Research Detail

By ACORD
December 2024

The insurance industry is unusual compared to most other sectors worldwide, in that growth is not necessarily linked to value generation. Is “Intelligent Growth” achievable, and should it be a driving goal for insurers?

This comprehensive analysis of the growth patterns of approximately 11,000 insurance carriers worldwide focused on the intersection between levels of growth and value creation in order to identify the key drivers, strategies & tactics, and levers behind superior financial performance and growth. Key questions that were addressed include:

• How did growth patterns vary over time and across various cohorts? How did they correlate to lines of business, geographies, and insurer characteristics?
• How did value creation or destruction vary in relation to strategies, tactics, and growth?
• What are the key strategic and capability imperatives for achieving sustainable, value-creating growth?

This updated edition contains new data and insights current as of December 2024. ACORD R&D white papers are available free of charge to all ACORD members.

By ACORD
December 2019

Despite the seemingly innumerable options, only four distinct strategies truly matter to the global insurance industry. The ACORD Global Insurance Marketplace Study examined the performance of each of these strategies, along with the key factors required for successful execution, across three distinct types of global markets. By segmenting these markets using a unique model, we were able to identify how underlying market dynamics interact with strategy to produce positive or negative outcomes.

ACORD has also published a white paper on the Global Marketplace Study for property & casualty insurance. ACORD R&D white papers are available free of charge to all ACORD members.

PDF versions of the sessions originally presented at ACORD Connect, October 2019 in Boston, are available free of charge to ACORD members and conference attendees. Sessions include:

• The ACORD Digital Standards Project Group
• ACORD Solutions Group Overview Part 1: iForms, iConversion, iHub
• ACORD Solutions Group Overview Part 2: iConductor & iVerify
• Data Marketplace: Is the Industry Ready?
• Defining and Driving Implementation of ACORD Standards for Specialty Lines
• Digitizing Standards for DLT/Blockchain-based Ecosystems
• Evolution of Digital Standards
• Evolution of the Component Model
• From Zero to Digital: Why It’s Time to Think Differently About the Back Office
• The Hartford Connects to Partners via APIs
• The Hyperconnectivity Revolution: How Emerging Insurance Ecosystems Create New Opportunities for Carriers to Expand Their Market
• How Wearables Data Fuels Profitable Revenue Streams for Insurers
• Intro to ACORD Reference Architecture & Roadmap
• Introduction to Life & Annuity Standards
• Introduction to P&C/Surety Standards
• Life InForce & Product Support
• Machine Learning Techniques for Information Extraction in Unstructured Data
• Two Towers: Linking Placement and Post Placement Processes
• Women in Insurance Power Hour

By ACORD
December 2019

Despite the seemingly innumerable options, only four distinct strategies truly matter to the global insurance industry. The ACORD Global Insurance Marketplace Study examined the performance of each of these strategies, along with the key factors required for successful execution, across three distinct types of global markets. By segmenting these markets using a unique model, we were able to identify how underlying market dynamics interact with strategy to produce positive or negative outcomes.

ACORD has also published a white paper on the Global Insurance Marketplace Study for life insurance. ACORD R&D white papers are available free of charge to all ACORD members.

By KPMG & ACORD
March 2019

Insurers are under more pressure than ever to effectively manage their current operating expense environment. In order to gain insights into the most effective techniques and capabilities for optimizing expenses, KPMG and ACORD conducted a survey focused on the challenges and opportunities insurers face in improving operational efficiency.

Overall, responses make clear that a lack of process standardization and strategic vision are hindering the majority of organizations from achieving their operational efficiency goals. This report highlights approaches that senior leaders across the strategy, technology, and operations areas should consider in order to correct these deficiencies. Transformation initiatives discussed include:

• Operating model & process redesign
• Distribution
• Legacy systems
• Alternative sourcing
• Intelligent automation

ACORD R&D white papers are available free of charge to all ACORD members.

By Spencer Stuart & ACORD
March 2019

The value of diversity is well-recognized today. Yet study after study finds that the pipeline of women narrows at each successive level of most organizations. While we see milestones in the number of women in corporate boardrooms and C-suites, most would agree that women’s progress into senior business leadership roles remains mixed.

ACORD and executive search firm Spencer Stuart conducted in-depth discussions with several senior women leaders about turning points in their careers. We drew upon the individual and organizational lessons learned to provide not only the “why” but also the “how” for building gender diversity in the leadership pipeline. 

These training materials cover both the ACORD P&C Standards (XML and AL3) and ACORD History, Process & Governance. They are geared toward the ACORD Certified Expert exam and curriculum.

These materials are free to download for ACORD members. Non-members interested in purchasing them should contact memberservices@acord.org.

These training materials cover both the ACORD L&A Standards and ACORD History, Process & Governance. They are geared toward the ACORD Certified Expert exam and curriculum.

These materials are free to download for ACORD members. Non-members interested in purchasing them should contact memberservices@acord.org.

These training materials cover both the ACORD GRLC Standards and ACORD History, Process & Governance. They are geared toward the ACORD Certified Expert exam and curriculum.

