CEB Towergroup Policy Administration Systems Technology ...

Policy Administration Systems Technology Analysis Abstract*

April 2014

CEB TOWERGROUP

INSURANCE

Karen Pauli Research Director, Insurance

Vendor Assessment and Quantitative Teams

*For full copies please contact Peggy Doss at CEB TowerGroup

© 2014 The Corporate Executive Board Company. All Rights Reserved. 2

INSURANCE PRACTICE

Executive Director

Matt Dixon

Senior Director

Peter Delano

Research Director

Karen Pauli

QUANTITATIVE INSIGHT TEAM

Project Manager

Carolina Valencia

Data Analyst

Edward MacDonald

VENDOR ASSESSMENT TEAM

Project Manager

Magda Rolfes

Senior Research Analyst

Nate French

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LEGAL CAVEAT

CEB TowerGroup has worked to ensure the accuracy of the information it

provides to its members. This report relies upon data obtained from many

sources, however, and CEB TowerGroup cannot guarantee the accuracy

of the information or its analysis in all cases. Furthermore, CEB

TowerGroup is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other

professional services. Its reports should not be construed as professional

advice on any particular set of facts or circumstances. Members requiring

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The Corporate Executive Board Company nor its programs are

responsible for any claims or losses that may arise from a) any errors or

omissions in their reports, whether caused by CEB TowerGroup or its

sources, or b) reliance upon any recommendation made by CEB

TowerGroup.


TECHNOLOGY ANALYSIS SCOPE & METHODOLOGY

In response to feedback from our membership, CEB TowerGroup developed this technology analysis product to identify key components

of a Policy Administration investment decision and effectively compare vendor technology products. Our methodology comes from the

knowledge that investment decisions center around the benefit to the individual and enterprise of a technology rather than the feature set

alone.

This analysis is tailored to reflect the needs of end users, to diagnose the technology attributes particular to a firm, and to effectively

identify Policy Administration Systems that aligns with the firm’s needs. To that end, CEB TowerGroup conducted a series of interviews

and surveys with financial services executives, industry experts, and vendors regarding Policy Administration Systems. The results of this

research formed the basis of our diagnostic anatomy and informed the proprietary five point rating system on which we scored individual

products.

CURRENT MARKET & FUTURE INVESTMENT

Customer satisfaction with insurance has dropped markedly, as consumers express discontent about multichannel service.

Global and North American consumer satisfaction dipped in Q3 of 2013 to the lowest levels since early 2012. Though this shift can be

partially attributed to rate increases and catastrophes, it also reflects dissatisfaction towards the status quo of multichannel service.

Consumer expectations of multichannel are significantly higher than what insurers deliver. Customers aren’t getting the support they

need through digital channels, and report that buying products online can be confusing and frustrating. Complicating this challenge for

insurers is explosive data growth, which makes it harder to provide high standards of service. These trends are pushing insurers towards

core transformation projects, with aging policy admin systems at the center of insurers’ plans, and a core replacement cycle brewing.

Development in the PAS market is centering around user enhancements, operational efficiency, and analytics. The market is

seeing particular growth towards flexibility and usability tools that enhance the experience of end users and configuration analysts. For

example, product lifecycle management has undergone a major shift as insurers have demanded tools to allow them to meet rapidly

changing customer needs. Operational tools, ranging from Software as a Service to more tightly packaged core systems suites, will see a

growth in insurer adoption. Multi-source underwriting and risk analytical tools are in sharp demand, and will be benefited by the

development of dashboards and other simple reporting tools for underwriters. These tools will shape the innovation landscape as the

tightly competitive PAS vendors contend for differentiation.

Customer demand for digital channels is driving spending. In response to customer preferences shifting towards digital channels,

carriers are planning core transformation projects, with policy administration systems at the center of insurers’ plans to enable stronger

multichannel service. As carries continue to continue to focus on back office modernization, investments in policy administration systems

will increase 3.8% a year globally until 2018.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY


VENDOR LANDSCAPE AND RANKINGS

Policy Administration Systems house policy-level information that facilitates sales and service, and are a hub for core system integration and distributor and

customer information access. The selection process centered around those vendors with mature products, globally recognized innovation, and multiple large-

scale installations with major P&C insurance carriers. This report looks at both standalone Policy Administration Systems and policy components of end-to-end

Insurance Management suites. Several vendors featured in this report have significant experience supporting Policy Administration for life and annuities

carriers; however, for inclusion, all solutions must have active P&C carrier clients.

This technology analysis includes Accenture, Adaptik, CCS, CodeObjects, Inc., Cover-All, Exigen Insurance Solutions, Guidewire, Innovation Group, Insurity,

Insurance Systems Inc., MajescoMastek, Maximum Processing, OneShield Inc, and StoneRiver.

By combining our qualitative and quantitative data from interviews with industry experts, carriers, and vendors, CEB TowerGroup identified 23 attributes that

define a “Best-in-Class” Policy Administration System. These attributes are grouped into four categories that highlight a firm’s user and enterprise needs.

