Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company of Idaho Rolls Out Guidewire for Claims Management

Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company of Idaho (FBM Idaho; Pocatello, Idaho) has deployed San Mateo, Calif.-based Guidewire's ClaimCenter to manage its personal lines claims.

All new claims are being processed on the Guidewire platform, with outstanding older claims being converted from a legacy system over the next 90 days. FBM Idaho will add commercial lines in a later ClaimCenter phase.

"ClaimCenter is enabling us to increase the speed and efficiency with which we are able to process claims by automating processes and ensuring handling consistencies across our staff," Doug Alley, claims operations manager for FBM Idaho, says in a a statement. "With ClaimCenter, all of our claims handling capabilities are in one system, simplifying our adjusters' lives and enabling us to better focus on serving our policyholders and agents."

The claims revamp is part of a larger IT upgrade. Many insurers are beginning such upgrades with their claims systems, Celent analyst Craig Beattie told Insurance & Technology in June.

"We began our core system upgrades in the claims area. After selecting Guidewire, we reviewed our claims handling practices and decided how we wanted to handle claims — as opposed to automating what we had previously been doing," Gordon Crystal, vice president of claims, FBM Idaho, explains in the statement. "This process helped us identify challenge areas which we then addressed during our implementation."

ClaimCenter helps Farm Bureau Mutual consolidate multiple claims systems into one system for all lines of business; provide easy access from within ClaimCenter to other systems on which adjusters rely, such as roadside assistance, Metropolitan reporting or Enterprise Rent-a-Car; readily maintain the system with in-house personnel; and reduce adjuster and CSR training timeframes, the companies say.

Nathan Golia is senior editor of Insurance & Technology. He joined the publication in 2010 as associate editor and covers all aspects of the nexus between insurance and information technology, including mobility, distribution, core systems, customer interaction, and risk ... View Full Bio