NEWS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Brianne Mallaghan
202-662-4303
INSURANCE EXCHANGE TRUST ESTABLISHED
WASHINGTON, D.C., November 22, 2010 – The Insurance Exchange Trust Inc., an industry-controlled entity designed to oversee the LexisNexis® Insurance Exchange, was officially unveiled today. The role of the Trust is to provide both guidance and insight to LexisNexis Risk Solutions to ensure the Insurance Exchange fully supports the needs of the insurance distribution market, carriers and their customers.
The LexisNexis Insurance Exchange is a single-entry collaborative insurance placement platform that automates and streamlines the flow of application data and documents between insurance agents and brokers and wholesalers and carriers. It is designed to promote and facilitate competition in insurance markets and to provide a level of efficiency and increased productivity.
“Visualize the Trust as a ring around the LexisNexis Insurance Exchange, which functions to facilitate transparency, neutrality, fair pricing and data protection for all Insurance Exchange participants,” said Ken A. Crerar, president of The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers and Executive Chair of the Insurance Exchange Trust Board of Trustees. “The Insurance Exchange is an open ecosystem designed to help the entire industry and The Trust will play an advisory role to LexisNexis Risk Solutions as the industry works together to shape the Insurance Exchange.”
The Insurance Exchange Trust, Inc. is a non-stock membership company, which will be managed by members of the Board of Trustees. The first meeting of the Board was held Tuesday, October 5 in Colorado. At the Board meeting, the major concern of the industry – protection of data – was reconfirmed with LexisNexis Risk Solutions. The Trust holds the exclusive rights to determine any use of the participants’ data that passes through the Insurance Exchange pipeline for external commercialization. In addition, any data that might be approved by the Trust would have to be aggregated and de-identified.
The following have been named to the Board as founding trustees:
J. Hyatt Brown, Brown & Brown; Andrew G. Cassidy, Early, Cassidy & Schilling, Inc.; Albert R. Counselman, RCM&D, Inc.; Ken A. Crerar, The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers; M. Steven DeCarlo, AmWINS Group, Inc.; Sharon Emek, CBS Coverage Group, Inc. representing the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America; Clyde H. Fitch Jr., State Auto; Lawrence G. Graev, The GlenRock Group, LLC representing MarketCore; James Hackbarth, Assurex Global; Russell Johnston, CHARTIS; Greg Maciag, ACORD; Markham R. McKnight, BancorpSouth Insurance Services, Inc.; Mark J. Moitoso, Liberty Mutual Group; H. Wade Reece, BB&T Insurance Services, Inc.; George A. Steadman III, Rutherfoord/MMA; Robert H. Rheel, Zurich.
The Insurance Exchange launched an Early Adopter Controlled Release with 16 leading U.S. brokerage firms that will submit applications over the next several months to test the system and provide feedback. Importantly, all carriers can access the Insurance Exchange from day one, meaning an agent or broker can reach all of their appointed markets by inviting their carriers to receive submissions through the Insurance Exchange.
Full production through the Insurance Exchange is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2011.
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