Guidewire Software, Inc., which specializes in technology solutions for property/casualty insurers, announced the release of Guidewire PolicyCenter, a comprehensive policy administration system for all lines of P&C insurance. Guidewire PolicyCenter is a Web-based system making it easier for agents to do business with insurance carriers, enhance underwriting accuracy and efficiency, and adapt flexibly to changing product and business requirements.

"Underwriting professionals told us they needed an intuitive, rule-driven policy processing environment to maximize and optimize their underwriting business," says Marcus Ryu, vice president of strategy and new products for Guidewire. "Meanwhile, IT organizations said they needed to consolidate systems and improve their responsiveness to changing business requirements." Guidewire designed PolicyCenter to enable both goals, Ryu claims, allowing underwriters to focus on risk evaluation and agent relationships rather than data entry and system frustrations.

Guidewire PolicyCenter is a J2EE application. Written entirely in Java, it runs on the insurance industry's leading platforms. All aspects of the system can be configured using XML instead of custom programming, and business rules can be managed by business users for flexibility in adapting to changing needs.