These materials are free to download for ACORD members. Non-members interested in purchasing them should contact memberservices@acord.org.

These training materials cover both the ACORD AML Standards and ACORD History, Process & Governance. They are geared toward the ACORD Certified Expert exam and curriculum.

These materials are free to download for ACORD members. Non-members interested in purchasing them should contact memberservices@acord.org.

PDF versions of the sessions originally presented at ACORD Connect, October 2018 in New Orleans, are available free of charge to ACORD members and conference attendees. Sessions include:

• Add a SPARK to Your ETL
• One Standard to Rule Them All: Aon and Swiss Re Collaboration to Implement ACORD Placement and Post Placement
• CUNA Mutual Group Beneficiary Designation System
• Cyber Data Breach: Setting the Standard for Evolving Risks
• Data Modeling Fundamentals
• Digital Standards/Microservices
• Pragmatic and Proven Ways for Life Insurance and Retirement Companies to Accelerate the Pace of Digital Innovation
• eDelivery
• Embracing Tomorrow's Data & Technology Changes Today: How Organizations Can Prepare Their Workforces for Rapid Automation and Technological Changes
• How to Grade a Data Model
• Evolution Versus Revolution: Why Native Cloud is Not the Answer for L&A insurers…Yet.
• Life Inforce & Product Support
• Delegated Authority in the UK & US
• ACORD Life & Annuity Overview
• Novarica & ACORD Broker/MGA Technology Survey
• ACORD Property & Casualty Overview
• ACORD Reference Architecture
• Can Regulation Be Intelligent? The Present and Future of Regulation of AI in the Insurance Industry
• Mining Your Distribution Channel for the Next Big Thing
• The Power of the Conceptual Data Model
• Don't Let Application Fraud Spoil Your Profitable Growth Strategies
• Energize Insurance Operations with Advanced Data Science

By ACORD
June 2018

The global life insurance industry is notoriously idiosyncratic among not only insurance lines of business, but across all sectors in general. The ACORD Global Life Insurance Value Creation Study leveraged in-depth financial analysis, data-driven research, and interviews with industry leaders to answer three key questions:

• How have life insurers performed globally?
• What metrics correlate to shareholder returns?
• Which strategies and capabilities support high performance?

The study analyzed six years of data spanning 50 companies, 17 countries, over 20 lines of business, and 1/3 of global life NPW. By comparing multiple financial performance metrics and carrier attributes, we were able to highlight critical best-practice capabilities across the value chain.

ACORD R&D white papers are available free of charge to all ACORD members.

By Million Women Mentors & ACORD
June 2018

What is the status of women in insurance and what opportunities are being presented to continually advance women? The answers require a review of the status quo, and substantive discussions about how to gain more equity and leadership roles for women. This is not only an ethical imperative, but success will prove to be a competitive advantage.

This 2018 edition is updated with new data, insights, and participating organizations.

Available as a free download to ACORD members, PilotFish Technology’s XCS eiConsole for ACORD is a graphical Integrated Development Environment that helps you develop, test, deploy, manage, and maintain ACORD interfaces. An exclusive ACORD member benefit, each member organization is entitled to a one-seat license.

For more information, see the PilotFish XCS eiConsole Installation tutorial.

Available as a free download to ACORD members, PilotFish Technology’s XCS eiConsole for ACORD is a graphical Integrated Development Environment that helps you develop, test, deploy, manage, and maintain ACORD interfaces. An exclusive ACORD member benefit, each member organization is entitled to a one-seat license.

For more information, see the PilotFish XCS eiConsole Installation tutorial.

ACORD members with access to the P&C Standards may access an online version of the Business Message Specification files (aka the Help File) on our site.

This document provides guidelines for navigating and understanding the ACORD P&C XML Standards using the Help File.

The NDR specifies the common XML architectural functionality, naming conventions, schema design, implementation rules, and data types to be used in XML Specifications across all ACORD Standards.

This asset is a free download to all ACORD members.

ACORD has developed utilities that can be used against the schema (.xsd) files to help with implementation. This Schema Slicer is designed for use with the ACORD GRLC XML Standards. If you have any questions about using the tools, please submit a service request on Confluence

ACORD has developed utilities that can be used against the schema (.xsd) files to help with implementation. This Schema Slicer is designed for use with the ACORD L&A XML Standards. If you have any questions about using the tools, please submit a service request on Confluence. 

by ACORD
April 2018

The 2018 ACORD U.S. Workers’ Compensation Performance Study is a first-of-its-kind review of this $48 billion market. ACORD examined the Top 50 Workers’Compensation writers in the country, segmented them into value categories, analyzed the criteria for success, and identified winning strategies, tactics, and capabilities.

By evaluating the Top 50 companies’ performance and how it related to their strategies and capabilities, we set out to answer three key questions:

1) How should “success” be measured across Workers’ Compensation insurers?
2) What strategies and tactics lead to superior performance?
3) What are the implications for carriers?

ACORD R&D white papers are available free of charge to all ACORD members.