Industry organizations to extend ongoing collaboration in order to ensure access to industry-standard forms for agents and brokers
The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (the Big “I”) and ACORD, the global standards-setting body for the insurance industry, today announced a joint program to provide qualifying Big “I” member independent insurance agencies with a complimentary license to use ACORD Forms.
The Big “I” is the nation’s oldest and largest national association of independent insurance agents and brokers, representing more than 25,000 agency locations united under the Trusted Choice brand. The association is dedicated to providing tools, education, and advocacy to help members run more effective and profitable agencies.
ACORD, a not-for-profit industry organization, has been providing forms to the insurance industry since 1972. ACORD currently maintains a library of over 850 forms in a variety of formats, widely used throughout the global industry. As part of its ongoing collaboration with ACORD, the Big “I” has announced that it will fund ACORD Form end user licenses for the majority of its member agencies, allowing them to claim these licenses free of charge.
“Industry-standard forms are a critical component of an independent agent’s business,” said Bob Rusbuldt, Big “I” president & CEO. “With this licensing program, the Big ‘I’ is helping our members improve their operational effectiveness. We are proud to play a key role in facilitating the delivery of these assets to our members and to further enhance the value of their Big ‘I’ membership.”
All agents and brokers using ACORD Forms are required to obtain licenses from ACORD. Users who are not already members or subscribers of a qualifying ACORD program are able to purchase a stand-alone End User License from ACORD. Under this agreement, Big “I” members with a group gross revenue of under $50 million will be eligible for a license from ACORD due to their Big “I” membership, with no additional payment necessary.
“The Big ‘I’ has been an invaluable partner to ACORD in standards development, industry outreach, and many other activities in service to the insurance industry at large,” said ACORD President and CEO Bill Pieroni. “By ensuring access to ACORD Forms, the Big ‘I’ has once again affirmed its commitment to enabling success for the independent agent and broker community.”
For more information on ACORD Forms, see www.acord.org/forms.
What you should know:
What has changed with ACORD form and agent access?
ACORD has been maintaining a complete library of forms for our industry for almost 50 years – They are working through updated agreements with their management system partners. ACORD will be charging new fees for the users of their forms, beginning on January 1, 2020.
How does this affect Big ‘I’ member agencies?
The Big ‘I’ has worked to ensure their members are covered and will not incur fees when accessing needed ACORD forms. All Big I members with less than $50 million in revenue will get the forms free as part of their Big I membership.
Does this affect my current agency workflow?
No – Agents will still access forms via their agency management system workflow as they have previously.
How will ACORD know that I am a Big ‘I’ member agency?
Big ‘I’ staff is working with ACORD to validate Big ‘I’ membership through our databases – This validation will be transparent to agency users.
What if I have questions or need further help?
More background on ACORD Forms is available at www.acord.org/forms, and members can also call ACORD directly at (845) 620-1700.
This article was published in the September 2019 edition of Colorado Insurance News (COIN). To view more articles and read the whole COIN, click here.
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