Chicago, (30 October 2014) - Aon plc (NYSE: AON) today announced that it has won three prestigious awards for its utilization of ACORD data standards.

ACORD (the Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development), the insurance and reinsurance industry’s non-profit standards developer, honored the company at a ceremony in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on October 29, 2014.  At the event, Aon plc was presented with the following awards:

1. Global Citizen Award – granted to organizations that assist ACORD in their globalization efforts by opening up new opportunities in regions of the world where there is little or no ACORD penetration, or expanding use across multiple geographical domains.  Aon plc continues to do both, implementing ACORD messages across its business partners and with new partners in London, Europe, North America, Bermuda, and most recently Asia-Pacific.  The firm’s global implementation of ACORD standards greatly improves the claims, accounting, and settlement business processes.

2. Streamline Award (Business Process Improvement Award) – recognizes the use of ACORD standards and/or framework to significantly improve business processes.  Aon plc has significant global business partner engagements, and more messaging implementations and volume than any other insurance and reinsurance participant.  Benefits achieved through electronic messaging are more directly realized by insurers and reinsurers, including faster payment of claims and faster payment of premiums.  Aon plc also realizes benefits including improved service to clients, reduced queries, reduced unallocated cash, decreased follow-up time, better message response time in general, message receipt confirmations and better management reporting.

3. Action Award (Early Standards Adoption) – recognizes organizations that have recently implemented a new ACORD standard or can demonstrate new utilization of the ACORD framework.  Aon plc has recently implemented the Ruschlikon eBOT 1.4.4 and eCOT 1.1.3 versions of the ACORD GRLC standards for claims, accounting and settlement processing.  The Ruschlikon approach to the ACORD messaging simplifies the implementation process both for message senders and receivers by applying strict implementation guidelines to the ACORD standards

The ACORD Awards are presented to member companies that have demonstrated outstanding effort in advocating and implementing ACORD insurance and reinsurance standards.

Peter Mungeam, COO APAC Client Services for Aon Benfield & Head of Aon e-Commerce, said, “As the world’s leading insurance and reinsurance intermediaries, we have to continually ensure that we develop processes and procedures that offer real efficiencies in the insurance and reinsurance transaction, to the benefit of our clients. We are therefore honored to have been recognized by ACORD for having best-in-class capabilities in this regard. Thanks again to ACORD, its members, and all the implementers of data standards for their work in helping to improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of our global industry.”

"We are honored to receive these awards as they are a wonderful acknowledgment of our collective effort to advance standards, streamline business processes, and extend our platforms to improve claims processing, accounting, payments and settlement in regions of the world where there was little or no ACORD penetration," said John G. Bruno, Aon's Executive Vice President of Enterprise Innovation & Chief Information Officer.

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About Aon

Aon plc (NYSE:AON) is the leading global provider of risk management, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, and human resources solutions and outsourcing services. Through its more than 66,000 colleagues worldwide, Aon unites to empower results for clients in over 120 countries via innovative and effective risk and people solutions and through industry-leading global resources and technical expertise. Aon has been named repeatedly as the world’s best broker, best insurance intermediary, best reinsurance intermediary, best captives manager, and best employee benefits consulting firm by multiple industry sources. Visit aon.com for more information on Aon and aon.com/manchesterunited to learn about Aon’s global partnership with Manchester United.

About Aon Benfield

Aon Benfield, a division of Aon plc, is the world’s leading reinsurance intermediary and full-service capital advisor. We empower our clients to better understand, manage and transfer risk through innovative solutions and personalised access to all forms of global reinsurance capital across treaty, facultative and capital markets. As a trusted advocate, we deliver local reach to the world’s markets, an unparalleled investment in innovative analytics, including catastrophe management, actuarial and rating agency advisory. Through our professionals’ expertise and experience, we advise clients in making optimal capital choices that will empower results and improve operational effectiveness for their business. With more than 80 offices in 50 countries, our worldwide client base has access to the broadest portfolio of integrated capital solutions and services. To learn how Aon Benfield helps empower results, please visit aonbenfield.com.

Media Contacts:

David Bogg
Aon Benfield
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david.bogg@aonbenfield.com

Andrew Wragg
Aon Benfield
+44 (0)20 7522 8183
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Alexandra Lewis
Aon Benfield
+44 (0)20 7882 0541
alexandra.lewis@aonbenfield.com