ACORD, London Market Form Brokers Committee

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

Pearl-River, N.Y.-based ACORD said it has worked with independent agents in the U.S. through AUGIE (ACORD User-Group Information Exchange) which provides a voice for U.S. independent agents within the industry and the ACORD standards development process. ACORD and LMBC are now bringing that formula to the brokers in London to support implementation of technology standards.

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

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

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

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

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

"We believe this is a great step forward and will help not only the 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 new committee will be very beneficial to the broking community, giving it a clear, unified voice as the market continues to implement both new processes and technology. ACORD standards are already well integrated into the industry today and will remain important as we advance with electronic processing and in the elimination of the re-keying and paper required today."