Web Services Messaging Using ACORD standards

1. Web Services Messaging Using ACORD standards A Practical Implementation Viewpoint Steve Betts Chief Information Officer, Aon Re Global May 2006

2. Business Context • Web services messaging using ACORD standards is central to Aon Re Global’s trading partner integration strategy Characteristics Benefit to Aon Re Global • Exchange of structured data • Documents embedded in the messages or retrieved through embedded references • ACORD standards cover both technical interoperability and business message definition • Reduced operational costs through the elimination of less efficient data exchange methods • Reduction in number of queries and other delays (due to improved linkage between data and supporting documents) • Reduction in the number of data errors (due to elimination of the re-keying of unstructured data) • Better services to clients – faster and more accurate

3. Evolution of Data Exchange in Reinsurance Industry

4. Sample Message Flow • Message flow id asynchronous except for SOAP Post Responses • Same basic flow for all message types: • Placement • Technical Account • Claim Movement • Settlement • Business Acknowledgement

5. Degree of automation and integration by receiving party Some trading partners receive messages but do not integrate data to core systems leading to an erosion of benefits case Lessons Learned – Key Considerations Consideration Implication • Degree of business process change • Business process change can be underestimated and can impede the implementation process • Alignment of development and implementation approaches between trading partners • A mix of waterfall and iterative approaches can lead to significant problems being identified late in the implementation process

6. Involvement of multiple parties (e.g., involvement of an intermediary such as a servicing bureaux) Difficult to gain agreement of message content from all parties Difficult to test end-to-end message flows effectively Lessons Learned – Challenges Challenge Implication • Alignment of cross reference data and reference codes • Significant data clean up required to ensure integrity of cross reference data • Data load required to enable UUID references between transactions • Potential for disputes and challenges when mapping to “standard” codes • Different logical definition of a transaction (e.g., one invoice may map to multiple invoices at a trading partner) • Creates complexity in maintaining cross references between transactions and complicates the message flows

7. Existence of a recognized standard and a trusted organization for mediation of disputes ACORD standard is the key enabler ACORD clarifies interpretation of the standard when required Lessons Learned – Enablers Enabler Implication • Support multiple versions of the standard • Trading partners do not adopt standards at the same pace – it is critical to support multiple versions • Identify trading partners using a common IT system • Integration work can be leveraged across multiple trading partners very quickly if they use the same IT system • Begin testing early in the development / implementation cycle and conduct parallel runs prior to implementation (comparing results with the existing channel) • Early testing helps trading partners find major problems early and helps them quickly understand the business process impact