SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

CONNECTIONS CONFERENCE – Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE), a provider of software products to Property/Casualty insurers, congratulates the winners of its 2016 Innovation Awards: Atlas Financial Holdings, Inc., Economical Insurance with Deloitte, Nationwide, and QBE Insurance Australia with EY. In its tenth year, this year’s awards honor customers that are adapting to market changes and evolving customer needs in innovative ways. Winners were announced during Guidewire’s twelfth annual user conference – Connections 2016.

The 2016 winners are:

Atlas Financial Holdings, Inc. – Atlas worked with Guidewire Predictive Analytics™ (EagleEye at the time the project was initiated) to develop a related series of predictive models in connection with the company’s claim process. The project’s key objectives were to best leverage the expertise of the Atlas claims staff by focusing the right resource on each claim to improve claim outcomes for the company and customers alike, and to reduce volatility in connection with the company’s case reserves.

Atlas deployed Guidewire Predictive Analytics™ for Claims in order to streamline claims routing, better predict ultimate severity and set case reserves using the model. Since deploying the model, Atlas has developed a claims integration tool that allows the company to automatically reset case reserves in real time upon receipt of the scored claims from the model. As a result, Atlas can now redirect the effort previously spent setting case reserves to influencing and driving more favorable dispositive claim outcomes. Atlas’s ability to re-run the models regularly using Guidewire Predictive Analytics’ machine learning tools will ensure that claim trends and loss cost inflation are identified earlier and reflected in expected outcomes.

Atlas has been leveraging Guidewire Predictive Analytics™ for Profitability since 2015 and Predictive Analytics for Claims since 2016.

For additional information on Atlas, visit www.atlas-fin.com.

Economical Insurance with Deloitte – Economical Insurance has taken the Guidewire Core product and layered it with advanced third party analytics and sophisticated IT infrastructure to create Sonnet, an industry-leading digital insurance experience that puts the customer first.

Economical Insurance partnered with Deloitte to create Sonnet, and launched with personal home insurance in May 2016, followed by a personal auto insurance launch in August 2016.

The innovative digital experience offers Canadians a customized, bindable quote seconds after answering a handful of simple questions. The company worked diligently to craft and deliver straightforward information so customers understand what they are purchasing. With Sonnet, Economical Insurance is “rewriting underwriting.”

Guidewire PolicyCenter® and BillingCenter make up the foundation to support Economical’s consumer experience and advanced use of technology.

Economical has been an in-production PolicyCenter and BillingCenter customer since 2016.

For additional information on Economical Insurance, visit www.economical.com.

For additional information on Deloitte, visit www.deloitte.ca.

Nationwide – Nationwide delivered business value to its members faster, cheaper and with higher quality using Guidewire Claim Portal™.

Nationwide was looking to enhance its member experience and self-service capabilities for claim inquiry, claim filing, and vendor services such as repair shop selection, appointment scheduling, glass repair, and rental.

The company developed a solution leveraging Guidewire Digital Portal APIs, which provide real-time access to claim information and also reuse existing core ClaimCenter capabilities, speeding time to market. The solution introduced a completely digital claims process enabling Nationwide members to report losses via their preferred channel and receive real-time progress on the claim directly. In addition, the solution allows the necessary claim documentation and images to be uploaded online, and all claims information is accessible to back office staff the moment it is submitted. It truly delivers an omnichannel experience.

In its first three months of availability for glass damage claims, the solution contributed to a 10x increase in portal usage, and Nationwide’s members have registered over 800 new online accounts. It has also significantly reduced call volume to the company’s contact center. Finally, the technology solution was delivered sooner than anticipated, creating IT cost savings.

Nationwide has been an in-production ClaimCenter customer since 2013, an in-production PolicyCenter customer since 2014, and an in-production Digital Portal Claim customer since 2016.

For additional information on Nationwide, visit www.nationwide.com.

QBE Insurance Australia with EY – QBE sought to become a digital distribution enterprise focused on personalized engagement with seamless touch points, agile processes, and enhanced customer engagement. Guidewire and EY helped bring the insurer's vision to life by architecting and implementing Guidewire InsuranceSuite™ software for their Direct Insurance Business.

Working together, QBE and EY completed a direct insurance systems transformation in 20 months, delivering a platform that would form the foundational basis for future lines of business.

Through planning, understanding the QBE target model, and controlling scope the project delivered an insurance eco-system that:

• Within 30 days of going live enabled improvements in online new business;
• Six months after going live had shown an increase in the number of policies automatically underwritten, through improved straight through processing; and
• Experienced overall improvements in customer workflow management and a significant shift from telephone to online sales.

QBE Insurance Australia has been an in-production InsuranceSuite, DataHub, InfoCenter and Digital Portals customer since 2015.

For additional information on QBE Australia, visit www.qbe.com.au.

For additional information on EY, visit www.ey.com.

“On behalf of the Guidewire team, I am pleased to extend our congratulations to the 2016 Guidewire Innovation Award winners,” said Mike Polelle, chief delivery officer, Guidewire Software. “We see our customers’ commitment to continually improving how they serve their policyholders’ and agents’ needs and are responding in kind by providing the technology platform they require to meet their current and future needs.”

About Guidewire Software

Guidewire delivers the software that Property/Casualty (P/C) insurers need to adapt and succeed in a time of rapid industry change. We combine three elements – core operations, data and analytics, and digital engagement – into a technology platform that enhances insurers’ ability to engage and empower their customers and employees. 260 P/C insurers around the world have selected Guidewire. For more information, please visit www.guidewire.com. Follow us on twitter: @Guidewire_PandC.

NOTE: Guidewire, Guidewire Software, Guidewire ClaimCenter, Guidewire PolicyCenter, and Guidewire BillingCenter are registered trademarks of Guidewire Software, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.

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