The short answer is: yes.

The long answer? Like any global business, the London Market must continually enhance process efficiency to remain competitive. We do pride ourselves on our long traditions but we’re not likely to use a quill in a digital age.

Process change is necessary to ensure efficient and flexible working with multiple markets across the world. Potentially, multiple markets could also imply multiple communications techniques and that would be expensive, difficult to maintain, introduce ambiguities and so on. It’d be inefficient to say the least. So, we need a common communications framework.

We don’t need to invent the framework because it already exists. It’s provided by ACORD, the internationally recognised insurance standards body.  Simply put, ACORD provides a global standards framework for the exchange of insurance information.

By adopting ACORD standards, the London Market will be able to exchange insurance information in a consistent way both within the Market and between markets, globally.

By collectively embracing industry standards, the Lloyd’s Market will be able to clarify information requirements and therefore benefit from consistent and streamlined information flows. We’ll increase efficiency while reducing the costs inherent in matching differing local flows—we’re not saying no more information cleansing and manipulation, but a lot less of it.

We can then fully focus our energies on what Lloyd’s in renowned for—its expertise, products and service.

Tags: ACORD, Lloyd's Exchange

This entry was posted by Carl Phillips on Wednesday, May 13th, 2009 at 3:09 pm and is filed under Market Operations.