Engagement Approach Will Determine Insurer Success, Hears Guidewire Forum

Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE: GWRE), a provider of software products to general insurers, recently held its annual customer Insurance Forum, this year in Paris. The event was attended by insurers from across Europe, representing business and IT functions. It provided an opportunity for thought-leadership discussion, with a focus on current trends in Europe, and case studies on how Guidewire customers are leveraging technology to adapt their business.

Marcus Ryu, chief executive officer, Guidewire Software, began by talking about the accelerating pace of change in the insurance industry, and Guidewire’s focus on providing systems that enable insurers to meet users on his or her terms, by providing the experiences and journeys they require. Ryu said that in today’s Era of Engagement connecting with the customer on their own terms is fundamental to insurer differentiation. To this end, Guidewire’s focus is on designing for engagement through persona- and journey-based solutions, with cohesive support for core operations, data and analytics, and digital engagement.

Keynote speakers presented on stage:

• AXA: Miriam Bouchebouba, P&C Chief Information Officer, described the first steps of a journey towards AXA’s vision of moving from Payer to Partner. This vision is driven by a conviction that AXA should offer their customers support before, during and after claims occur;

• Inspirational Speaker: Magnus Lindkvist, Futurist, posed questions about a range of current trends and ideas, and what they mean for life, society and business. He argued that ultimately, creativity is better than competition, and summed up by defining technology as taking something practical and making it magical;

• Admiral Group plc: Christophe Sanchez, CTO & Business Development Director – Europe, and Costantino Moretti, CEO – ConTe, talked about the parallel greenfield and legacy system experiences of the French and Italian subsidiaries (L’olivier Assurances and ConTe.it) in deploying the Guidewire platform; implementation took 9 months in France and sixteen months in Italy;

• Aviva: James Russell, Programme Director, talked about Aviva’s Commercial lines transformation journey, their approach to managing complexity, and what they learned: Keep things simple, understand where one size does not necessarily fit all, and the importance of staying on the Guidewire upgrade path;

• Basler Versicherungen: Andreas Jud, Product Owner Migration, presented his company’s experience in deploying Guidewire DataHub™, the first insurer in Europe to do so, and their approach to migrating motor policies, with more than 340,000 migrated to date; and

• P&V Assurances: Marc Beaujean, Administrator and Board Member, described the impact of their business transformation and the significance of organisational buy-in, digitalisation first, training and coaching, and technical rollout. Since Guidewire ClaimCenter® deployment alone, productivity has increased by 30%+, with 50% now seen as a real possibility.

"Increasingly, the insurers who engage most effectively with their users will be the winners," said Marcus Ryu. "Guidewire InsurancePlatform combines three elements – core operations, data and analytics, and digital engagement – working together to enhance insurers’ ability to respond to industry changes and better engage and empower their customers, agents, and employees."