ISO’s A-PLUS Unit Unveils Service in Fight Against Terrorism

Insurance Services Office, Inc.’s (ISO) A-PLUS unit has unveiled a new service insurers can use to cross-check policyholders against a U.S. Department of the Treasury master watch list to ensure that customers are not conducting business with persons and entities proscribed by the government.

The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) maintains a master list of individuals and organizations with ties to terrorism, international narcotics trafficking and activities related to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Insurers are legally required to screen their customers against the OFAC list and notify the Treasury Department of any matches. Failure to do so can result in corporate or personal fines and jail time.

The new A-PLUS solution automatically checks each insured’s name against the OFAC list whenever an A-PLUS auto or property loss-history report is ordered. The insurer is automatically notified of a potential match. This optional service is currently available only to A-PLUS subscribing insurers.

The A-PLUS service is fast and fully automated. Insurers do not have to make special submissions or reconfigure their systems to benefit from this new capability.

“Our new OFAC service grew from increasing customer requests for help in complying with the government’s legal requirement to identify organizations or individuals that may be on the master list,” said Steven Craig, A-PLUS general manager.

For more information on the A-PLUS OFAC service, contact Steven Craig at scraig@iso.com.