Preparing for the Artificial Intelligence Takeover

  • Carrie Burns

November 09, 2017

logo - RLI
In the ever-evolving landscape of web application development, 's recent code-a-thon stands as a testament to innovation and forward-thinking. Spearheaded by Joel DeWall, Manager, IT and Gayathri Mariappan, Assistant Vice President, IT the two-day event in April 2024 was a deep dive into the capabilities of (Jutro) and how it could help RLI quickly deliver on some of their important business initiatives.
 
RLI’s update to earlier this year was a strategic move to access Jutro to revamp its first notice of loss process and enhance its customer-facing online presence.
 
I had the opportunity to sit down with Joel and discuss the inspirations and aspirations behind this exciting initiative.
 
The project choice for the code-a-thon was deliberate. "We wanted something straightforward," Joel said, "a use case we understood well."
 
The focus was on updating the payment flow on their website, to connect it to a new payment vendor and to . This practical approach meant the team could concentrate on learning Jutro without the added complexity of designing a brand-new process.

Project Execution Details

"We picked the right people, ensuring we had all the expertise in the room to tackle any challenge," Joel said. The collaborative environment was crucial, with about 15 participants.

Team members from billing and payments, claims, and other areas of the technology organization all worked together toward a common goal.

“There were opportunities for the group to split up and work on different things, such as the user interface or the API calls,” Joel said. “We divided and conquered, but it was all collaborative on the same code.”

Achievements and Outcomes

The team achieved approximately 70% of their objectives. "We didn't finish completely," Joel said, "but we made significant progress on something that we will put into production and can replicate easily."

The team marked the end of the code-a-thon with a demonstration of the new payment flow to the company’s Chief Operating Officer. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive with excitement to create brand new apps quickly with Jutro to streamline processes and improve customer interactions.

The opportunity to work closely with Guidewire experts and the hands-on experience with Jutro was invaluable, Joel said. “It was inspiring for us to see what can get done in a short period of time because ordinarily work like this takes a bit longer.”

Future Prospects with Jutro

Looking ahead, Joel is excited about the possibilities. “Jutro gives you all the flexibility you want, which can be a little overwhelming. But it will be a game-changer for enhancing the customer’s claim experience.”

The code-a-thon at RLI was more than just a test of a new product; it was a showcase of commitment to customer-centric innovation. As the RLI team continues to refine their work, they're not just keeping pace with technology—they're setting the pace.

“The code-a-thon project has been a great opportunity for our development team to get experience with the Jutro tools,” RLI VP, Claims Matt Campen told us. “What’s more exciting is how we might leverage these new tools to further improve the claim experience for our customers, producers, and our RLI claims team. Improving first notice of loss and vendor assignments are just a couple of the areas where I can foresee Jutro being utilized.”