Guidewire Announces 2016.2 Release of InsurancePlatform

Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE: GWRE), a provider of software products to Property/Casualty (P/C) insurers, today announced the 2016.2 release of Guidewire InsurancePlatform™. Built specifically for the P/C insurance industry, InsurancePlatform combines three elements – core operations, data and analytics, and digital engagement – that work together to enhance insurers’ ability to respond to industry changes and better engage and empower their customers, agents, and employees. The release features enhancements to Guidewire’s Data and Digital product families and improves capabilities that support policyholders, agents, actuaries, and IT professionals.

“The pace of change facing Property/Casualty insurers continues to accelerate,” said Ayan Sarkar, vice president, business owner – Digital, Guidewire Software. “We see it as our role to keep evolving our products in a way that ensures our customers are equipped to adapt and succeed in an environment that is being rapidly reshaped by new entrants, changing consumer behaviors, and technological innovations.”

“This release delivers on our goal of continually adding new sources of value for our customers, particularly in the fast-paced Data and Digital engagement areas, enabling our customers to mine and deploy far more insight from the explosion of data available to the industry today,” said Wade Bontrager, vice president, business owner – Predictive Analytics, Guidewire Software. “This release is also notable as it marks our first Predictive Analytics product release since acquiring EagleEye Analytics earlier this year.”

This release of Guidewire InsurancePlatform features new versions of Predictive Analytics, Spotlight, and Digital Portals. Key enhancements by product family include:

Data and Analytics**:**

Guidewire Data and Analytics, comprised of DataHub, InfoCenter, Guidewire LiveSM, and Predictive Analytics, provides insurers with a P/C industry-specific data store, business intelligence warehouse, and cloud-based predictive analytics products for claims and profitability respectively. Enhancements to Predictive Analytics 6 and Spotlight* include:

Predictive Analytics 6:

• Deliver automated modeling functionality + Pre-built processes for the modeler to automatically scan a new data set and pick optimal binning for each variable based on predictive signal, and correlations by year;
  + Uncover true predictive power of each variable by correlation-correcting each variable; and
  + Intelligent analysis engine input parameter search builds sequential models to decrease length of modeling process and increase model power.

• Operationalize complex predictive models
  + User interface to prepare predictive models for real-time interaction with core system processes;
  + Avoid silos of code with ability to perform variable transformations and customize model API response using scripting toolkit within product; and
  + Combine multiple predictive models into one output for additional accuracy and insight.

• Monitor the predictive models
  + Model scoring service logs all transactions into monitoring database and reporting suite designed to measure model performance;
  + Reports in transaction volume, errors, and model score distribution; and
  + Compares inputs and results against model expectations and presents users with information to measure both the near- and long-term health of predictive models.

Spotlight*:

• Enabling underwriting team self-sufficiency
  + Allows underwriting teams to define and maintain their own views of risk through the use of new admin screens; and
  + Enables underwriters to manage risk profiles, assessments, and visualizations without needing to involve a data consultant.

Digital Engagement**:**

Guidewire Digital Portals™ provide support for omni-channel engagement across policy, billing, and claims to external stakeholders such as agents, policyholders, and vendors. Digital Portals 5.1 enhancements include:

• Satisfying key consumer buying preferences, especially the growing millennial demographic + Deliver personalized marketing and branding, online research aids, and social media sharing capabilities; and
  + Enable more mobile self-service functionality such as checking on claim payment status and updating payment method details.

• Increasing agent/broker enablement
  + Offer additional portal self-service capabilities such as cancellations and homeowner policy changes;
  + Improve collaboration with underwriters with an exception and referral flow; and
  + Enable better communication with adjusters by being able to view claim payment status.

• Facilitating a test and learn approach for both the business and IT on their digital channel’s performance + Produce web analytics reports leveraging the pre-built web analytics hooks including sample plug-ins to Google Analytics and Segment;
  + Optimize user experience with a framework for A/B testing that includes a sample Google Experiments plug-in; and
  + Enhance branding and marketing campaign support.