ACORD, the standards organisation for the global insurance sector, has released a unified life insurance application aimed at enhancing efficiency and accuracy for both insurers and distributors.
This application, now approved by the Interstate Insurance Compact for pre-filing across 47 states, marks the first standardised form of its kind.
The new format is expected to improve customer experience, simplify underwriting, and quicken regulatory approval times.
With this standardised application, customers and distributors can apply for policies with any participating life insurer through a single, universal form.
Developed through extensive collaboration between ACORD, life insurance distributors, carriers, and the Interstate Insurance Compact, the application is designed with a digital-first approach to address common industry challenges, including customer dissatisfaction and labor-intensive review and approval processes.
“Standardising the data collection process is a critical first step in enabling next-generation digitalised underwriting,” added ACORD CEO Bill Pieroni.
“Providing a standard data structure from the outset of the application process directly leads to more efficient use of data across the value chain – from enabling automated screening by underwriting rules engines, to creating a more consistent digital experience for customers shopping for the most suitable policy.”
All questions in the application are crafted to reduce bias and ease customer frustrations. They focus on information that is straightforward for customers to provide and essential for underwriting decisions.
Carriers maintain the flexibility to modify or omit questions to align with their specific underwriting guidelines, without affecting the expedited approval process made possible by the ACORD application’s pre-filed status with the Interstate Insurance Compact.
“A standard life application will greatly simplify the producer’s role and the client’s experience, especially when they are applying for multiple policies,” commented ACORD Standards Project Group Chair Andy Kramer (VP Underwriting Risk and Innovation, M Financial Group).
“The producer can more accurately describe the questions that will be asked and avoid missing questions that will delay the underwriting and approval process. It should also greatly reduce the implementation and ongoing maintenance costs incurred by carriers once this application is enabled in the application platforms.”
The ACORD application includes a comprehensive set of forms covering all required details for individual life insurance underwriting.
This includes specialised forms for high-risk activities like motor sports and mountain climbing, along with sections for agents’ reports and paramedical examiners’ evaluations.
Approved by the Interstate Insurance Compact under a dedicated programme, this application allows individual companies to submit their ACORD-compliant forms for streamlined approval.
ACORD Life & Annuity programme members in good standing can file their forms for Compact approval at the company level and will automatically be placed in the Compact’s Expedited Review Process queue.
