ACORD: Everything you need to know
Founded: 1970
Office locations: New York City and London
Countries served: 100+
ACORD forms downloaded since 2010: 2,000,000+
ACORD (Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development) is the global standards-setting body for the insurance industry, as well as related financial services industries. ACORD focuses on the development of electronic standards, standardised forms, and tools to support the use of data exchange and efficient workflows, all with the goal of helping its members make improvements across the insurance value chain.
The organisation’s members are global, and include insurance and reinsurance companies, agents and brokers, software providers, financial services organisations, and industry associations. ACORD engages more than 8,000 participating organisations across 100 countries.
ACORD in the news
March 2018: All Lloyd’s coverholders became eligible for a free custom membership with ACORD
July 2018: ACORD, Aon, and Beazley reveal a Cyber Data Breach Standard
August 2018: ACORD reveals a data standards adoption toolkit for reinsurance
June 2019: ACORD introduces a platform to digitise the insurance lifecycle, known as the ACORD iConductor, a global data-exchange service
Key people as of 2019
Bill Pieroni – President and chief executive officer of ACORD
Pieroni’s career has taken him from roles in technology to operations, as well as executive roles at top insurers, brokers, and consulting firms. Before taking on his current title in 2016, Pieroni served as the global chief operating officer of Marsh, where he was responsible for the firm’s global operations.
He has also served as senior vice president and part of the Office of the Chairman at State Farm, and as Aon’s senior vice president and global chief information officer, where he had global responsibility for operations across the retail, wholesale, and reinsurance brokerage. If that wasn’t enough, his insurance and financial services background includes time spent as the general manager of IBM’s insurance business, a partner at Accenture, and consultant with McKinsey & Company.
Pieroni earned his Bachelor of Science in accounting with University Honors & Distinction from the University of Illinois. He then received his MBA with Highest Distinction from Harvard University School of Business Administration, earning the name of Baker Scholar.
ACORD members can see Pieroni presenting the results of ACORD research at conferences, board meetings, and executive sessions hosted by insurance industry and financial services organisations around the world. His areas of expertise range from digitisation and change management, to the strategic and capability imperatives for high performance in the insurance industry.
Culture
ACORD has its eye on innovation, which underpins much of the organisation’s work. However, one event that encapsulates its push for innovative solutions is the ACORD Insurtech Innovation Challenge (AIIC).
In the London leg in 2019, 10 to 15 start-ups presented their concepts to the likes of AXA XL digital leader Hélène Stanway and Lloyd’s of London chief data officer Helen Crooks. The UK judging panel also included DXC’s Digital Minds head Caroline Bedford, Polaris managing director Vivek Banga, and corporate innovation managing director at Rainmaking Innovation Manjit Rana.
Following the 2018 competition, Malou August, vice president of standards and membership at ACORD, said: “ACORD sits at the intersection of insurance, technology and research, and we bring together almost every major carrier, broker, and solution provider worldwide.
“This uniquely positions us to provide this forum to share ideas, help shed light on new innovations and work together to define the future of the industry. Our AIIC winners both represent a strong desire to bring positive change and innovation to the insurance business. They certainly have the potential to advance our industry in compelling ways.”
