ACORD : Everything you need to know

Headquarters address: 1 Blue Hill Plaza, PO Box 1529, Pearl River, New York, 10965-8529, United States
Year established: 1970
Participating organisations: 36,000+
Countries served: 100+
Forms downloaded since 2010: More than 2 million
Annual message transactions: More than 275 million

About ACORD
The Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development (ACORD) is the global standards-setting body for the insurance industry, as well as related financial services industries. ACORD focuses on the development of electronic standards, standardised forms, and tools to support the use of data exchange and efficient workflows, all with the goal of helping its members make improvements across the insurance value chain.

The organisation’s members are global, and include insurance and reinsurance companies, agents and brokers, software providers, financial services organisations, and industry associations. ACORD engages more than 36,000 participating organisations across 100 countries.

ACORD in the news
August 2018: ACORD reveals data standards adoption toolkit for reinsurance
August 2018: ACORD simplifies testing for firms looking to upgrade
January 2019: ACORD selects 2019 board of directors
May 2019: ACORD shines spotlight on buying insurance online
June 2019: ACORD introduces platform to digitise insurance lifecycle
June 2019: ACORD on the value of 'speaking the same language'
August 2020: ACORD reveals the digital maturity of the world's top carriers
September 2020: ACORD reveals winner of 2020 insurtech challenge
November 2020: ACORD appoints new advisory board members for London
December 2020: ACORD shares 2020 InsurTech Leaders list
January 2021: ACORD Solutions Group introduces data exchange platform
April 2021: Why does ACORD's CEO Bill Pieroni loathe price competition?
September 2021: ACORD boosts GRLC data standards to include electronic placing
January 2022: ACORD kickstarts 2022 with board update
April 2022: London Market Group to utilise ACORD standards

Key people

Bill Pieroni – chief executive officer
Pieroni’s career has taken him from roles in technology to operations, as well as executive roles at top insurers, brokers, and consulting firms. Before taking on his current title in 2016, Pieroni served as the global chief operating officer of Marsh, where he was responsible for the firm’s global operations.

He has also served as senior vice-president and part of the Office of the Chairman at State Farm, and as Aon’s senior vice-president and global chief information officer, where he had global responsibility for operations across the retail, wholesale, and reinsurance brokerage. If that wasn’t enough, his insurance and financial services background includes time spent as the general manager of IBM’s insurance business, a partner at Accenture, and a consultant with McKinsey & Company.

Pieroni earned his Bachelor of Science in accounting with University Honors & Distinction from the University of Illinois. He then received his MBA with the Highest Distinction from Harvard University School of Business Administration, earning the name of Baker Scholar.

ACORD members can see Pieroni presenting the results of ACORD research at conferences, board meetings, and executive sessions hosted by the insurance industry and financial services organisations around the world. His areas of expertise range from digitisation and change management, to the strategic and capability imperatives for high performance in the insurance industry.

Culture
ACORD has its eye on innovation, which underpins much of the organisation’s work. However, one event that encapsulates its push for innovative solutions is the ACORD Insurtech Innovation Challenge (AIIC).

In the London leg in 2019, 10 to 15 start-ups presented their concepts to the likes of AXA XL digital leader Hélène Stanway and Lloyd’s of London chief data officer Helen Crooks. The UK judging panel also included DXC’s Digital Minds head Caroline Bedford, Polaris managing director Vivek Banga, and corporate innovation managing director at Rainmaking Innovation Manjit Rana.

Following the 2018 competition, Malou August, vice-president of standards and membership at ACORD, said: “ACORD sits at the intersection of insurance, technology and research, and we bring together almost every major carrier, broker, and solution provider worldwide.

“This uniquely positions us to provide this forum to share ideas, help shed light on new innovations and work together to define the future of the industry. Our AIIC winners both represent a strong desire to bring positive change and innovation to the insurance business. They certainly have the potential to advance our industry in compelling ways.”