GFT Technologies : Enhancing efficiency for insurance companies

Stuttgart, 16 July 2019 - Insurance companies need to meet a host of requirements with regard to digitalisation. The market is increasingly calling for bespoke products, and numerous processes have to be made more efficient by means of automation. New technologies can meet these demands. Guidewire InsurancePlatform™, in particular, is experiencing strong demand in the field of property and casualty insurance. GFT is now setting up centres of excellence for Guidewire implementation in Poland and Spain, in addition to the one already existing in Italy and the core centre in Quebec City, Canada. This is to meet the needs of European insurance companies for expert local advice and high quality at attractive cost levels. Around 120 experts are expected to work there in future servicing mid-size and large insurers, especially those located in Europe's core markets.

'By setting up our centres of excellence for Guidewire implementation in Europe, we are underlining our international growth strategy and efforts to position GFT as the IT partner for insurance companies with regards to digitalisation,' explains GFT's CEO Marika Lulay. 'The partnership with Guidewire gives us access to new clients, countries and markets - it's a win-win situation for both companies,' she adds.

A proof point is today's announcement about the first Guidewire Cloud customer in France and Europe: Groupe Macif (MACIF), French mutual insurer, selected Guidewire's InsurancePlatform to replace their legacy systems and transform their entire book of business as well as enable new partnerships with white-labeling capabilities. Guidewire PartnerConnect™ Consulting alliance member, GFT, has been selected to support the implementation programme.

'We undertook a long vendor selection among the P&C solution vendors in France and identified Guidewire for the completeness of its technology and its leadership in the French market compared to other solutions,' commented Yann Arnaud, Head of P&C Products, Economics, Performance & Risks, Groupe Macif. 'Our selection has been validated already in that, with GFT, we have implemented successfully Core and Digital products for our commercial motor line of business within 10 months, including full adoption of the out of the box features.'

GFT has been providing services and resources for the deployment of Guidewire products to numerous insurers around the world since 2010 - and since 2014 as an implementation partner. The main aim is to provide strategy, business and operational consulting, technical implementation, data migration, maintenance and upgrade services. In this way, GFT provides end-to-end support for the digital transformation of insurance companies.

With the acquisition of V-NEO in the past year - a Canadian IT service provider for the insurance industry and one of the largest independent Guidewire integrators with the core centre of excellence in Quebec City, Canada - GFT strengthened its expertise in this sector. The international team is growing to around 300 experts world-wide to further expand its global footprint. With the establishment of GFT's centres of excellence for Guidewire implementation in Poland and Spain in addition to the one in Italy, the digitalisation partner is expanding its nearshore delivery capacity to better serve the complex and diverse needs of its clients. Thanks to its geographical proximity, GFT not only offers in-depth specialist knowledge and a high level of service quality, but also fast, bespoke and cost-optimised IT solutions for its clients - without any cultural or language barriers.

Guidewire is one of the fastest growing global platforms for property and casualty insurance and already used by over 350 companies in more than 40 countries. 'As IT experts, we have this knowledge, as well as the necessary industry expertise and passion for technology. In addition, we have many years of experience in the field of corporate transformation and strategy, as well as system integration. We can therefore provide the best possible solutions and delivery services,' adds Marika Lulay.