acord.org}}
}}The Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development (ACORD) is a non-profit organization in the insurance industry.{{Cite web|url=https://www.acord.org/about/Pages/default.aspx|title=About ACORD|publisher=ACORD|language=en-us|access-date=2017-04-04}} ACORD publishes and maintains an archive of standardized forms. ACORD has also developed a comprehensive library of electronic data standards with more than 1200 standardized transaction types to support insurance data exchange between trading partners. However, ACORD is not an insurance company and does not process claims or provide insurance coverage.
History
Established in 1970 as a non-profit organization, ACORD was formed by insurance carriers and agents focused on building efficiencies in the United States property and casualty insurance market. Originally named Agent Company Operations Research and Development (ACORD), the organization initially aimed to standardize carriers' many proprietary forms for new business and claims submission.{{Cite book|last=Wan|first=Hakman A.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YEqkAgAAQBAJ&dq=ACORD&pg=PA155|title=Electronic Financial Services: Technology and Management|pages=155–157|date=2006-02-28|publisher=Elsevier|isbn=978-1-78063-146-2|language=en}} In the late 1970s, ACORD began developing electronic standards to complement its form standards. ACORD subsequently expanded its forms and electronic data standards beyond property and casualty insurance to encompass life and annuity, surety, and reinsurance markets.{{cite web | title=ACORD CEO Maciag to Retire in 2016 | website=Insurance Journal | date=2014-12-04 | url=https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2014/12/04/348942.htm | access-date=2021-09-17}} In 2021, a subsidiary of the company, ACORD Solutions Group, received the Insurance Innovator Award from PropertyCasualty360 for its digital solution ADEPT (ACORD Data Exchange Platform & Translator); the award is given to new technologies that are considered to be facilitating faster and more accurate data exchange in the insurance industry.{{cite web |url=https://www.propertycasualty360.com/2021/12/02/propertycasualty360-2021-risk-management-innovation-honorees/ |title=PropertyCasualty360 2021 Risk Management Innovation Honorees|access-date=10 December 2021}}
Current practices
Today, many of the forms and electronic data standards utilized by the insurance and related industries, both in the United States and several countries across the globe, were developed by ACORD. Over 850 variants of these forms are available.{{Cite web|last=Butler|first=Katie|date=2019-08-01|title=ACORD and the Big 'I' Announce Partnership for Forms Access|url=https://www.iamagazine.com/news/acord-and-the-big-i-announce-partnership-for-forms-access|access-date=2021-06-02|website=Independent Agent|language=en-US}} The Lloyd's of London insurance market uses ACORD standards for messaging between counterparties.[http://www.lloyds.com/the-market/operating-at-lloyds/exchange "Exchange"]. Lloyd's of London. Retrieved 19 February 2015. Lloyd's Core Data Record, an attempt to standardized data exchange, is based on ACORD standards.{{Cite web|last=Ruel|first=Clare|title=Lloyd's of London to consult on Blueprint Two's core data record|url=https://www.insurancetimes.co.uk/news/lloyds-of-london-to-consult-on-blueprint-twos-core-data-record/1436750.article|access-date=2021-06-02|website=Insurance Times|language=en}}
In 2018, ACORD partnered with DataPro on the production of new software that would streamline the implementation of insurance data standards. The project aimed to improve data integration between legacy data systems and a new wave of automated data processing systems.{{Cite web|url=http://www.cirmagazine.com/cir/Acord-and-Datapro-in-data-standards-partnership.php|title=Acord and Datapro in data standards partnership|website=CIR Magazine|access-date=2019-06-09|url-access=registration}}
ACORD also provided expertise on digital data standards in collaboration with IBM, ISN, and Marsh to streamline the proof of insurance process with the help of blockchain technology. The partnership attempts to eliminate the time- and labor-intensive paper insurance certificates that dominate the global insurance market.{{Cite press release|url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180416005918/en/Marsh-Collaborates-IBM-ACORD-ISN-Apply-Blockchain|title=Marsh Collaborates with IBM, ACORD, and ISN to Apply Blockchain Technology for First Commercial Proof of Insurance|date=2018-04-16|publisher=Marsh|via=Business Wire|language=en|access-date=2019-06-09}} A pilot project for the new platform, called Insurwave, launched in the spring of 2018, uses the blockchain to create a distributed ledger of insurance data and to automate the recording of shipping information for maritime transactions.{{Cite web|url=http://www.liveinsurancenews.com/blockchain-insurance-technology-goes-live-through-eys-maritime/8544696/|title=Blockchain insurance technology goes live through EY's Maritime|date=2018-05-28|website=Live Insurance News|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-09}}
ACORD has also worked with the Centre for Study of Insurance Operations on numerous initiatives, including the development of North American XML data standards{{Cite web|date=2000-09-07|title=ACORD, CSIO to Collaborate on XML Standards for North America|url=https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2000/09/08/10500.htm|access-date=2022-01-26|website=Insurance Journal|language=en-US}} and creating a telematics data standard.{{Cite web|title=Q&A: CSIO on efforts to standardize UBI telematics data in North America|url=http://analysis.tu-auto.com/insurance-telematics/qa-csio-efforts-standardize-ubi-telematics-data-north-america|date=2014-03-25|website=TU Automotive|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170902012907/http://analysis.tu-auto.com/insurance-telematics/qa-csio-efforts-standardize-ubi-telematics-data-north-america|archive-date=2017-09-02}}
ACORD is headquartered in Little Falls, New Jersey, and maintains an office in London, UK.{{cite web | title=Contact Us | publisher=ACORD | url=https://www.acord.org/ACORD-about/contact-us | access-date=2021-09-17}}