NEW BRITAIN, CT--(Marketwired - Nov 3, 2016) -  Ebix, Inc. (NASDAQ: EBIX), a leading international supplier of On-Demand software and E-commerce services to the insurance, financial, e-governance and healthcare industries, today announced that its Life and Annuities Consulting Division Ebix Consulting, formerly VERTEX Incorporated, has launched a new platform to address the regulatory challenges arising out of the new Department of Labor (DOL) Fiduciary Rules, that companies must meet by April 2017.

Ebix Consulting today announced the release of its VTXml Product Profile platform that produces ACORD's new Life & Annuity Transaction 1241: Fee & Expense Disclosure message. The new "Product Profiles for Annuity" (PPfA) transaction, commonly called PPfALite, was created by a community of insurance companies working with ACORD, Ebix Consulting, and DTCC in response to the data requirements being driven by the Department of Labor (DOL) Fiduciary ruling.

Suzanne Brazeal, VP of Operations, Ebix Consulting said, "Because of our deep knowledge and involvement in the insurance industry forums, we are uniquely positioned to help the insurance industry meet the new DOL requirements. We are actively helping carriers implement process and product changes as well as data solutions. Our SaaS platform, VTXml, is an industry-leading solution used by over 50 insurance carriers that holds many of the fixed, indexed, and variable annuity product profiles in the market place. We are working closely with DTCC to deliver that data through their secured network to the various distribution channels."

Ray Shah, VP Sales, Ebix Consulting added, "While the timeline to meet the DOL Fiduciary guideline draws closer, we are fully geared up to help companies and brokers meet the DOL deadlines in a timely manner. We recognize the importance of this major industry challenge and are committed to doing everything in our means to help the industry get over this hurdle."

"ACORD Standards and solutions play an essential role in facilitating efficient and effective execution across the insurance value chain," said Sandy Hampel, ACORD's VP of Implementation. "We expect the DOL ruling and new guidelines to have a positive impact on the annuity landscape while providing increased support and value to our members."

The PPfALite will be used by Carriers to define any fees and expenses at three levels: Products, Funds and Riders/Service Features. VTXml will facilitate the transport of the new message to the DTCC via the SMART network using AutoRoute and DataTrack. The Distributors will then be able to get the carrier data directly from the DTCC repository.

VTXml is part of the award winning Ebix Consulting Product Suite, which includes VTXDataViewer and VTXCompare.

About Ebix Consulting

Ebix Consulting, a Division of Ebix, Inc. is a full service professional services effort providing product and services specific to Life, Annuity, Health and Property Casualty Insurance. We work closely with ACORD to enhance their data standards based on our client's needs, we proctor their ACORD Certification Expert program, and support many insurance carriers in their implementation and maintenance of the ACORD data model and transactions.

About Ebix, Inc.
A leading international supplier of On-Demand software and E-commerce services to the insurance, financial, e-governance and healthcare industries, Ebix, Inc. provides end-to-end on-Demand solutions ranging from infrastructure exchanges, front end & back end enterprise systems, outsourced administrative & custom software development solutions, and risk compliance solutions for various entities involved in these industries.

With 40+ offices across Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, New Zealand, Singapore, the US and the UK, Ebix powers multiple exchanges across the world in the field of life, annuity, health and property & casualty insurance while conducting in excess of $100 billion in insurance premiums annually on its platforms. Through its various SaaS-based software platforms, Ebix employs hundreds of domain specific business and technology professionals to provide products, support and consultancy to thousands of customers on six continents. For more information, visit the Company's website at www.ebix.com

About ACORD
ACORD, a non-profit organization founded in 1970, provides the global insurance industry with data standards and solutions that facilitate accurate, effective, and efficient data exchange. As a member-driven Standards Development Organization (SDO), ACORD brings together a diverse mix of industry stakeholders having a vested interest in improving effectiveness and efficiency. Today, ACORD provides the global insurance industry with more than 1,200 standardized transaction types, and engages more than 4,000 participating organizations across 20 countries. ACORD members worldwide include hundreds of insurance and reinsurance companies, agents and brokers, software providers, financial services organizations, and industry associations. www.acord.org.