Lumley General Insurance New Zealand Deploys Guidewire for Underwriting, Policy Administration and Billing Management

Guidewire PolicyCenter® and BillingCenter in production at one of New Zealand’s largest general insurers

AUCKLAND, New Zealand & SAN MATEO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar. 20, 2012-- Lumley General Insurance (N.Z.) Limited (Lumley), its parent company Wesfarmers Insurance, and Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE: GWRE), a provider of core system software to general (Property/Casualty) insurers, today announced that Lumley has successfully deployed Guidewire PolicyCenter® as its new underwriting and policy administration solution and Guidewire BillingCenter® as its new billing system.

Lumley has simultaneously deployed PolicyCenter and BillingCenter for both commercial and personal products in a phased implementation approach. BillingCenter will provide agency and direct bill functionality across the entire Lumley organization in NZ and will handle commissions and calculations as well.

Following a successful Guidewire ClaimCenter® implementation, Lumley turned its focus to replacing its underwriting, policy administration, and billing systems with a modern technology platform that could adapt to meet its changing business demands. Additional key business drivers for this change were to improve data quality and access, create consistent processes and best practices, and manage risks during the underwriting process. Lumley was drawn to the out-of-the box functionality of PolicyCenter and BillingCenter and the systems’ flexibility to address customer complexities.

“We were able to leverage the familiarity with Guidewire technology we obtained during our ClaimCenter implementation throughout the deployment of PolicyCenter and BillingCenter,” said Mike Gardner, Head of IT, Lumley. “We are already seeing significant strategic and operational benefits from having a shared technology platform which allows us to utilize our IT skills across all three core systems.”

“Guidewire’s commitment to ensuring a smooth implementation was key to the success of our project. They supported our resourcing requests, offered the right advice regarding project challenges, and provided in-depth industry knowledge anytime we needed it. Guidewire has been and will continue to be the ideal partner for Lumley,” continued Gardner.

PolicyCenter and BillingCenter are enabling Lumley to now:

• Increase business agility via more timely and reliable rating management;
• Meet customer demands for more flexible policy changes;
• Provide its staff with an intuitive and integrated technology platform to allow them to do their job quickly and efficiently;
• Improve data analytics and provide real-time reporting capabilities; and
• Enhance operational efficiency through proactive workload management and the automation of former manual tasks, such as processing renewals without the need for review.

“We congratulate Lumley on its successful implementation of Guidewire PolicyCenter and BillingCenter,” said Ian Tavener, Vice President, Asia Pacific Operations, Guidewire Software. “We are proud to play a role in helping Lumley transform its underwriting, policy administration and billing management operations and look forward to the continued benefits Lumley will experience over time.”

Guidewire PolicyCenter is a flexible underwriting and policy administration system that enables general (Property/Casualty) insurers to grow business profitably by improving efficiency, while responding with agility to market opportunities and enhancing relationships with agents and customers. Designed to support both commercial and personal lines, PolicyCenter helps insurers streamline front and back office processes, from new business submission and quoting through policy renewals. PolicyCenter is available as a standalone system or as part of Guidewire InsuranceSuite™, and can be integrated to an insurer’s legacy systems or third party applications.

Guidewire BillingCenter is a comprehensive billing and receivables management system built on the core design principles of automation, control and flexibility. BillingCenter allows you to deliver insurance your way by making it easier to automate the billing lifecycle; design flexible billing, payment and delinquency plans; manage agent commissions; and enable rapid integration with external payment systems. BillingCenter is available as a standalone system or as part of Guidewire InsuranceSuite, and can be integrated to a general (Property/Casualty) insurer’s legacy systems or third party applications.

About Lumley

Lumley is New Zealand’s fourth largest general insurer and offers all major classes of commercial and domestic 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, a division of Lumley, are consumer insurance specialist who 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.wesfarmersinsurance.com.au).

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

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

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

For more information, go to: www.wesfarmersinsurance.com.au.

About Guidewire Software

Guidewire Software is a provider of core system software to the global general (Property/Casualty) insurance industry. Designed to be flexible and scalable, Guidewire solutions give insurers the capability to deliver excellent service, increase market share and lower operating costs. Guidewire InsuranceSuite™, consisting of Guidewire PolicyCenter®, Guidewire ClaimCenter® and Guidewire BillingCenter® spans the key functional areas in insurance – underwriting and policy administration, claims management, and billing. Guidewire is headquartered in San Mateo, California, with offices in Sydney, Beijing, Dublin, Hong Kong, London, Munich, Paris, Tokyo, and Toronto. For more information, please visit www.guidewire.com.

NOTE: Guidewire, Guidewire Software, Guidewire ClaimCenter, Guidewire PolicyCenter, Guidewire BillingCenter, Guidewire InsuranceSuite, Deliver Insurance Your Way, Guidewire PartnerConnect, and the Guidewire logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Guidewire Software, Inc.

Source: Guidewire Software, Inc.

Guidewire Software, Inc.
Diana Stott
Public Relations Manager
+1 (650) 356 4941
dstott@guidewire.com