Vendor rankings are based on our proprietary five point rating methodology that scores each product on the 23 “Best-in-Class” attributes. The top vendors

were designated as “Best-in-Class” performers based on their composite scores in each of the technology categories below.

“BEST-IN-CLASS” TECHNOLOGY CATEGORIES

Insurance executives investing in Policy Administration Systems should use the Diagnostic Anatomy tool to select the vendor that best aligns with their firm’s

business objectives and investment needs.

POLICY LIFECYCLE includes those tools that manage the lifecycle of customer policies from data input to ongoing processing.

Leaders include Guidewire and three other technology providers.

OPERATIONAL SUPPORT includes those attributes that support adjacent functions including underwriting, product management,

and distribution.


USER EXPERIENCE includes those attributes that evaluate the system’s usability and its alignment to an insurer’s workflow and

reporting needs.


ENTERPRISE SUPPORT includes those attributes that impact the technology provider’s tactical fit and strategic alignment with the

insurer.


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

© 2014 The Corporate Executive Board Company. All Rights Reserved.

Current Market

Future Investment

Vendor Landscape

Product Ranking

5

Technology Analysis Presentation Roadmap

Market Drivers:

Assess changes in the

industry and customer

behavior

Spending Forecasts:

Benchmark global and

regional Policy

Administration spending

List of Players:

Identify key technology

firms and their products

“Best-in-Class”

Products:

See the top products

based on our anatomy

categories

Emerging Technology

Landscape:

Pinpoint emerging

technologies and

innovations

Diagnostic Anatomy:

Choose your

investment priorities

with our proprietary

framework

Ranking

Methodology:

Review the key

components of an

investment decision

Feature Audit:

Compare the relative

feature offerings by

vendors

Vendor Profiles:

Understand the key

differentiators between

products

Mission Statement: The CEB

TowerGroup technology

analysis process provides a

customer-driven, transparent,

and unbiased review designed

to drive informed business

decisions.

Current Market: Provides a view

of industry and customer

changes, and best practices for

technology investment and

implementation.

Future Investment: Identifies

emerging technologies and

innovations.

Vendor Landscape: Provides an

overview of key vendors,

product features, and market

position.

Product Rankings: Highlights

“Best-in-Class” attributes and

shows a comparative

perspective of leading products.

TECHNOLOGY ANALYSIS OVERVIEW


Current Market Future

Investment

Vendor

Landscape

Product

Rankings

ROADMAP FOR THE PRESENTATION

© 2014 The Corporate Executive Board

Company. All Rights Reserved. 7

MIGRATION TOWARDS CORE SYSTEMS SUITES

The insurance software

industry has integrated

historically distinct

systems into end-to-end

core suites.

Almost all insurance technology

providers now sell core systems

suites rather than standalone

systems, responding to market

demand for tight integration.

Technology partner selection,

already a nuanced process,

becomes more complicated as

carriers consider if partnerships

should extend across multiple

functions, such as policy,

underwriting, claims, billing, and

distribution.

Carriers will need in particular

to find suites and components

that can enhance their digital

support.

Architecture of an Integrated Core Systems Suite

Illustrative Example

Un

derl

yin

g

Syste

ms

Co

re S

yste

ms

F

ron

t E

nd

Data Warehouse

Integration Technologies

Permissions-based Access

Business Process

Management

Dashboards &

Reporting

Rules Engine Content

Management

Customer

Relationship

Management

Financial

Systems Analytics

Third party

services & data

Governance,

Risk, and

Compliance

Tablets Smartphones Consumer

Portal Web Apps

Producer

Portal

Contact

Centers

Rating

Billing

Distribution

Reinsurance

Underwriting

Claims Policy

Administration

Source: CEB analysis.


Company. All Rights Reserved.

2%

Low or very low

FOUNDATIONAL VALUE, BUT MODERATE SECURITY RISK

Policy administration

technology provides

foundational value

primarily for process

improvement, and is a

moderate risk.

As the center of the core

system architecture, policy

systems naturally provide big

value, primarily by automating

policy lifecycle processes.

Policy systems risk comes

primarily from security concerns

around data.

n = 120.

Executives View PAS as Moderate to Low Risk

Percentage of P&C Insurance Carrier Executives, 2014

8%

Very High

8%

Very Low

24%

Somewhat low

17%

Somewhat high

43%

Moderate

5%

Somewhat low

value

Executives Overwhelmingly View PAS as High Value

Percentage of P&C Insurance Carrier Executives, 2014

30%

Very high value

20%

High value

19%

Moderate value 24%

Somewhat high

value

Source: CEB 2014 Technology Adoption & Investment Survey n = 125.

