Wesfarmers Insurance and Subsidiary Lumley General Insurance New Zealand Deploy Guidewire for Claims

Wesfarmers Insurance, its underwriting subsidiary Lumley General Insurance (N.Z.) Limited (Lumley NZ), and Guidewire Software®, a leading provider of flexible core systems to general insurers, today announced that Lumley NZ has successfully deployed Guidewire ClaimCenter® as the first step in its core systems modernisation projec

Lumley NZ has deployed ClaimCenter for all lines of business. ClaimCenter was rolled out to the initial lines of business in March 2009. Since then, the company has been averaging minor enhancement releases every 4 - 6 weeks, bringing new product functionality online for the Lumley claims team with zero production outages along the way.

Initial ClaimCenter benefits include:

• Claim resolution times have been reduced by 50%
• Improved processing efficiency reducing open claims by 40%
• External partners have noticed service improvements
• Single system entry (of structured data) to handle each and every type of claim, (versus the 3-6 systems per claim needed previously)
• 100% system up-time
• Early identification and detection of fraud or potential fraud; and
• Enhanced customer responsiveness, from “no idea” to “let me look at your claim summary – it’s all here online”.

“With ClaimCenter we are seeing significant improvements in our business, such as a 50% reduction in our average claims resolution times,” said Toni Ferrier, general manager, Lumley Business Solutions, Lumley NZ. “We have been able to free up our claims handlers to pro-actively manage the claims process, providing better service to our customers and business partners. Our claims handlers are thoroughly enjoying using ClaimCenter.”

“The successful implementation of the ClaimCenter project and our use of agile methodology have empowered our IT team to be much more responsive in making system changes – what used to take weeks with the old systems, now takes hours,” said Brian Fair, chief information officer, Wesfarmers Insurance. “The IT team are excited about the contributions they are making to help our business better serve its customers, partners and brokers.”

“We congratulate Lumley NZ on the resounding success of their ClaimCenter implementation,” said Ian Tavener, vice president, Asia Pacific Operations, Guidewire Software. “The Lumley claims handlers have been outfitted with state-of-the-art technology to aid them in doing their jobs. We expect ClaimCenter will provide the company with a good deal of operational flexibility for many years to come.”

About Lumley NZ

Lumley is New Zealand’s fourth largest general insurer and offers all major classes of commercial and personal insurance.

They distribute through independent brokers and intermediaries who are serviced by a well-established and respected nationwide branch network which ensures immediate and personal access to local decision-makers.

Lumley Business Solutions (LBS), a consumer insurance specialist, works closely with corporate partners including banks, financial service companies, corporate and community organisations to strengthen their brands and enhance customer service offerings.

For more information, please visit www.lumley.co.nz/.

About Wesfarmers Insurance

Wesfarmers Insurance is owned by Wesfarmers Limited, the largest private sector employer in Australia, employing over 200,000 people. Wesfarmers also has holdings in retail, resources, chemicals and fertilizers, energy and insurance (www.wesfarmers.com.au/).  

Wesfarmers Insurance has a proud history, serving Australians and their insurance needs since 1919. Over the years we\'ve grown into the 5th largest insurer in Australia and 4th largest insurer in NZ. We also have one of the largest insurance broking networks across Australasia.

With headquarters in Sydney, we are represented in 123 locations in Australia, 27 in New Zealand and five in the United Kingdom.

Our insurance underwriting businesses include: Lumley in Australia and NZ and WFI in Australia. Our insurance broking businesses include: OAMPS in Australia and the UK and Crombie Lockwood in NZ. What we share across our businesses is a common desire to attract and develop the best people, consistently exceed client expectations and build strong relationships with our clients and customers.

For more information go to www.wesfarmersinsurance.com.au/.