Lexis Nexis Creates Insurance Exchange: 16 Brokerages Join

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LexisNexis(R) Risk Solutions today announced that sixteen insurance brokerages have joined the LexisNexis(R) Insurance Exchange including: AmWINS Group, Inc; Brown & Brown, Inc.; BB&T Insurance; John L. Wortham & Son, L.P.; BancorpSouth Insurance Services, Inc.; Rutherfoord/MMA; EPIC Insurance Brokers; Van Gilder Insurance; McQueary Henry Bowles Troy, L.L.P.; RCM&D Sterling & Sterling, Inc.; M3 Insurance Solutions, Inc.; Early, Cassidy & Schilling, Inc.; Roach Howard Smith & Barton; Oswald Companies; and Cook, Hall & Hyde, Inc.

Here’s what they say about the exchange

The Insurance Exchange is an innovative new business and renewal submission placement platform that enhances the flow of application data between insurance agents, brokers and carriers. The Insurance Exchange helps enhance agent and broker profitability by reducing workload, facilitating access to new markets, and improving collaboration between organizations. It is the result of an alliance formed through LexisNexis Risk Solutions, The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers and Marketcore, Inc. to improve the efficiency and transparency of the industry distribution systems for all participants.

The brokers are joining the Insurance Exchange as part of an early adopter program which formally launches in October 2010. The early adopter program is an opportunity for a select group of leading brokerages and carriers to use the exchange and provide feedback to LexisNexis, in advance of an industry-wide launch in early 2011.

“Streamlining the communication of data between agents and brokers, and improving the transparency and productivity of the current system has been a Council goal for more than a decade,” said Ken A. Crerar, president of The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers. “The LexisNexis Insurance Exchange is designed for the insurance industry to address this need. The Insurance Exchange will simplify the major steps of the insurance transaction process, enabling access to key market information for better decision-making.”

“We are excited to join the LexisNexis Insurance Exchange because it promises to deliver new workflow efficiencies, while allowing us to pursue new business opportunities,” said H. Wade Reece, chairman & CEO of BB&T Insurance Services, Inc. “The Insurance Exchange will simplify the way we do business, while delivering additional paths to enhanced profitability.”

Following the first phase of the early adopter launch, LexisNexis has commitments from additional top 100 brokers including Lockton, Inc.

“The goal of the LexisNexis Insurance Exchange is to create greater efficiency between the broker and the carrier. This will result in enhancing the quality of services to our customers,” said John Lumelleau, president and CEO of Lockton, Inc. “The Insurance Exchange is about streamlining and automating the submission process to reduce the many challenges associated with the facilitation of an insurance placement. If the industry is to remain competitive, technology has to play a bigger role in how our services are delivered.”

“The early adopter brokers represent many of the industry’s leading organizations,” said Peter Lynch, head of the LexisNexis Insurance Exchange. “We are pleased to introduce them to the Insurance Exchange and we look forward to gathering their input and responding to it as needed to ensure the platform meets to meet the precise needs of the insurance industry.”