8

Source: CEB 2014 Technology Adoption & Investment Survey


Current

Market

Future

Investment

Vendor

Landscape

Product

Rankings



DEFINITIONS

ROI Potential: Measures the relative

returns a carrier can expect to receive

from an investment in the technology

Technology State: Measures the

technology’s level of development

User Impact: Measures the level of

benefit the technology will have on the

Policy Administration user

User Impact

Low Medium

High

User technologies Enterprise technologies

• Customer information dashboards: This feature is already available in some systems. These

dashboards streamline and organize the presentation of customer data to staff who need it.

• Integrated core systems suites: Integration of historically distinct systems into end-to-end core

suites, which are sold as packaged solutions that can cover the entire insurance lifecycle.

• Flexible and codeless product lifecycle management: Advanced management of all product

features using drag-and-drop tools. Already in production in some form in several systems.

• Software as a Service (SaaS): A software deployment model in which an external entity owns,

hosts, and manages the software application and delivers it as a service to the end customer.

• Collaborative tools: Enhanced tools to allow internal staff to collaborate on policy files in real time

with internal or external partners.

• Usage based insurance: The use of wireless communications to connect driving data and other

metrics to the premiums paid for certain products.

• Underwriting (UW) and risk dashboards: Screens that present UWs with a summary of the risk

data necessary to make decisions, including scores on various measures.

• Social media: Integration with social media sites for service inquiries, outbound alerts, and other

service interactions.

• Mobility: Ability to integrate seamlessly with mobile portals to send and accept information from

producers, customers, and staff. Support for multiple OSs and geographies.

• Multi-source underwriting and risk analytics: Sophisticated data analysis tools and modeling to

from multiple data sources to enhance analytical rigor for underwriting and risk decisions.

10

RO

I P

ote

nti

al

Market-Ready In Development

Lo

we

st

Hig

he

st

Technology State

Integrated core

systems suites

SaaS

Customer info

dashboards

UW and Risk

dashboards

Mobility

Social media Collaborative tools

Multi-source UW

and risk analytics

Telematics

Flexible product

lifecycle management


EMERGING TECHNOLOGY FOR POLICY ADMINISTRATION


Company. All Rights Reserved. 11

HIGH EXPECTED ROI FOR MULTISOURCE PREDICTIVE

ANALYTICS P&C Carriers have

untapped value in

combining information

from diverse sources for

better decisions and more

confident action.

From Single-Source to Multisource Predictive Analytics

Illustrative

1 2 3 4 6

Level of

Insight

Low

High

Number of Information

Sources

Low High

Telematics

data

Policy

data

Claims

data

Underwriting

data

Demographic

data


-VP and CIO, Global Firm

“All data has value in relation

to other data in the

organization, and the ability

to search and analyze across multiple

information sources has given us

tremendous insight.”

Siloed Data

Single-Source Analytics

Ambiguous Insights

Underused Data Sources

Anticipated Results

The results of analysis take a deeper meaning in the context of

data from diverse sources within the insurer and its partners.

Integrating data from diverse sources helps eliminate

ambiguities and identify inconsistencies.

Enabling employees to combine data from multiple sources in a

single analysis drives insight discovery.

Vast volumes of underused data gain new value in the context

of new information sources.

Contextualized Insights

Actionable Intelligence

Extended Value Base

Unexpected Discoveries

Multisource Analytics

External third

party data

5


Current

Market

Future

Investment

Vendor

Landscape

Product

Rankings



Accenture Duck Creek Policy

The Stingray System

Level-7

PolicyWriter

Insurer Policy

Policy STAR

13

Selecting Featured Policy Administration Technology Providers

CEB identified vendors for this analysis based on expert opinion,

product maturity, size of installations, and technological innovation.

Featured Policy

Administration Systems

1990 2000 2010

STG Policy

Administration System

OneShield Policy

PolicyCore

Policy Decisions

Cover-All Policy

ISI Enterprise

Policy Enterprise

MAPPING THE VENDOR LANDSCAPE

Guidewire PolicyCenter

1 8 3 4 7 5 6 2

9

20 13 18 17 14 16 15 19

10

11

12

23

22

21

POLICY ADMINISTRATION SYSTEMS DIAGNOSTIC ANATOMY

14

Attribute Grading

HOW TO USE ANATOMY

The anatomy is designed to assist insurance executives to better assess and prioritize components of their technology

investment. As you use this anatomy, please consider your firm’s business strategy and current technology maturity.

1. Rate the impact of each attribute to your business and your firm’s effectiveness on a 1-5 scale and tally the results.

2. Map the results to identify areas that are most important, but where your firm is least effective.

Operational Support

User Experience

Policy Lifecycle

Data Input

The system supports

and automates the

collection of data from

current & prospective

customers.

Rating & Quoting

The system supports

and automates policy

rating and quoting for

prospective

customers.

Binding & Issuance

The system supports

and automates the

binding and issuance

of policies to

customers.

Customer Support

The system organizes

and presents

necessary customer

information to

permissioned viewers.

Ongoing Processing

The system supports

the ongoing processing

of policies, including

out-of-sequence

endorsements and

renewals.

