ACORD is a global, nonprofit standards development organization serving the insurance industry and related financial services industries.

Members include hundreds of insurance and reinsurance companies, agents and brokers, software providers, and industry associations worldwide.

ACORD provides communications and transactions services to agents, brokers and other data partners in the insurance, reinsurance and related financial services industries. They specialize in life and annuity; property and casualty/surety; and reinsurance data transactions.

Focuses and tools include:

1) Life, Annuity & Health Data Model: The ACORD Life, Annuity & Health Data Model defines the data in the health, annuities, and insurance industries. The industry receives four major benefits: reusability, consistency, expandability, and interoperability.

2) XML for Life, Annuity & Health: ACORD XML (Extensible Markup Language) is the electronic language of the insurance Internet, facilitating real-time, cross-platform, peer-to-peer communication. ACORD XML for Life, Annuity & Health is based on the ACORD Life Data Model and provides an industry-tested XML vocabulary.

3) Life, Annuity & Health Forms: The development of standard ACORD Life Forms is used to exchange information with trading partners, exploit new markets, and streamline the new business process. The forms are based on the ACORD Life Data Model to enable support of electronic exchange of life forms data.

4) Property & Casualty/Surety Standards Program

5) ACORD XML for P&C/Surety: A standard created in eXtensible Markup Language (XML) that addresses the real-time requirement by defining P&C/Surety transactions that include both request and response messages for Personal Lines, Commercial Lines, Specialty Lines, Surety, Claims, and Accounting transactions.

6) AL3: Electronic data interchange (EDI) standards that focus on data exchange between P&C insurers, surety organizations, their agents and other trading partners.

7) P&C/Surety Forms: ACORD files P&C Forms with regulators on behalf of Forms Pool Program members. All ACORD P&C Forms are published annually in the Forms Instruction Guide on CD-ROM and on the ACORD website.

8) Reinsurance and Large Commercial Standards Program: This supports the Property & Casualty and Life reinsurance lines of business. Through the Reinsurance Standards Program, and with membership support and the involvement of industry-sponsored volunteers, ACORD facilitates the development and maintenance of the ACORD Standards for Reinsurance.

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