Swiss Re and Aon Benfield today announced that they have successfully implemented automated technical accounting, claim and cash transactions using Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development (ACORD) messaging standards in the US and Canada.
Swiss Re has also implemented automated technical accounting messaging in the London market and in designated areas of Europe with Aon Benfield and other brokers. The integrated technical accounting, claim handling and cash settlement systems and processes have been integrated with Swiss Re’s global Property and Casualty IT reinsurance platform and workflow.
“This is a great step forward in our ongoing efforts to enhance service and quality with our brokers and our clients. The implementation of electronic messaging for back office processing provides a high quality, efficient, expedited interaction, said Judy Mann, President and CEO of Swiss Re’s US Broker unit. “Using electronic messaging to support our premiums, claims and settlement processes is part of Swiss Re’s global initiative to strengthen service and operational efficiencies. The use of ACORD standards is vital components in globalizing this process.”
Ian Summers, Director of Change Strategy at Aon Benfield and Joint Chair of the Rüschlikon initiative, added: “Working with Swiss Re and other trading partners, we continue to drive the development and adoption of electronic messaging to support the reinsurance transaction in this case for premiums, claims and settlement. This forms part of Aon Benfield’s global initiative to enhance client service and provide operational efficiencies for our trading partners.”
Representatives of Swiss Re and Aon Benfield’s Global teams continue working on global implementations as part of the Ruschlikon Global Initiative. The not-for-profit venture, which was founded in 2009, brings together global brokers, reinsurers and cedents to identify the advantages of exchanging electronic data using ACORD messaging standards. The initiative aims to achieve the following benefits for its members including heightening efficiency through the elimination of redundant data capturing and better data quality; process certainty through commonly agreed upon rules and performance standards; data certainty through the mapping to a single market standard (ACORD XML messages); process acceleration through automation and reduction of exceptions; and smoother cash flow and reduction of unallocated payments.
Greg Maciag, CEO of ACORD, noted: “Projects such as the Ruschlikon Global Initiative are helping to unify standards and enhance consistency within both the reinsurance and insurance markets. When trading partners use these standards to exchange information, all parties benefit. We hope our efforts will serve as models for others to replicate.”
Source : Aon