Data Accessibility

The system makes

data easily accessible

to functional

stakeholders, including

employees, producers,

and third parties.

Product Management

The system supports

the creation and

adjustment of product

lines to meet changing

business needs.

Underwriting

The system supports

underwriting functions

and systems with data

needed for policy

decisions.

Product Pricing

The vendor offers

pricing options with

flexibility around

additional ongoing

support packages and

price discounting.

Compliance/Security

The system provides

controls for

information

governance and tools

to meet compliance

requirements.

Deployment/Support

The vendor offers on-

site or hosted delivery

and superior support

during and after

implementation,

including updates.

Workflow

The system provides

advanced workflow

management to model,

automate, monitor, and

adjust policy lifecycle

processes.

Geographic Support

The system provides

support for multiple

currencies,

languages, and other

geographic variations.

Analytics

The system collects and

analyzes policy data to

produce meaningful

insights for decision

makers to improve

policy processes.

Reporting

The system supports

bulk or ad-hoc

reporting capabilities

for financial,

operational, or

compliance needs.

Dashboards

The system presents

users with role-

specific dashboards

displaying key metrics

and allowing process

actions.

Enterprise Support

Current Effectiveness Potential Impact

5 = Superior Capability We or our vendor offer this regularly,

systematically, and at the highest standard.

5 = Very High Impact Our firm considers this attribute mission critical

when performed at the highest standard.

4 = Strong Capability We or our vendor offer this regularly

and systematically.

4 = High Impact Our firm considers this attribute highly important


3 = Adequate Capability We or our vendor offer this regularly

but in an ad hoc manner.

3 = Moderate Impact Our firm considers this attribute moderately

important when performed at the highest standard.

2 = Marginal Capability We or our vendor offer this irregularly

and in an ad hoc manner.

2 = Low Impact Our firm considers this attribute somewhat

important when performed at the highest standard.

1 = Weak or not at all We or our vendor do not do this at all. 1 = No Impact Our firm does not consider this attribute important


User Interface

The system has an

intuitive and

configurable UI with

role-based views and

dynamic data and

process visualizations.

External Data

The system is built

with integrations to

third party data

providers and collects

information necessary

to policy decisions.

Documents & Forms

The system can

collect, manage, and

generate documents

and forms necessary

to the policy lifecycle.

Distribution

The system supports

carriers' distribution

channels and systems,

presenting and

collecting information

from producers.

Tech Innovation

The vendor has a

track-record of

innovation, a market-

leading roadmap, and

resources for long

term innovation.

Product Maturity

The product is mature

in the market and has

a steady or growing

market share and

client base.

Vendor Stability

The vendor has an

established industry

presence, sound

financials, and can

provide long term

support for carriers.


POLICY ADMINISTRATION SYSTEMS SCORE CARD

Categories Attributes Current Effectiveness Potential Impact

1. Data input

Policy

Lifecycle

2. Rating & Quoting

3. Binding & Issuance

4. Ongoing Processing

5. Data Accessibility

6. Product Management

Operational

Support

7. Underwriting

8. Customer Support

9. Distribution

10. Documents & Forms

11. External Data

12. User Interface

User

Experience

13. Workflow

14. Dashboards

15. Reporting

16. Analytics

17. Geographic Support

18. Deployment & Support

Enterprise

Support

19. Compliance & Security

20. Product Pricing

21. Technology Innovation

22. Product Maturity

23. Vendor Stability

15

Insurance executives

should complete this

scorecard using the Policy

Administration diagnostic

anatomy tool.


Insurance executives

should map their attribute

scores from rating their

impact and effectiveness

on the previous page on

this matrix to identify the

most important areas of

their vendor selection.

Po

ten

tia

l Im

pac

t

5 =Very High

4 =High

3 = Moderate

2 =Low

1 =No Impact 1 =

Weak

2 =

Marg

inal

3 =

Adequate

4 =

Stro

ng

5 =

Superio

r

Current Effectiveness

POLICY ADMINISTRATION SYSTEMS SCORE CARD

16 © 2014 The Corporate Executive Board Company. All Rights Reserved.

17

Line of Business Support

Personal Auto Private passenger automobile.

Personal Homeowner Individually owned single family homes, condominiums, renters.

Other Personal Property or Liability Examples: Inland Marine, Personal Umbrella, Fire, Recreational Vehicles, Watercraft.

Commercial Property Commercially designated structures and contents.

Commercial Auto Commercially used vehicles.

Other Commercial or Specialty Examples: BOP, Commercial Umbrella, Inland Marine, Specialty Lines, E&O, D&O.

Workers’ Compensation Lines of business associated with workers’ compensation.

Farm/agriculture Farms and agriculture businesses.

Core Policy Lifecycle

Dynamic questions generation The system can dynamically generate questions for customer and agents based on previous inputs or existing data.

Rating engine The system includes a rating engine and carriers can add, edit, test, and analyze rating rules without coding.

