The Earthquake Commission of New Zealand, IBM (
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With the implementation, it is possible to assess and manage natural disaster claim demands in a quick and easy manner, according to the companies.
The previous claims management system of EQC could not provide the functionality and flexibility that met the commission’s strategic direction, and was also nearing the end of its lifespan, according to the company.
On the other hand, EQC could instantly scale as its business demanded and improve its claims capabilities with an “anytime/anywhere” Web-based claims system that was easily accessible by a remote workforce – regardless of their location. In case of a large-scale natural disaster in an urban area, EQC’s claims volume can surge from an average of 3,000 to 4,000 claims annually, to 100,000 to 200,000.
Responsible for providing residential natural disaster insurance coverage throughout New Zealand, EQC, the government-owned Crown Entity, needs a single claims system with flexible functionality, which is easy to use. The system should also have a short learning curve for new users. The company opted for IBM as it offered solution design and development as well as software selection, configuration and deployment. IBM had selected Guidewire ClaimCenter after extensive evaluation as it can be readily configured to meet EQC’s specific requirements, thanks to its proven, modern, end-to-end claims management system. For an initial term of if 10 years, IBM will host and manage the ClaimCenter Implementation for EQC.
Company officials say the IBM-configured ClaimCenter system is providing EQC the ability to: assist with address matching claims as they are registered; provide maps to the Web for public viewing of events; use modern technology to support and advance its business processes; gain visibility into adjuster workloads and claim status; allow loss adjusters and other field staff to see their daily activities on a map; modernize its technology platform to ensure cost effective and flexible system support; reduce training times for new users; provide map based management reports to EQC’s executive team; better manage claim activities and adjuster workflows through automated activity-driven task assignments; and provide the tools for drawing the event boundary.
“We found the Guidewire application to be easy to configure and straightforward to implement and integrate with EQC’s other systems,” said Bill Doak, IBM global business services partner, Asia-Pacific. “This is a great example of IBM’s ability to provide software-as-a-service and it highlights the real value proposition IBM provide clients.”
Raju Shanbhag is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Raju's articles, please visit his columnist page.
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