Sentry Insurance Launches Guidewire PolicyCenter to Improve New Business Application Processes

Major property and casualty insurer modernizes business underwriting and policy administration operations with Guidewire's policy administration system

STEVENS POINT Wis. and SAN MATEO Calif. , March 31, 2009

Sentry Insurance, a major property and casualty insurer, and Guidewire Software®, a leading global provider of technology solutions to property and casualty insurers, announced that Sentry has recently launched Guidewire PolicyCenter®.

PolicyCenter is now being used by 400 Sentry Business Products sales producers and staff handling policy submissions for two business units – Standard Business Products and Dealer Operations.

Sentry uses PolicyCenter to support the account setup and submission process for 12 lines of insurance in more than 40 states. PolicyCenter has been integrated with existing customer relations management software, document management and other legacy systems. The new system significantly improves Sentry’s submission process that formerly required labor-intensive data entry into multiple systems.

Don Olson, Sentry’s Vice President of Business Products Systems, said that Sentry wanted to invest in technology that would streamline its new business sales and underwriting processes, as well as help simplify IT support efforts and reduce system maintenance costs.

“Guidewire impressed us with the functionality of its PolicyCenter product. After an extensive review of options, we selected PolicyCenter for its flexibility which would enable us to readily adapt as our business requirements change,” said Mr. Olson.

PolicyCenter provides Sentry’s Standard Business Products and Dealer Operations with a modern business application system that optimizes sales, underwriting and policy administration operations as well as improves service to policyholders. With PolicyCenter, Sentry has been able to:

  • Replace multiple new business application systems with a consolidated, integrated and modern technology solution.

  • Implement an improved insurance application validation process on the front end of the application process, improving data accuracy and completeness.

  • Deliver increased Straight-Through-Processing by eliminating the need to rekey data into the policy administration system. Data is now entered just once at the point of sale.

  • Decrease turnaround time in the new business application process through error reduction and increased automation of the application submission process.

Mr. Olson said that Sentry customers and sales producers will benefit from new system application. “We have also greatly appreciated Guidewire’s dedication to our project and to our implementation success.”

Adapting Guidewire PolicyCenter for additional lines of Sentry’s new business and policy transactions is under way.

“We congratulate Sentry Insurance on reaching this milestone in its policy administration system replacement journey,” said John Raguin, chief executive officer, Guidewire Software. “We enjoy a great relationship with Sentry and look forward to our continued work together as they deploy PolicyCenter to other groups within their business.”

Guidewire PolicyCenter provides property and casualty insurers with a modern, full lifecyle policy administration system. Supporting both commercial and personal lines, PolicyCenter streamlines the processes of new business submission, change endorsement, and renewal management for both agents and underwriters. PolicyCenter is built on the same web-native, proven platform as Guidewire’s industry-leading claims solution, Guidewire ClaimCenter.