Real-time quote generation The system automates the quoting process and can in some cases generate a quote for customers or producers in real

time.

Straight-through policy issuance The system can ingest data from a customer or agent and in some cases process and issue a policy in real time.

Automated out-of-sequence

endorsements The system can process out-of-sequence policy endorsements with little or no manual intervention.

Product design and definition tools The system allows authorized users to design and introduce new products, or to re-define existing products without

programming.

Policy search The system allows authorized users to search for current and historical policy information.

Operational Support

Agent portal integration The system has pre-built interfaces for integration with agent portal technology to present policy data to producers.

Forms/document library The system has a library of common forms and documents, including industry standards like ACORD and NCCI.

Forms/document generation The system has capabilities to enable generation of standard or custom documents and forms.

Customer information search The system allows authorized users to search for current and historical customer information, including “as-of” searches.

Historical customer data storage The system stores historical customer information to allow carriers to track changes over time.

Rules engine The system has a built-in rules engine that allows rules creation, editing, testing, and analysis.

Process management The system has built-in BPM capabilities that allows creation, editing, testing, and analysis of process automation.

Audit trails The system keeps a record of the sequence of activities that have affected each policy file in the system.

Feature or Function


FEATURE AUDIT DEFINITIONS

18

Feature or Function

Pre-built integration with third party data

providers:

Acxiom Corporation

Dun & Bradstreet

ISO/Verisk

LexisNexis Risk Solutions

Marshall & Swift/Boeckh

Pitney Bowes

R.L. Polk

RiskMeter Online

Emerging Technology

Mobile OS support: The system can integrate with the following mobile operating systems.

iOS

Android

Windows phone

Blackberry

Consumer mobility support The system can integrate with a mobile portal to send and accept information from customers.

Producer mobility support The system can integrate with a mobile portal to send and accept information from producers.

Social media integration The system can integrate with social media sites for service inquiries and outbound alerts.

Real-time collaboration tools Users can work on policy files in real time with internal or external partners.

Predictive analytics The system includes tools for sophisticated data analysis and modeling producing insights for management and IT.

Business intelligence The system includes tools for basic data analysis and tracks key metrics for management and IT.

FEATURE AUDIT DEFINITIONS (CONT’D)


19

Reporting

Batch reporting The system can produce management or IT reports in daily, weekly, or monthly bulk batches.

Real-time reporting The system can produce management or IT reports in real-time based on user defined parameters.

Standard reports library The system includes a library of standard reports that users can run by choosing from a list of standard components or

parameters.

Custom report writer The system includes a custom report writer that allows graphical creation of new reports based on user-defined

parameters.

Bureau reporting tools The system includes standard reports that can be used to report for insurance industry bureaus.

Favorite reports Users can save a set of reporting parameters with a defined name, and can then access and run that report.

Geographic Support

Multilanguage The system includes support for multiple languages.

Multicurrency The system includes support for multiple currencies.

Delivery Models

Installed Installed at client site.

ASP Hosted, single-tenant.

SaaS Hosted, multi-tenant.

BPO Outsourced business processes.

Feature or Function

FEATURE AUDIT DEFINITIONS (CONT’D)



FEATURE AUDIT

Feature or Function Guidewire

Line of Business Support

Personal Auto l

Personal Homeowner l

Other Personal Property or Liability l

Commercial Property l

Commercial Auto l

Other Commercial or Specialty l

Workers’ Compensation l

Farm/agriculture l

Core Policy Lifecycle

Dynamic questions generation l

Rating engine l

Real-time quote generation l

Straight-through policy issuance l

Automated out-of-sequence

endorsements l

Product design and definition tools l

Policy search l

Operational Support

Agent portal integration l

Forms/document library l

Forms/document generation l

Customer information search l

Historical customer data storage l

Rules engine l

Process management l

Audit trails l

Offered native Offered premium Offered by partner Will offer in 12 months Will offer in 24 months Not offered


Pre-built integration with third party data

providers:

Acxiom Corporation

Dun & Bradstreet

ISO/Verisk

LexisNexis Risk Solutions l

Marshall & Swift/Boeckh l

Pitney Bowes

R.L. Polk

RiskMeter Online

Emerging Technology

Mobile OS support:

iOS

Android

Windows phone

Blackberry

Consumer mobility support l

Producer mobility support l

Social media integration

Real-time collaboration tools l

Predictive analytics l

Business intelligence l


FEATURE AUDIT (CONT’D)


Reporting

Batch reporting l

Real-time reporting l

Standard reports library l

Custom report writer l

Bureau reporting tools l

Favorite reports l

Geographic Support

Multilanguage l

Multicurrency l

Delivery Models

Installed l

ASP

SaaS l

BPO

Offered native Offered premium Offered by partner Will offer in 12 months Will offer in 24 months Not offered


Company. All Rights Reserved.

