Group Seeks Agent Input On Standards

The creation of a new group seeking agent input into theelectronic standards development process was announced at ACORDsStandards Subcommittee Meeting in San Francisco last month by ACORDBoard Member Michael Bergstein.

According to Pearl River, N.Y.-based ACORD, the ACORD AgentsResource Group (AARG) will allow agents and brokers to add theirbusiness perspective into the standards-setting process, therebyhelping to create standards that will better support their businessworkflow.

“By putting AARG into action, agents will get involved withstandards at the right place and the right time,” said Ron Dudley,vice president of standards for ACORD. “It will provide a moretargeted and focused involvement, thereby leveraging their timemore effectively.”

Mr. Bergstein, vice president of The Capacity Group, added, “Theneed for agents' participation in standards development becomesobvious when you consider it is the agents and brokers that will bethe end users of much of the systems created from the standards.Traditionally we've tried to get agents to attend Subcommittee, butwe realized it was not making the best use of their time; theydon't need to be involved at that technical stage.

“AARG's goal, therefore, is to involve agents at the appropriatepoint, which most often is at the working group level.” Workinggroups meet via teleconferences several times between thesemi-annual Subcommittee meetings, said ACORD.

AARG will serve as a clearinghouse for requests for agencyexpertise, anticipate where it is needed, and match skills toparticular standards efforts, ACORD added.

The group's initial focus will be working with the property andcasualty standards efforts, with attention paid to commerciallines, personal lines and general workflow issues, noted ACORD.Plans to work with the life, reinsurance and surety lines ofbusiness will be added in the future.

More information on AARG is available online in the SubcommitteeGeneral Session presentation, slides 16-32, on the ACORD Web site(www.ACORD.org).Agents or brokers of any size who would like to volunteer for AARGshould email [email protected],said ACORD.

ACORD (Association for Cooperative Operations Research andDevelopment) is a global, nonprofit insurance association whosemission is to facilitate the development and use of standards forthe insurance, reinsurance and related financial servicesindustries.

Reproduced from National Underwriter Property &Casualty/Risk & Benefits Management Edition, December 30, 2002.Copyright 2002 by The National Underwriter Company in the serialpublication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as anindependent work may be held by the author.