Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE: GWRE), provider of the industry platform
general insurers rely upon, recently held its annual European customer
Insurance Forum, this year in Paris. The conference attendees heard how
insurers are achieving heightened efficiency and reduced long-term cost
of ownership (TCO), as well as how they are reimagining the future of
insurance, and positioning themselves to realise its benefits through
their innovation programmes; against a background of accelerated speed
of change as the new normal.
Marcus Ryu, chief executive officer, Guidewire Software, started the day
by reiterating Guidewire’s customer commitment to maximise the value of
their technology investment, and to keep third party support as simple
as possible. He confirmed that Guidewire’s industry platform,
InsurancePlatform, with cloud being a key enabler, provides the standard
on which insurers can optimize their operations, become more digital,
use data in new ways, embrace insurtech, and simplify IT. Ryu confirmed
that all Guidewire products are available via Guidewire Cloud™. For
European customers, he described the shift in Guidewire’s development
approach to a blend of traditional, country-specific content packages
with Guidewire DevConnect™ supported integrations.
The following customer speakers presented:
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Aviva Italy: Vittorio Giusti, Chief Operating Officer,
described how their Guidewire InsuranceSuite™ project took only four
months to deploy. Its focus on simplicity, modularity, service
ecosystem, digital, and omni-channel allows customers to determine the
scope of insurance they have, and when they want to access Aviva
service. As well as choosing their preferred touch-points, customers
are free to move across channels at any time; -
Natixis Assurances, Non-life Business: Nathalie Broutèle, Chief
Executive, and Françoise Terry, Claims Programme Manager, described
the approach to their successful claims transformation programme,
Purple#Care, and the benefits from their ClaimCenter deployment.
Several factors have been key: no deviation from an OOTB approach,
clear governance, budget, and timeframe, a team dedicated 100% to the
project, and everyone agreed on the same end goal. Operational results
include better customer service and value, enhanced risk and cost
management, and the ability to drive innovation; -
VHV Germany: Dr. Adam Melski, Project Manager, talked about the
practical challenges and advantages experienced in the deployment of
their first Guidewire ClaimCenter™ release. Dr. Melski stressed the
strength of Agile over Waterfall, the importance of preparing staff by
appropriate training, and the need to complete each element before
moving onto the next. Staff morale and happiness are key. The result:
VHV has better functionality, increased automation, enhanced claims
tracking capability, and back-end system integration with their new
digital portal; and -
Hiscox UK: Dan Bishop, Head of Pricing, spoke of his practical
experience as an analyst, data modelling approaches at the time of the
2008 financial crisis, and more importantly, the impact of Solvency
II. He shared his perspective on what works and what will not add
value and offered examples of proven models that target specific
business problems and deliver actionable insight for key decision
makers.
Guidewire speakers presented on the following:
-
The impact of the Millennial generation on the insurance sector, as
customers and the future labour force. Digital experience derived from
Big Tech impacts on consumer expectation; insurtech is responding
accordingly in how it develops and delivers products and services, and
how Guidewire’s DevConnect developer environment facilitates an
insurtech ecosystem; -
In the digital-first age all insurance customers, agents, and
employees assume instant, omnichannel service. Guidewire and its
customers are leading the digital revolution with streamlined,
omnichannel experiences, innovative solutions for market
microsegments, and insurance-centric Salesforce-partnered CRM; and -
Insurers face challenges in evaluating, testing, and integrating the
volume of solutions offered by established software providers and
insurtechs. Insurers can take advantage of new and innovative
solutions through Guidewire Marketplace’s growing ecosystem.
Inspirational speaker: Nancy Rademaker, presented on the subject
of Extreme Customer Centricity in the Day after Tomorrow. In
light of the explosive growth of computing power, data, IoT, and Big
Tech, Rademaker offered that agility is key. To succeed, she recommended
a strategic shift for insurers with more focus on experimentation, new
capabilities, collaboration, and risk-taking. The customer is the only
boss now. B2B and B2C have been replaced by H2H (Human to Human).
Rademaker concluded by stating that customer convenience is the new
loyalty, and insurers must make their products and services accessible
and frictionless.
About Guidewire Software
Guidewire delivers the industry platform that general insurers rely upon
to adapt and succeed in a time of accelerating change. We provide the
software, services, and partner ecosystem to enable our customers to
run, differentiate, and grow their business. We are privileged to serve
more than 350 companies in 32 countries. For more information, please
visit www.guidewire.com
and follow us on twitter: @Guidewire_PandC.
NOTE: For all information about Guidewire’s trademarks, visit https://www.guidewire.com/legal-notices.
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