Guidewire Software Announces Release of Guidewire PolicyCenter

Next-Generation Policy Administration System Streamlines Underwriting and Policy Administration for P&C Insurers

SAN MATEO Calif. , March 15, 2006

Guidewire Software®, Inc., a leading provider of technology solutions for property and casualty insurers, today announced the release and immediate availability of Guidewire PolicyCenter™, a comprehensive policy administration system for all lines of property and casualty (P&C) insurance. Guidewire PolicyCenter is a 100% web-based system optimized to make it easier for agents to do business with insurance carriers, enhance underwriting accuracy and efficiency, and adapt flexibly to changing product and business requirements.

"Underwriting professionals told us they needed an intuitive, rule-driven policy processing environment to maximize and optimize their underwriting business. Meanwhile, IT organizations said they needed to consolidate systems and improve their responsiveness to changing business requirements," said Marcus Ryu, vice president of strategy and new products, Guidewire Software. "We designed PolicyCenter to enable both goals, allowing underwriters to focus on risk evaluation and agent relationships, rather than data entry and system frustrations."

Feature highlights of PolicyCenter's menu of options include:

  • Support for all policy transactions: new business, endorsements, renewals, cancellations, and inquiries

  • Intuitive and highly configurable web-based user interface

  • Agent portal with integration to leading agency management systems

  • Comprehensive electronic underwriting and policy file tailored to each line of business

  • Rule-based "funneling" of applications through eligibility, prequalification, and risk suitability criteria

  • Point-in-time and "difference" views of policy versions

  • Producer-, account-, and policy-level views of data

  • Integration to document management and imaging solutions

  • Flexibility to adapt product definition, business rules, and user interface through configuration

  • Platform-level support for conversion and migration from legacy policy administration systems

PolicyCenter joins the industry-leading claims management system, Guidewire ClaimCenter, as the next pre-integrated component in Guidewire's core system suite for P&C insurance. PolicyCenter is being implemented by CNA, a leading business insurer, to support its standard commercial lines of business, in concert with ClaimCenter.

"PolicyCenter is a key enabler of our efforts to deepen our agency relationships and to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of our underwriting operations," said John Golden, chief information officer, CNA. "PolicyCenter combines a modern technology platform with strong functionality."

Guidewire PolicyCenter is a J2EE (Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition) application. Written entirely in Java, it runs on the insurance industry's leading platforms. PolicyCenter's web-based architecture and extensive configurability ensure lower total cost of ownership for insurance carriers. All aspects of the system can be configured using XML instead of custom programming, and business rules can be managed by business users for maximum flexibility in adapting to changing needs.

"PolicyCenter is one of only a handful of policy administration systems built from the ground up on a truly modern technology foundation," said Chad Hersh, senior insurance analyst, Celent, a research and consulting firm. "With support for both personal and commercial lines of business, its pre-integration with Guidewire's strong claims system and several other ancillary systems, we expect Guidewire to build on its strong track record of implementation in claims to deliver a compelling core suite for P&C insurers."