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ACORD group streamlines questionnaire

Posted On: Nov. 19, 2006 12:00 AM CST

PEARL RIVER, N.Y.—The ACORD-User Groups Information Exchange is promoting a new questionnaire form to help independent agencies organize data commonly requested by insurers.

The new online form, designed to eliminate redundant requests for information, was developed by the arm of the Assn. for Cooperative Operations Research & Development in response to agents' and brokers' concerns that they were spending too much of their time filling out multiple questionnaires.

While agreeing that many of the questions are valid, AUGIE's working group that developed the form felt that many were repeated from year to year and insurer to insurer. The new form allows agencies to complete or update each year as much information as they want to make available to insurers.

The form includes data fields for primary contact name and e-mail, key agency personnel and license numbers, agency office information such as branch locations, agency premiums and mix of business, interface information, technology information and other information commonly requested by insurers.

A PDF version of the form is incorporated in AUGIE's online guidebook, "Productive Agency Visits by Insurance Carrier Marketing Reps: A Guide to Improved Communications on Workflow & Technology," available in the resources area at www.acordadvantage.org.

For ACORD Advantage members, a version of the form that can be filled out free of charge is available at the ACORD Advantage Web site's forms area.

The Pearl River, N.Y.-based ACORD is a global, nonprofit insurance association with a mission to facilitate the development and use of standards for the insurance, reinsurance and related financial services industries.