GUIDEWIRE POLICYCENTER GUIDEWIRE

Key Statistics

Company Type: Public

Year Founded: 2001

HQ: Foster City, CA

Number of FT Employees: 1,117

FY 2013 Revenue: $300.6 million

Company Overview

Guidewire is a global P&C insurance software provider. The firm was founded in 2001 and was taken public with an

IPO in 2012. Guidewire has eight offices worldwide and 26% of its client base outside North America. In May 2013,

Guidewire acquired Millbrook Inc., a provider of data management and business intelligence (BI) solutions for P&C

insurers. In October 2013, the firm launched Guidewire Mobile & Portals, a portfolio of products extending service

through digital channels. Guidewire currently has 173 clients, of whom 57 have licensed PolicyCenter.

Product Overview

Guidewire PolicyCenter is a web-based policy administration system built for the Java EE platform. PolicyCenter is

part of Guidewire’s core systems Insurance-Suite, which also includes ClaimCenter and BillingCenter. The system is

not sold as a series of modules, but several add-ons are available, including rating, reinsurance, and client data

management. The most recent update, PolicyCenter 8, included an enhanced user interface, more accessible

product configuration, better visibility into customer information, enhanced search capabilities, simplified data entry,

and others. The release also included expanded commercial lines support based on increased line of business

content, inherent multi-currency management, and data import tools for large schedules.

Product Highlights

• Risk analysis screens: Underwriters and other parties involved can access a risk analysis screen for

centralized access to all underwriting, loss control, and rating information. It includes a checklist of issues that

require approval prior to issuing the policy, and clearly presents pertinent risk information to make underwriter

review efficient.

• Centralized product definition: The insurance product and its components, including underwriting rules and

screen definitions, are all defined and maintained in one central location. Within this location, product managers

can develop and model products before promoting them to the production environment.

• Out of sequence transactions: PolicyCenter's wizard-based screen flow simplifies the entry of out of sequence

transactions and guides users through resolving any potential conflicts that may arise. The system automatically

creates the proper coverage on-set/offsets should premium be impacted by the transaction.

CEB TowerGroup View

PolicyCenter is one of the most robust policy systems on the market, and on an overall basis scored the highest of

the 15 systems we reviewed. The system received “Best-in-Class” in all four categories of analysis, and received the

highest score in the Policy Lifecycle category. These scores reflect the system’s across-the-board strength and

depth, as well as Guidewire’s excellent customer support. The most recent release, PolicyCenter 8, includes a host

of innovative improvements, including a redesigned and highly intuitive user interface. The firm has a large and

growing customer base (in the last two years the product gained 14 new customers), which will support continued

reinvestment in product development. The system supports document management requirements through integration

with third parties, but does not include native forms/document library or generation capabilities. We expect further

growth from this strong offering as Guidewire continues to innovate.

Source: Guidewire; CEB analysis.

Range < $100 $100-

$999

$1,000-

$9,999

>

$10,000

# 2 28 19 2

% 4% 55% 37% 4%

P&C Carrier Clients by DPW (in millions USD)

Distribution of Clients by Region

22

0 – 4% 20-39% 60-79%

5 – 19% 40-59% 80-100%


Current

Market

Future

Investment

Vendor

Landscape

Product

Rankings



Policy Lifecycle

Those tools that

manage the lifecycle of

customer policies from

data input to ongoing

processing.

Operational Support

Those attributes that

support adjacent

functions including

underwriting, product

management, and

distribution.

User Experience


evaluate the system’s

usability and its

alignment to an insurer’s

workflow and reporting

needs.

Enterprise Support


impact the technology

provider’s tactical fit and

strategic alignment with

the insurer.

“Best-in-Class”

Policy Lifecycle

“Best-in-Class”

Enterprise

Support

“Best-in-Class”

User Experience

“Best-in-Class”

Operational

Support

AT

TR

IBU

TE

S

Mis

sio

n

Critical

Rating & Quoting

Data Accessibility

Product

Management

Customer Support

User Interface

Reporting

Deployment &

Support

Product Maturity

Str

ong

Prio

rity

Data Input

Ongoing Processing

Underwriting

Distribution

Workflow

Analytics

Compliance &

Security

Tech Innovation

Vendor Stability

Pro

duct

Diffe

rentia

tor

Binding & Issuance Documents & Forms

External Data

Dashboards

Geographic Support Product Pricing

CA

TE

GO

RIE

S

Phase 1

Utilizing qualitative and

quantitative data, CEB

TowerGroup identified 23

attributes that define a “Best-in-

Class” policy administration

system, which are grouped into

four categories.

Phase 2

Recognizing that all attributes are

not equally important, CEB

TowerGroup divides them into

tiers to reflect their level of

importance as mission critical,

strong priority, or differentiators.

Phase 3

Certain products are recognized

as “Best-in-Class” after scoring

each product based on its

performance at an attribute level.

