Guidewire Software : Driving Process Improvements is Not a Fad. It's a Necessity.

The reality is that insurance is a very process-driven industry. Across underwriting, billing, and claims, workflows underlie every aspect of insurance. Creating efficiencies in these processes can mean millions in cost savings. But that's not all. Process improvement strategies can yield significant external and internal benefits to create distinct competitive advantages, including increased employee productivity, reduced cycle times, and better customer experiences.

So it came as no surprise that when we asked P&C insurers attending Connections Reimagined in November 2020 to identify their top strategic imperatives for 2021, driving process improvements ranked among the top 5 imperatives for many.

Insurers are actively seeking new ways to identify potential operational improvements, and the global pandemic has only accelerated this necessity. Participants in the survey also noted that slow and outdated systems, budget constraints, lack of IT resources, and insufficient or messy data continue to be notable hindrances.

On the other hand, emerging technologies such as intelligent automation, alternative data sources, and dynamic workflows are introducing innovative opportunities for insurers to optimize the entire insurance lifecycle. Insurers such as Tryg and Grinnell Mutual are already taking proactive approaches by implementing new strategies for automation and streamlined experiences. Grinnell Mutual implemented straight-through processing and saw three times the improvement in quote-to-issue.

Ultimately, insurers that maintain an agile mindset focused on process improvements will see greater business value and gain a competitive advantage in an already competitive playing field.

To learn more, check out the full report, 'Top 5 Imperatives of 2021: Insurer Priorities, Challenges, and Successes.' Also, check out our Connections Reimagined session, where we talk to three industry analysts about driving process improvements and other key insurer priorities and what they're seeing in the industry.