To aid in this effort, IBM has moved to help communication and processing by donating programming code and intellectual property to the Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development, the insurance industry`s computing standards body.

IBM last month contributed more than 100 business process models, model definitions and other industry content to ACORD, the company said.

IBM and its insurance company customers said insurance companies that adhere to the ACORD standards are better able to accelerate services such as the claims process. The key is Web-enabled technology made possible by industry standards such as ACORD that can process information on demand, said Cindy Maike, IBM Software Group`s global market segment manager for insurance. The content donated by IBM will further strengthen the ACORD standards and encourage adoption and transformation of the industry, IBM officials said.