(West Bend Mutual’s headquarters in West Bend, Wisc. Photo courtesy of the West Bend Chamber of Commerce.)
West Bend Mutual Insurance has gone live with Accenture Duck Creek Policy and Duck Creek Billing software as the result of an initial implementation across 14 commercial lines of business. The initiative will enable the West Bend, Wisc.-based P&C insurer to better serve its independent insurance agents through streamlined operations, increased flexibility and accelerated product development, according to an Accenture statement.
“Accenture’s Duck Creek software is allowing us to transform the cost effectiveness and agility of our IT systems,” comments Tracey Berg, SVP, CIO, West Bend Mutual. “We can operate more efficiently, respond more quickly to shifts in the marketplace, and make better use of information. This supports the growth of our business by enabling our organization to introduce new capabilities with greater speed and efficiency. Our new systems will help us better provide The Silver Lining to our agencies and policyholders.”
Tracy Berg, CIO, West Bend Mutual.
The initiative is targeted at streamlining operations within West Bend’s commercial, personal, specialty insurance (NSI), and Argent (workers’ compensation) lines of business through what Accenture characterizes as a flexible and intuitive platform. The Duck Creek components enable real-time access to policy and billing information increases agility, allowing West Bend to easily adjust and introduce new products, while also enhancing the carrier’s online billing capabilities, according to the vendor.
West Bend is also using Accenture Duck Creek Commercial Lines Templates, which the vendor describes as a pre-configured insurance product deployment solution for Insurance Services Office (ISO)-based commercial lines and National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI)-based workers’ compensation products. Duck Creek Templates are actively maintained with changes and updates, delivered 90 days in advance of the effective date.
West Bend is confident that the initiative will drastically improve internal efficiency and ultimately help the company to be more confident in product pricing, according to William Hutchison, SVP for NSI business, West Bend. “In our segment of the business, specialty lines, it makes sense to expand and grow geographically,” Hutchison observes. “The cost of doing that with our previous system hampered our plans, due to the expense and complexity. We fully expect that the implementation of Accenture’s Duck Creek software will open up many options for adding new states and improving our product line.”