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Posted on 12 Nov 02
inreon, the Internet-based reinsurance trading platform, has become the first body within the global reinsurance market to be certified by ACORD for implementing risk placement standards. ACORD, the New York-based industry standards body, has certified inreon's implementation of data standards for facultative reinsurance placement.
The move means that members of the platform can now automatically submit risks to reinsurers as soon as they have the relevant data available in ACORD compliant placement XML structures. Instead of inputting information via the web, data is simply pre-loaded onto inreon templates. Members then only have to review the details and select the reinsurers to whom the business should be sent.
Clem Booth, a member of the board of directors at both inreon and ACORD and a member of the Board of Management for Munich Re, commented: "The future of electronic trading in the reinsurance industry will be much brighter thanks to the combined efforts of inreon and ACORD. Universal and effective data standards will help make sure the reinsurance sector fully benefits from the advantages offered by e-trading."
Kaj Ahlmann, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of inreon added: "ACORD is the insurance industry's global leader in XML standards for electronic data sharing. This pioneering certification of inreon's placement standards shows the platform is leading the way in establishing a streamlined, automated and highly efficient electronic placement process for the reinsurance sector."
Further collaboration between ACORD and inreon is planned to continue the implementation of the industry SOAP XML message handling standard in the context of the ACORD Reinsurance Framework pilot project. In addition to ongoing work at the placement end of the reinsurance process, there will also be a focus on back office administration services. This will include standards governing both contract confirmation issues and technical accounting.
"The certification of inreon's work on implementing placement standards represents an important step forward," declared Gregory Maciag, President and Chief Executive Officer of ACORD. "Adopting such standards has the potential to save the industry millions of dollars every year by reducing work duplication, improving accuracy and eliminating ambiguous communication exchanges."
As a global trading platform with around 100 members across the US, Europe and Asia, inreon is uniquely positioned to aid the implementation of standards which offer enormous potential benefits for the exchange of data across company boundaries. Efficiency improvements can be made in many different areas of the reinsurance process, for example in the structuring of risks, placement and the migration of data into new systems following an acquisition.
About inreon:
inreon provides insurance companies with an on-line trading platform for reinsurance capacities and products. While using the techniques of an exchange (quote requesting and quoting) inreon enables insurance companies (buyers) to distribute a share of the risk to more than one reinsurer (sellers). The average time spent on each reinsurance transaction can be reduced considerably and thus allows a reduction in costs.
Currently around 80 primary buyers and brokers, based in Europe and North America, are actively trading on the inreon platform. Active reinsurers on the inreon trading platform include American Re, Converium, Gothaer Re, Hannover Re, Mapfre Re, MAP Underwriting, Munich Re, Naconal, New Re, Partner Re, Renaissance Re, St Paul Re, SCOR, Swiss Re and Wellington.
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