Guidewire Delivers End-to-End Claims Handling for Towergate

Guidewire ClaimCenter® helps Europe’s largest independently-owned insurance intermediary enhance claims processes to ensure consistent, fair treatment of customers

LONDON, U.K., and SAN MATEO, California, USA, 01 June 2009 – Towergate Partnership (Towergate), Europe’s largest independently-owned insurance entity and Guidewire Software®, a leading global provider of technology solutions to general insurers, today announced that Guidewire ClaimCenter now supports the end-to-end claims handling process for Towergate’s Household claims.

Towergate has grown through acquisition resulting in multiple claims handling systems across its business. With ClaimCenter deployed, Towergate now has a single system on which to streamline claims handling processes.

“We needed to simplify and standardise our claims handling processes and platform,” said Max Carruthers, chief operations officer, Towergate Partnership. “Guidewire has delivered exactly what they promised with ClaimCenter. It is the ideal modern technology platform to help us realise our claims handling vision, incorporate best practices across our company, and provide consistent, fair service to our customers.”

ClaimCenter is enabling Towergate to:

  • Improve First Notice of Loss (FNOL) processes through use of dynamic question sets, resulting in better customer service and improved data collection;
  • Gain visibility into its claims handling operation at multiple levels;
  • Readily demonstrate compliance with changing FSA requirements by maintaining a full audit trail of all actions taken to process the claim;
  • Streamline claims handling processes for consistent, fair adjudication through the design of the data capture and the application of rules-based processing;
  • Respond flexibly to its changing business needs; and
  • Train new users much more quickly.

By making an investment in, and commitment to, enhancing our claims management capabilities, we have simultaneously enhanced customer service levels and improved the overall ‘Towergate experience’ for our policyholders,” Carruthers adds. “We focused a lot of our efforts on getting the FNOL process right, making it very relevant to the type of claim being handled and we are already receiving positive comments from our claimants about the service they are receiving.”

“Towergate is innovative in its technology approach and business vision,” said Chris Maddox, general manager, Guidewire Software (UK). “With ClaimCenter they have a highly configurable, flexible system to evolve with their business. Guidewire is proud to be Towergate’s technology partner in this endeavor.”

The roll-out of ClaimCenter for commercial lines claims is also nearing completion and will continue for additional lines of business during the year.

Guidewire ClaimCenter is a leading end-to-end claims system for general insurance. ClaimCenter’s flexible business rules enable claims organisations to optimise and monitor the claim process. Claims executives can define, enforce, and continually refine their preferred claim handling practices. In addition, ClaimCenter uses a modern technology architecture, including a 100% Web client and Web services interface, which enables lower total cost of ownership in any environment.

About Towergate

Towergate was established in 1997 to provide insurance in niche markets ranging from holiday homes to cherished cars. We have expanded and broadened our product range to over 200 – the widest range of specialist and traditional products in the UK market.

Towergate is now Europe’s largest independently owned insurance intermediary.

We have over 4,600 committed staff operating out of over 100 UK offices. Towergate’s reputation for innovation, progression and dynamism is backed up by recognition from the Sunday Times as a Profit Track 100 company. In 2007 and 2008 it was voted Private Company of the Year by ACQ Magazine. Our Executive Chairman, Peter Cullum is a former winner of the ‘UK Entrepreneur of the Year’ award and is the current M&A ‘Deal Maker of the Year’. Towergate Partnership has also won the award for “Best Management Team of the Year” by the Sunday Times Fast Track for 2007.

Our business model enables us to deliver exceptional value to our clients through quality insurance products and services, underpinned by strong relationships with leading insurance companies. We call this our ‘value triangle’ – a three-way partnership.

For more information, please visit www.towergate.co.uk.

About Guidewire Software

Guidewire Software is a leading global provider of core systems to property and casualty and workers’ compensation insurers. Guidewire delivers proven software to run core insurance operations, including billing, underwriting, policy, and claim management. The Guidewire Insurance Suite™ consists of Guidewire ClaimCenter, Guidewire PolicyCenter®, and Guidewire BillingCenter®, which provide a modern, web-based platform for all lines of business. Guidewire is headquartered in San Mateo, California, with offices in London, Munich, Paris, Sydney, Tokyo, and Toronto. For more information, please visit www.guidewire.com.