Safeco Selects Accenture to Implement New Insurance Product Configuration System
P&C insurer becomes first client of Accenture Insurance Configuration Components solution
NEW YORK and SEATTLE; May 15, 2008 – Safeco (NYSE: SAF) has selected Accenture (NYSE: ACN) to help it implement a new product development system for its commercial and personal insurance businesses. The purpose of the new system, which will be based on the newly unveiled Accenture Insurance Configuration Components Solution, is to help centralize and enhance Safeco’s product development capabilities across all geographies.
“Customer satisfaction, growth and efficiency are Safeco’s highest priorities,” said Tom Troy, senior vice president, Safeco Business Insurance. “Based upon Accenture technology, our enhanced product development suite is designed to satisfy the needs of our growing customer base and support product innovation well into the future. We are pleased to make Accenture our technology and consulting provider for this important initiative.”
Safeco is the charter client of the new Accenture Insurance Configuration Components Solution, an advanced modular software application offering a full range of product configuration capabilities for medium and large property and casualty (P&C) insurers. The solution is the newest addition to Accenture’s broad and evolving suite of P&C technology solutions, which also includes market-leading claims, underwriting and policy administration software. Accenture is expected to help Safeco adapt and implement the solution by the end of 2008.
The Accenture Insurance Configuration Component Solution was originally developed by Accenture in close collaboration with Microsoft and Avanade, a company created by Accenture and Microsoft. Key features include:
- Support for centralized product definitions that can be configured and maintained by business users;
- Interoperability with leading external engines for insurance underwriting, rating and forms;
- A product developer’s workbench that allows product changes to be pre-modeled for their impact on premiums; and
- Microsoft .NET 3.0 for support of Web services and full services-oriented architecture.
“The Product Development Suite is a key component in Safeco’s strategy to modernize its product and policy systems and allow for greater innovation in the product development process,” Kurt Schulenburg director, Product & Policy Information Technology, Safeco. “The ability to quickly configure and analyze new product logic will improve speed to market and reduce implementation costs associated with introducing new products to the marketplace.”
“Efficient product configuration is one of the most challenging operational objectives for P&C carriers today,” said Gail McGiffin, senior executive in Accenture’s insurance practice. “Our new component-based solution frees leading insurers like Safeco of the traditional limits of legacy policy systems, enabling them to rapidly develop and deploy their product offerings, efficiently centralize their product management operations across product and regulatory lines, and integrate their product systems with other best-of-breed technology and information tools.”
About Accenture Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. With 178,000 people in 49 countries, the company generated net revenues of US$19.70 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2007. Its home page is www.accenture.com.
About Safeco Safeco, in business since 1923, is a Fortune 500 property and casualty insurance company based in Seattle, WA. The company sells insurance to drivers, home owners, and owners of small- and mid-sized businesses principally through a national network of independent distribution partners. Safeco is also one of the nation’s leaders in the sale and service of surety bonds.
Francois Luu
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