Guidewire Software and Ward Group Announce New Joint Assessment Services for Property and Casualty Companies

Guidewire Software®, a leading provider of flexible core systems to property/casualty insurers and Ward Group®, the leading provider of benchmarking services to the insurance industry, are collaborating to offer new Assessment services for claims, billing and underwriting.  By combining Guidewire’s process and technology transformation experience with Ward Group’s performance benchmarking services, carriers will gain insight as to how their organizational structures, staffing levels, expense amounts, operational controls, and business processes compare to industry peers.

“The Assessment Services from Guidewire and Ward Group effectively combine the expertise of two industry leaders and provide companies with a 360° view of key operations. This innovative approach offers a framework to measure and continuously improve claims, billing and underwriting processes,” said Jeff Rieder, President of Ward Group.

These assessments are available to any P&C carrier in North America and have already proven useful in multiple scenarios, including supporting a business case for technology or process change, baseline insurance operations prior to a project implementation, and measuring project success and promoting continuous improvement.  The efficient assessment approach – developed jointly by Guidewire and Ward – provides carriers with a multi-dimensional view of their operations through qualitative process evaluation and quantitative performance measurements.  The Assessment findings can:

• Highlight operational hotspots
• Analyze the drivers of performance
• Determine performance gaps compared to the industry
• Access quantitative financial and performance benchmarks
• Offer options for improvement, categorized by priority and impact

“Operational excellence in insurance, as in any other industry, requires both process consistency and a willingness to compare oneself objectively to one’s peers,” said Marcus Ryu, vice president, Strategy and Products, Guidewire Software. “This offering from Guidewire and the Ward Group objectively evaluates the health of a carrier’s core operations — for far less cost and with greater comparative data than a management consulting project.”

To learn more about Claims, Billing or Underwriting Assessments from Guidewire and Ward Group, contact assessments@guidewire.com or assessments@wardinc.com.

About Ward Group

Ward Group is a consulting firm specializing in the insurance industry and the leading provider of industry benchmarking and best practices services. Ward Group analyzes staff levels and expenses for all areas of insurance company operations. The firm’s professional staff is uniquely qualified to help companies measure results, optimize performance and be more profitable. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Ward Group has worked with hundreds of insurance companies throughout North America. For more information about Ward Group, visit www.wardinc.com.