The Insurance Brokers Association of Canada (IBAC) has revealed that its Data Exchange Working Group has completed the first Reusable Data Service (RDS) for insurers.
Built over an initial concept by the Toronto Insurance TIC, and in collaboration with IBAC brokers, the IBAC Working Group developed a First Notice of Loss (FNOL) transaction as an RDS. The FNOL RDS was then placed in a library housed at the Centre for Study of Insurance Operations (CSIO).
“This RDS allows insurance brokers to enter a FNOL into their broker management system, send it to an insurance carrier, and receive an acknowledgement and claims number back from the carrier in real-time,” explained IBAC technology committee chair Gina McFetridge.
McFetridge added that implementation of the RDS will significantly enhance the customer experience and reduce administration costs for both brokers and carriers.
The development of the FNOL RDS was a major collaborative effort. CSIO data standards and IBAC data exchange principles were utilized in the design, while Customer Software Solutions Inc. (CSSI) shared its knowledge and expertise. CSIO’s Testing Facility and four insurance carriers helped test the RDS to ensure it could work in different environments.
The FNOL RDS is available free to use in CSIO’s Reusable Data Services Library; CSIO vendor and carrier members can download the RDS and implement it within their environments, a release said.
“IBAC is pleased that the Data Exchange Working Group is delivering on its promise to advance real-time connectivity in Canada,” commented IBAC CEO Peter Braid.
Braid also commented on the industry-wide cooperation involved in the development of the FNOL RDS, saying that he was proud to see insurance brokers facilitating this initiative for the mutual benefit of all stakeholders.
The IBAC Data Exchange Working Group is expecting to develop three more RDS functions in the CSIO library by the end of 2019. Specifically, the group will create RDS for billing inquiries, claims inquiries and claims run requests.
