Innovating to Enhance Customer Service and Mitigate Risk
"We are excited about the added functionality we are able to offer to our policyholders, which builds on the brand and reputation we’ve established in providing unmatched customer experiences."
Adam Waldron, CIO and Director, Information Systems
FBM Idaho
Founded in 1947 by a group of Idaho farmers and ranchers, Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company of Idaho (FBM Idaho) is now one of Idaho’s leading auto insurers, the largest writer of farm and ranch insurance in Idaho, and the largest insurance company wholly based in Idaho. This 73-year-old company is known for its customer-centered culture and has been on a fast track to modernize its technology foundation in order to meet and exceed its customers’ expectations now and into the future.
This modernization effort included replacement of the insurer’s legacy policy, billing, and claims system with Guidewire InsuranceSuite products. These best-of-breed applications now provide the focused functionality and inherent benefits of integrated systems running on a common architectural foundation.
FBM Idaho began its modernization project with claims, enabling the company to increase the speed and efficiency with which it can process claims by automating processes and ensuring handling consistencies across the insurer’s staff. With ongoing efficiencies also gained in policy and billing, FBM Idaho also set its sights on further enhancing the online experience of its members, namely to empower policyholders with more comprehensive self-service capabilities.
Adding digital portals for claims, quote and buy, and account management for policyholders, FBM Idaho is enhancing operational efficiency and productivity by automating basic customer service, gathering feedback from customers, and reducing call volumes.
Next, FBM Idaho sought to build on the success of its digital initiatives, this time with a risk mitigation effort. The insurer created a program that engages and incentivizes customers to install smart devices to detect, alert, intervene, and prevent major accidents. FBM Idaho integrated Samsung SmartThings with Guidewire PolicyCenter to enable fully automated enrollment, application of discounts, and verification of select Z-Wave and Zigbee devices that empower customers to reduce and prevent losses via event monitoring and active intervention. This initiative will enable Farm Bureau to be even more proactive in providing unmatched customer service to policyholders.
“Technology limitations are no longer a barrier to the service enhancements and process improvements we would like to implement,” said Tim Stronks, former Vice President of Personal Lines at FBM Idaho.
