Guidewire launches new UBI solution to support insurers

Due to less people using their cars during the Covid-19 national lockdowns, software company Guidewire has revealed a new end-to-end usage-based insurance (UBI) solution to support insurers.

Launched on 5 May 2021, the solution has been designed to be fast and efficient - it can be deployed within 12 weeks and also supports the end-to-end insurance lifecycle, including quote, billing and automated claims intake.

According to global market research firm Forrester Research, usage-based insurance policies are set to grow by 50% in 2021, in part due to a shift to working from home or operating a hybrid way of working that combines time in the office and home.

Speaking about the solution at Guidewire’s Connections Reimagined conference last month, Eugene Lee, senior vice-president and general manager of InsuranceSuite at Guidewire, said: “Data scores need to knit together into a core system of record to enable new policies to be sold. Guidewire provides the underlying insurance platform that does this.”

The three data layers used by Guidewire are predictive models and analytics, data aggregators and dongle and app providers.

Guidewire’s InsuranceSuite is a provider of core system software to the global property and casualty general insurance industry. It spans the key functional areas in insurance, including underwriting and policy administration, claims management and billing.

In a statement about the UBI solution’s launch, Lee said: “Personal lines insurers want to offer UBI as fast as possible to their customers and with Guidewire, they can in just a few months.

“Guidewire’s UBI solution was informed by our experience with multiple UBI-specific deployments and unlike other offerings that focus only on product definition, the solution is designed to support the entire quote-to-claim lifecycle.”

New paradigm

Jeffery Williams, senior analyst at Forrester Research, said in a recent blog post: “Increasing appetite for usage-based insurance (UBI) in personal auto will drive insurers to rethink how they help customers discover and use auto insurance.

“Covid-19 has ushered in a new paradigm where consumers are more conscious about price transparency. That will result in strong new business growth across the sector.”