24

CREATING OUR “BEST-IN-CLASS” PRODUCT RANKINGS



25

“BEST-IN-CLASS” TECHNOLOGY PROVIDERS

“Best-in-Class” Category Anatomy Attributes “Best-in-Class”

Technology Providers

Policy Lifecycle

includes those tools that manage

the lifecycle of customer policies

from data input to ongoing

processing.

Data Input

Rating & Quoting

Binding & Issuance

Ongoing Processing

Data Accessibility

Accenture

Adaptik

Guidewire

Innovation Group

Operational Support

includes those attributes that

support adjacent functions

including underwriting, product

management, and distribution.

Product Management

Underwriting

Customer Support

Distribution

Documents & Forms

External Data

Accenture

Exigen

Guidewire

Innovation Group

User Experience


evaluate the system’s usability

and its alignment to an insurer’s

workflow and reporting needs.

User Interface

Workflow

Dashboards

Reporting

Analytics

Geographic Support

Cover-All

Guidewire

Innovation Group

OneShield

Enterprise Support


impact the technology provider’s

tactical fit and strategic alignment

with the insurer.

Deployment/Support

Compliance Security

Product Pricing

Tech Innovation

Product Maturity

Vendor Stability

Accenture

Guidewire

Insurity

MajescoMastek

This graphic was published by CEB as part of a larger research report and should be evaluated in the context of the entire report.

CEB Technology Assessment research is a qualitative evaluation of a set of vendors in a specific market; it is NOT a stack ranking.

CEB does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select

only those vendors with the highest ratings. CEB and CEB TowerGroup research publications consist of the opinions of its research analysts

and should not be construed as statements of fact. CEB Disclaims all warranties of commercial viability or fitness for a particular purpose.

We base our rankings on

the top products in each

overall category according

to our proprietary scoring

methodology.

Leaders are the top scoring

technology provider in a

given category and are

chosen based on the

differentiation in scoring in a

particular category.


Category Highest Scoring Attributes & Analysis

Policy Lifecycle

• Rating & Quoting: The rating solution includes Impact Testing to enable new

rating models to be tested against a book of business to determine the influence

they will have in actual scenarios – a valuable tool in evaluating alternatives.

• Ongoing Processing: The system has a wizard-based screen flow to simplify

out of sequence transactions and guide users through resolving conflicts.

• Data Accessibility: Guidewire’s applications allow users to run real-time,

parameter-based operational reports through the Advanced Search features.

Operational Support

• External Data: Guidewire has an extensive library of accelerators for use in

projects for integration to 3rd party data providers, such as address verification,

geocoding, CLUE, MVR, agency upload/download, and others.

• Underwriting: PolicyCenter includes a "Risk Analysis" screen for centralized

access to all underwriting, loss control, and rating information.

• Product Management: Guidewire provides product templates, including

extensions with product specs based on ISO, NCCI, & state bureaus standards.

User Experience

• Geographic Support: PolicyCenter supports over 150 languages including

Cyrillic and double-byte character sets, as defined by ISO 639-1. The user does

not have to change or leave the application while changing the language.

• User Interface: PolicyCenter has an exceptional user interface that is simple

and matches the workflow needs of different user roles.

• Dashboards: Guidewire’s complementary Standard Reporting module gives an

insurer the ability to create reports and dashboards for operational insights.

Enterprise Support

• Technology Innovation: Guidewire has released a number of market leading

innovations, for example Guidewire Live, which is a network that connects peer

insurers, core systems data, external sources of information, and tools.

• Compliance & Security: The system has multi-level security built in, including

role-based access, authentication, authorization, and database encryption.

• Product Maturity: Guidewire PolicyCenter has a large and growing customer

base, including 21 carriers with more than $1 billion in premiums written.

Guidewire received “Best-

in-Class” achievements in

the categories of Policy

Lifecycle, Operational

Support, User Experience,

and Enterprise Support

Policy Lifecycle includes

those tools that manage the

lifecycle of customer

policies from data input to

ongoing processing.

Operational Support

includes those attributes

that support adjacent

functions including

underwriting, product

management, and

distribution.

User Experience includes

those attributes that

evaluate the system’s

usability and its alignment

to an insurer’s workflow and

reporting needs.

Enterprise Support includes

those attributes that impact

the technology provider’s

tactical fit and strategic

alignment with the insurer.

26

“BEST-IN-CLASS” ACHIEVEMENTS FOR GUIDEWIRE


1 8 3 4 7 5 6 2

9

20 13 18 17 14 16 15 19

10

11

12

23

22

21

POLICY ADMINISTRATION SYSTEMS DIAGNOSTIC ANATOMY

27 © 2014 The Corporate Executive Board Company. All Rights Reserved.

Scoring Methodology

To arrive at a vendor ranking, CEB TowerGroup developed a proprietary scoring metric outlined by the

attributes within this anatomy that highlights the major elements of an enterprise investment decision.

This metric assumes that every element is not equally important, and therefore assigns a higher level

of importance to those attributes critical to a policy administration system. The attributes are divided

into three tiers to reflect their level of importance, highlighted below.

