ACORD and XBRL International Announce Strategic Alliance

Reciprocal Membership to Explore Interoperability

15 May 2012 -- ACORD and XBRL International (XII) announced today that they have agreed to explore areas in which their XML-based standards may present interoperability opportunities. XBRL has become an Association Member of ACORD, and ACORD is a Direct Association Member of XII.

ACORD recently kicked off a collaborative research project with members of the XII community and will publish a proof of concept paper that describes areas where ACORD data standards may map to XBRL insurance solvency and other business information taxonomies. XII Direct Member Business Reporting Advisory Group (BR-AG) from Poznan, Poland, a premier XBRL business reporting consulting firm whose clients include banks and regulatory authorities worldwide, is working on the technical paper with ACORD.

"The ACORD data standards and ACORD Framework are integral to the insurance industry's continual drive toward efficiency," said ACORD President & CEO Gregory A. Maciag. "Alliances with organizations like XBRL are one more way ACORD supports standards interoperability. The global tipping point for data interoperability is here; the insurance industry is ready."
 
"With XBRL having been chosen by EIOPA in 2011 to harmonize the reporting of insurance data across Europe, the possibility of standards interoperability presented by this strategic alliance with ACORD is more critical than ever," added XII CEO Tony Fragnito. "As regulators, analysts and the public increasingly demand ever more transparent and efficient sharing of data, collaboration between standards organizations will need to become the norm, and we're pleased to be leading the way with ACORD."

The strategic alliance is the culmination of recent areas of cooperation, including XII exhibiting at the ACORD LOMA Insurance Systems Forum in Florida, and ACORD staff presenting an introduction to the ACORD standards and Framework at the 24th XBRL International Conference in Abu Dhabi. ACORD and XBRL staff and community members from various programs and working groups will engage in dialogue to explore other areas where the standards may work together, and plan to publish a year-end update and roadmap outlining those plans.

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