Digital Platform Supports Policy and Claims Excellence
One of the key benefits we saw in Guidewire was that we could pull a lot of the work—those processes that we find already in ClaimCenter—seamlessly through to the Guidewire Digital applications.
Gary Eastwood, Chief Information and Technology Officer
Insurance Corporation of British Columbia
As the sole provider of basic auto insurance to the residents of British Columbia, Canada, Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) serves 3.3 million customers. The organization licenses and insures drivers and vehicles across the province through its service centers, as well as a network of more than 900 independent brokers and government agent offices.
Not surprisingly, ICBC also processes more than 900,000 claims per year, with claims volume increasing significantly during the snowy winter months. In the past, the seasonal increase in call volume created efficiency and operational challenges that had a negative impact on the quality of customer experiences. This made ICBS’s mission—to deliver the best insurance coverage at the lowest possible cost—more critical, especially against the backdrop of ever-changing customer requirements.
“In winter months on a heavy demand day, a customer might have had to wait on the phone for 5, 10, or even 15 minutes to file a claim,” said Gary Eastwood, ICBC’s Chief Information and Technology Officer. “For any customer who has gone through an accident, it’s a stressful time. The last thing we wanted to do was have them wait on the phone for customer service.”
To address these challenges, the company has taken advantage of digital technologies to better serve its customers, claimants, and brokers; to update and improve its products and pricing; and to introduce new industry-standard offerings. After deploying Guidewire’s end-to-end claims management system, Guidewire ClaimCenter, ICBC then implemented Guidewire PolicyCenter.
Now operating from a single digital system, ICBC used the digital tools available from its claims and policy systems to operationalize Guidewire Digital. “One of the key benefits we saw in Guidewire was that we could pull a lot of the work—those processes that we find already in ClaimCenter—seamlessly through to the Guidewire Digital applications,” said Eastwood. “We weren’t duplicating effort and we didn’t have to manage two full systems going forward.”
Results have been positive: In addition to improving the experience for policyholders who choose to file a claim online, ICBC representatives now have more bandwidth to spend time and attention on complex claims situations. Technology will continue to play an ever-increasing role in how ICBC delivers on its commitment to policyholders, confirmed Eastwood.
