ACORD and the London Market Insurance Brokers' Committee (LMBC)have formed the ACORD Brokers Committee "to increase communicationand interaction between ACORD and medium-to-small brokers in theLondon market."

Pearl-River, N.Y.-based ACORD said it has worked withindependent agents in the U.S. through AUGIE (ACORD User-GroupInformation Exchange) which provides a voice for U.S. independentagents within the industry and the ACORD standards developmentprocess. ACORD and LMBC are now bringing that formula to thebrokers in London to support implementation of technologystandards.

The goals, as laid out by ACORD and LMBC, are:

o To support and drive implementation of ACORD standards amongmedium and small brokers in the London market.

o To coordinate the collective voice of the brokers in Londonand make their needs better known.

o To provide a forum to discuss technical issues of importanceto brokers.

The committee will consist of 10 members elected from theoverall group, said ACORD. LMBC will chair the committee whileACORD will manage and facilitate the process. It is expected thatthe group will meet four times a year with one meeting open to thepublic. The remainder will be invitation only.

"We believe this is a great step forward and will help not onlythe small and medium-sized brokers, but the industry as a whole,"said Roy Laker, assistant vice president, London Office, ACORD.

David Hough, executive director of LMBC, added that "this newcommittee will be very beneficial to the broking community, givingit a clear, unified voice as the market continues to implement bothnew processes and technology. ACORD standards are already wellintegrated into the industry today and will remain important as weadvance with electronic processing and in the elimination of there-keying and paper required today."