Earlier this month, users of Guidewire Underwriting Management (formerly FirstBest UMS) gathered in historic Newport, RI for three days of underwriting technology discussion, idea sharing, and an official welcome to the Guidewire family. We could not be more excited to have this incredible group of forward-thinking insurance professionals as a part of the Guidewire community! Here are the top 5 topics we covered:
The Future of Underwriting: What would a conference on underwriting technology be without a heavy dose of thought around the future of the industry? Event attendees heard, and participated in, this discussion throughout the conference. The most impactful presentation on the topic came from EY's Gail McGiffin, who shared results from a recent CPCU survey along with keen observations on the changing role of the underwriter.
New Approaches to Implementation: Michelle Smith, Vice President, Business Systems at The Doctors Company Specialty Underwriters, gave us an excellent overview of her company's "Express" implementation of Underwriting Management. Michelle discussed the key benefits of an express implementation, including getting the Underwriting Management core functions up and running in just 6 weeks!
Transformation: Our keynote speaker, Edie Weiner, president of FutureHunters, gave an excellent talk about the importance of real transformation and the guts it takes to achieve it. In order to really transform things, she explained, we have to look at them with new eyes. She gave an excellent example of brick-and-mortar retail clothing sales, explaining that if we really compare online and in-store shopping, the primary differentiator is the changing room. So why, then, aren't all clothing stores just giant changing rooms with small display areas? The answer is simple... because they are in need of transformation. Other presenters picked up Edie's ball and ran with it, harkening back to the changing room analogy throughout the rest of the conference!
Product Evolution: Larry Selig, Senior Director of Product Management at Guidewire, presented multiple sessions on the current iteration of the Underwriting Management product, developments for the near future, and plans for the long term. The most eagerly anticipated session of the conference was easily Larry's overview of the new (coming very soon!) Underwriting Management user interface. Conference attendees were also excited about Guidewire's future vision, and commitment to, Underwriting Management.
New Friends: Until a few months ago, Guidewire Underwriting Management was FirstBest Systems UMS, and we wanted to make sure that our UM customers had a chance to meet their new, expanded family and ask any additional questions. We did that throughout the week and also in a dedicated Q&A on Friday morning where we covered the reasons we decided to join forces, the benefits to our customer base as a whole, and our future plans for Underwriting Management. Thank you to everyone who contributed questions and candor!
We couldn't have had better weather, better food, or better discussions about the future of underwriting over our 3 days together in Newport. Let's do it again in California next week at Guidewire Connections!