Yesterday, Encova Insurance was announced as a winner of the 2022 Aite-Novarica Insurance Technology Awards for their Personal Lines Transformation. With 65 technology project submissions, Encova was one of 12 winners, and one of three winners in the category of core systems: large property/casualty.
“We are honored to receive this award that showcases the technology we have implemented in recent years,” Encova Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer John Kessler said. “The decision to move forward with personal lines and invest in Guidewire’s state-of-the-art technology did not come easy; but it was absolutely the right strategy. We are proud of our cross-functional internal team who implemented this new solution during a pandemic and the outstanding support we received from strategic partners such as PwC and Cognizant to see this through to fruition.”
Encova’s Personal Lines Transformation consolidated six legacy systems to improve the online experience for policyholders and agents, using Guidewire’s InsuranceSuite and Digital Portals to create one system. Encova has implemented this project in 10 states so far, with plans to expand. New business counts in 2021 increased by 144% year-over-year, and straight-through processing for issued new business has risen from 0% to 56%.
“This transformation reinvented who we are in regard to our personal lines offerings and has modernized our capabilities,” Encova Executive Vice President, Personal Lines, Matt Wilcox said. “Our new system provides our agents and policyholders with a best-in-class experience with state-of-the-art digital capabilities. I couldn’t be prouder of how far we have come and the coverages and digital experience we are now able to offer.”
Through this technology, Encova has implemented paperless delivery and automated payments for policyholders, in addition to e-signature and API integration.
“Core systems modernization efforts are among the most difficult projects insurer IT organizations can undertake, but they’re often vital for enterprise agility and risk reasons,” Aite-Novarica Group Head of CIO Research Harry Huberty said. “As Encova’s case study demonstrates, these projects can be massive and complex; coordinating mission-critical workstreams across hundreds of resources takes exceptional communication. When they are successful, they can create transformative impact for their organizations.”
The success of this transformation was the result of a detailed strategy and plan, effective collaboration and defined goals amongst the team and partners.
“We congratulate Encova Insurance on being recognized with a 2022 Insurance Technology Impact Award by Aite-Novarica and for their successful personal lines core systems transformation project with Guidewire InsuranceSuite,” Guidewire Software Chief Customer Officer Christina Colby said. “We are impressed with the work they have done and are delighted that they have been recognized with this well-deserved honor.”