ACORD LAUNCHES NEW ADVANTAGE WEB SITE:

ACORD’s new Advantage Web site (www.acordadvantage.org), which was launched recently at the ACORD LOMA Insurance Systems Forum, will reportedly improve ACORD Advantage agents and brokers access to ACORD’s products and services. More than 15,000 Advantage users reportedly access the site regularly. The new site is customized to the needs of ACORD’s Advantage Program members. Members previously accessed program features through the ACORD Web site (www.acord.org), but by separating the Advantage Program features from the ACORD site, access is reportedly vastly improved. Users will find that they can navigate more quickly through a simplified menu of options. The primary purpose of visitors to the site is to access and download ACORD Standard Forms for Property and Casualty and Life, Annuity and Health insurance. The new navigation reportedly represents an improved workflow for the many agents and brokers that use it as their main source for ACORD forms to process new and existing business. The new site was launched in conjunction with ACORD’s release of its first fillable forms. More than 500 forms are now available that can be filled out online or downloaded, and e-mailed, faxed or printed and mailed to customers and business partners. A key new feature of the site’s user-friendly interface is a Forms search function (search by form number, form name, frequently used, line of business, or by state). Users will also find it easier to access the full suite of Advantage products and services. These include The Forms Instruction Guide, agency evaluation tools, technology and agency management information, online education, user group information and agency best practices. Creating an interactive community that can provide constructive feedback to the Advantage program and ACORD’s industry forms development process is also a goal of the site. Users will reportedly find it easier to make suggestions from within the ACORD Forms for improving the forms and enhancing other Advantage services.