*Please Note: Only ACORD P & C Members who have signed an AL3 Licensing Agreement can download the AL3 Standard from this website's P & C Members Only Area. To obtain access, please contact Member Services at memberservices@acord.org or by phone at +1 845-620-1700 option 2.
Features
The AL3 Standard is a mechanism for exchanging insurance information between organizations. The standard is primarily focused on policy and application information; however, its scope also includes surety and accounting data. The AL3 Standard itself is actually a library of documents, each known as a "standard". These standards are individually identified by a three-digit number, such as 920. Some of these standards are focused on business data and/or processes, while others account for the technical information needed to create an AL3 transaction.
Data Elements and Data Element Groups
The AL3 Standard is comprised of data elements or fields that are grouped together to form data element groups. The groups are assembled to represent business transactions (e.g. commercial auto renewal) in a hierarchy comprised of the groups appropriate to that transaction. Some groups are identified to be used at only one level of the hierarchy, other groups can be used at multiple hierarchy levels. Each group has a definition that identifies where the group can be utilized in the hierarchy.
Hierarchy
The AL3 Standard identifies record layouts to facilitate the exchange of information. To support this record layout a hierarchical structure is needed so that organizations receiving the information can make the appropriate data relationships.
Flexibility
One of the strengths of the ACORD AL3 Standard is that it is designed to be flexible to accommodate the needs of the insurance industry. This flexibility allows varying interpretations in the selection of data elements used, data groups used, and the placement of some data groups. Most organizations using the AL3 Standard will create a set of specifications on how their organization creates or expects to send or receive the AL3 transaction. Therefore, it is important that organizations exchange these specification documents with their data exchange trading partner(s).