SWIFT Will Facilitate Platform for Electronic Data Transmission of Insurance Transactions

SWIFT signs agreement with insurance industry players to establish a shared platform for electronic data transmission.

At last week's SIBOS payments conference in Vienna, SWIFT, the La Hulpe, Belgium-based financial transactions consortium, announced it has signed an agreement with major insurance industry players that will facilitate administrative processes among insurers, brokers and reinsurers. By spring 2009, a central platform for electronic data transmission will be launched and then piloted for 12 months. The project partners include SWIFT, Pearl River, N.Y.-based ACORD, the reinsurance companies Swiss Re, Munich Re and Scor, and the reinsurance brokers Aon, Benfield and Willis. In late 2007, a group of global reinsurers and brokers started the "Ruschlikon Initiative" with the aim of building a shared industry solution for electronic data transmission. SWIFT joined the initiative in January 2008 to provide both the platform and network for premium and claims accounting transactions.

In a statement, Peter Arbenz, project leader on behalf of Swiss Re, said, "SWIFT has a track record of successfully reducing transaction costs for the banking industry. Together with ACORD's insurance data standards and the clout of six leading reinsurers and brokers, we have all the ingredients it takes to offer our clients attractive solutions for their reinsurance administration."

Katherine Burger is Editorial Director of Bank Systems & Technology and Insurance & Technology, members of UBM TechWeb's InformationWeek Financial Services. She assumed leadership of Bank Systems & Technology in 2003 and of Insurance & Technology in 1991. In addition to ... View Full Bio