Client
Our esteemed client stands as a leader in the fiercely competitive UK general insurance market. With over 2.7 million active customer policies and a dedicated workforce of more than 3,400, their pursuit of excellence is relentless.
Challenge
Our client had made significant investments in Guidewire InsuranceSuite, operating all core modules of Guidewire (PolicyCenter, BillingCenter, ClaimCenter, and Digital). Yet, the complexities of managing the Guidewire ecosystem posed challenges they sought to overcome. They wanted to:
- Enhance Core Capabilities: Elevating the team’s skills and talent in the world of Guidewire.
- Streamline AMS: Instituting a structured approach to Application Maintenance Support (AMS) encompassing processes and methodologies.
- Align Business with IT: Aligning IT Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) with business KPIs and establishing the capability to monitor these crucial metrics.
- Automate for Efficiency: Implementing automation to reduce recurring incidents and minimize ticket volumes.
- Institute a Global Delivery Model: Adopting a global delivery approach with a 24×7 support model.
- Optimize Resources: Liberating their core team’s bandwidth to concentrate on high-value change initiatives.
In a nutshell, their quest was for an Application Maintenance and Support (AMS) partner capable of extending their capabilities and delivering uninterrupted services through an automation-led, future-ready operating model aimed at reducing manual interventions and enhancing IT operations’ effectiveness and productivity.
Solution
Hexaware crafted a bespoke solution with the following components:
- Transition Phase: A swift 6-week transition phase was initiated to take over their complete Guidewire applications stack, including integration systems, batch services, and SQL DB components. Meanwhile, a highly skilled surge team was deployed to clear the backlog during the transition phase.
- Target Operating Model: A new Target Operating Model (TOM) featuring 24×7 support coverage for Level 1, 2, and Level 3 support was introduced. Additionally, a Level 1.5 team with Guidewire skillsets was established for resolving incidents right away.
- Bots for Efficiency: An army of bots was rolled out to prevent incidents or provide first-level resolution before assigning them to the Level 1.5 team.
Automation to Accelerate Productivity:
Hexaware’s team introduced automation at multiple touchpoints in the Guidewire applications stack, including:
- General Ledger File Automation: Reducing operational effort by 15-20% each week through integration with Oracle PeopleSoft.
- Common Notes/Static Wordings Inclusion: Reducing approximately 1600 person-hours for every 100K policies.
Benefits
Delivery Benefits:
- Certified Guidewire 24×7 support coverage for Level 1 and Level 2 support teams.
- Built core and flexible Level 1.5 teams to support urgent capacity requirements, reducing backlogs and identifying permanent fixes.
- Increased throughput and a reduction in manual-intensive activities.
Cost Benefits:
- 15% year-on-year productivity improvement through automation, process enhancements, and value additions.
- 25% cost reduction through offshore leverage.
Business Benefits:
- Improved application availability, resulting in enhanced customer experience.
- Aligned IT KPIs with business KPIs and the capability to monitor them.
- Leveraged automation approach to prevent incidents, automate recovery, and enable self-service, leading to reduced turnaround times and an improved employee experience.
Summary
Our client, a prominent UK General Insurance provider, aspired to become the market’s leading digital insurer. Hexaware partnered with them to extend their capabilities in the day-to-day management of the Guidewire platform and enhance their internal staff’s technical proficiency on these platforms.
Moreover, Hexaware introduced an automation-led operating model that has led to significant cost and efficiency gains. This transformation has improved the Straight Through Processing (STP) rates within their retail operations teams and significantly enhanced the end customer experience.
