Western National Insurance Group, a private mutual insurer, and Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE: GWRE), a provider of software products to Property/Casualty (P/C) insurers, today announced that Western National has selected Guidewire ClaimCenter® as its new claims management system and Smart Communications™ for customer communications management. Guidewire is a reseller of Smart Communications, a Guidewire PartnerConnect™ Solution and Ready for Guidewire program member. More than 50 insurers have selected the combination of Guidewire and Smart Communications. Guidewire PartnerConnect™ Consulting member, PwC US, will be leading the implementation.
ClaimCenter will replace Western National’s previous third-party claims management system, offering the company new capabilities to more efficiently and effectively manage workflow, access data and deliver on its service commitments to policyholders. ClaimCenter will be implemented for all commercial and personal lines of business, starting with workers’ compensation, followed quickly by standard auto and their other lines of business.
“We were impressed by Guidewire’s product maturity, vision of and outlook for our industry, and track record of successful implementations,” said Richard Long, Senior Vice President- Claims, Western National. “It was vital for our solution to be embraced by and empower our users; to be flexible and configurable; and to be future proof. Guidewire demonstrated that they will be a true partner for us, understanding our business and responding to our needs.”
ClaimCenter and Smart Communications will enable Western National to:
Increase productivity due to a single, integrated claims environment leveraging automation and workflow capabilities;
Provide more first call resolution opportunities;
Improve the overall claims experience for agents and policyholders;
Better respond to high volume events, CATS; and
Utilize more effective metrics and key performance dashboards.
Long continued, “Western National’s DNA is based on the relationships our adjusters build with policyholders. The technology they use should enhance their judgment and allow them to stay focused on the customer experience, rather than hinder them with busy work. ClaimCenter provides the modern technology for us to provide a greater proactive claims experience that will enable us to anticipate and impress policyholders and claimants. Higher levels of customer satisfaction lead to increased policyholder retention.”
“We are honored that Western National has entrusted us with their ClaimCenter and Smart Communications implementations,” said Imran Ilyas, Partner, PwC. “By selecting these products, Western National will be able to better meet the needs of their agents and policyholders in a fast-moving insurance market.”
“We welcome Western National as a ClaimCenter and Smart Communications customer,” said Ken Shapiro, Group Vice President, Americas Sales. “We look forward to working with PwC to help Western National meet their business objectives.”
About Western National Insurance Group
Western National Insurance Group, headquartered in Edina, Minn., is a super-regional property-and-casualty insurance group writing over $520 million in Direct Premium in 19 states, plus Surety in an additional 7 states. The group consists of the following regional property-and-casualty insurance companies and affiliates; Western National Mutual Insurance Company, Western National Assurance Company, Pioneer Specialty Insurance Company, Western Home Insurance Company, Arizona Auto Insurance Company, Umialik Insurance Company, American Freedom Insurance Company, Nevada General Insurance Company, and Michigan Millers Insurance Company serving personal and commercial customers in the Midwestern, Northwestern, and Southwestern U.S, Alaska and New York. All of the group’s products are sold exclusively through professional independent agents.
At PwC, our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems. PwC is a network of firms in 157 countries with more than 208,000 people who are committed to delivering quality in assurance, advisory and tax services. Find out more and tell us at www.pwc.com/US.
Smart Communications, formerly a Thunderhead Group company, provides the new generation of cloud-enabled customer and business solutions. The Smart Communications suite of solutions helps businesses to move beyond traditional enterprise communications using the most modern architecture and cloud capabilities. Today, hundreds of brands globally from a diverse range of demanding industry segments including banking, insurance, government, retail and telecoms are using Smart Communications to deliver the new generation of customer and business communications. Smart Communications is headquartered in London and serves its customers from offices located in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. To learn more, please visit www.smart-communications.com.