Tier 1 Attributes –

“Mission Critical”


“Strong Priority”


“Product Differentiators”

Rating & Quoting

Data Accessibility

Product Management

Customer Support

User Interface

Reporting

Deployment & Support

Product Maturity

Data Input

Ongoing Processing

Underwriting

Distribution

Workflow

Analytics

Compliance & Security

Tech Innovation

Vendor Stability

Binding & Issuance

Documents & Forms

External Data

Dashboards

Geographic Support

Product Pricing

Data Input

The system supports

and automates the

collection of data from

current & prospective

customers.

Rating & Quoting

The system supports

and automates policy

rating and quoting for

prospective

customers.

Binding & Issuance

The system supports

and automates the

binding and issuance

of policies to

customers.

Customer Support

The system organizes

and presents

necessary customer

information to

permissioned viewers.

Ongoing Processing

The system supports

the ongoing processing

of policies, including

out-of-sequence

endorsements and

renewals.

Data Accessibility

The system makes

data easily accessible

to functional

stakeholders, including

employees, producers,

and third parties.

Product Management

The system supports

the creation and

adjustment of product

lines to meet changing

business needs.

Underwriting

The system supports

underwriting functions

and systems with data

needed for policy

decisions.

Product Pricing

The vendor offers

pricing options with

flexibility around

additional ongoing

support packages and

price discounting.

Compliance/Security

The system provides

controls for

information

governance and tools

to meet compliance

requirements.

Deployment/Support

The vendor offers on-

site or hosted delivery

and superior support

during and after

implementation,

including updates.

Workflow

The system provides

advanced workflow

management to model,

automate, monitor, and

adjust policy lifecycle

processes.

Geographic Support

The system provides

support for multiple

currencies,

languages, and other

geographic variations.

Analytics

The system collects and

analyzes policy data to

produce meaningful

insights for decision

makers to improve

policy processes.

Reporting

The system supports

bulk or ad-hoc

reporting capabilities

for financial,

operational, or

compliance needs.

Dashboards

The system presents

users with role-

specific dashboards

displaying key metrics

and allowing process

actions.

User Interface

The system has an

intuitive and

configurable UI with

role-based views and

dynamic data and

process visualizations.

External Data

The system is built

with integrations to

third party data

providers and collects

information necessary

to policy decisions.

Documents & Forms

The system can

collect, manage, and

generate documents

and forms necessary

to the policy lifecycle.

Distribution

The system supports

carriers' distribution

channels and systems,

presenting and

collecting information

from producers.

Tech Innovation

The vendor has a

track-record of

innovation, a market-

leading roadmap, and

resources for long

term innovation.

Product Maturity

The product is mature

in the market and has

a steady or growing

market share and

client base.

Vendor Stability

The vendor has an

established industry

presence, sound

financials, and can

provide long term

support for carriers.

Operational Support

User Experience

Policy Lifecycle

Enterprise Support


CEB TowerGroup develops

a unique and proprietary

scoring methodology that

highlights the key priorities

for an executive’s

investment decision.

Every vendor product featured in

this report is scored on each of

the 121 sub-attribute scoring

factors, which are weighted and

rolled into scores for each of the

23 attributes on the diagnostic

anatomy.

We calculate the weighted

average of a product’s attribute

scores in each of the 4 categories

of the anatomy to arrive at an

overall category score.

Sample Technology Analysis Internal Anatomy Scoring Guide

Illustrative

An

ato

my

Category Operational Support Enterprise Support

Attribute Title Product Management Deployment/Support

Attribute

Definition

The system supports the creation and

adjustment of product lines to meet

changing business needs.

The vendor offers on-site or hosted delivery

and superior support during and after

implementation, including updates.

Sub-Attribute

scoring

factor

Defining and introducing new products New functionality in most recent update

Sc

ori

ng

Me

tric

5

The PAS meets a 4, and also has advanced and

innovative analysis features, lifecycle management tools,

collaboration features, and other features to support the

successful rollout of new products.

In its most recent update, the vendor included a large

number of excellent improvements in functionality,

usability, and emerging technologies.

4 The PAS has simple and advanced tools to introduce new

products, including a clear and graphical layout with time

saving tools to define and roll out the product.

In its most recent update, the vendor included a few

excellent improvements in functionality, usability, and

emerging technologies.

3 The PAS has tools to introduce new products, but it is not

as graphical or simple as a 4, doesn’t include analysis

tools, or would require an advanced user.


good improvements in functionality, usability, and

emerging technologies.

2 Introducing a new product requires some coding or is

otherwise not as simple or intuitive as a 3.


basic improvements in functionality.

1 Introducing a new product requires significant coding work

or assistance from the vendor.

The most recent update did not include significant

improvements.

Attribute Score: 5.0 3.0

SCORE

28


UNDERSTANDING OUR SCORING METHODOLOGY

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