2017 has been a heady year for insurance technology. The widespread embrace of new digital experience solutions, the explosion of interest in AI, and the rapid absorption of new insurtech by mainstream insurers have helped provide extra momentum. It has brought into sharp relief the inextricable relationship between systems of record and systems of engagement and the need for platforms that foster that relationship. Creating just such a platform has been at the heart of EIS’s technology approach. For this reason, it is hugely gratifying to find ourselves recognized as a Visionary in Gartner’s “Magic Quadrant for P&C Core Platforms, North America”*, which is “an update of the ‘Magic Quadrant for Property and Casualty Insurance Policy Management Modules, North America’ published in January 2016.”
According to the report, “The scope of this research has expanded beyond the policy management module to the core platform because Gartner has observed a strong shift in buyer preferences toward vendors that offer broader capabilities, which include customer experience, partner management and data management capabilities. Core modules for policy, billing and claims have become increasingly commoditized; buyer decisions are resting more heavily on breadth of platform capabilities and the strength of noncore functionality.”
We believe EIS was identified as a Visionary for our delivery of a digital insurance platform expressly designed to unify front and back office and to create easy hand-offs between business units and partners and seamless customer journeys with informed interactions. It has been our belief from the beginning that disparate core systems built with often disparate code-bases and design paradigms have truly held back insurers from seizing opportunities in a world where web- and digital interfaces are ubiquitous and a frictionless customer experience is demanded. Creating a silo-busting solution for insurers was our starting vision.
In effect, our vision has always been a platform. Our history of innovation and investment has been a continuous build toward the value a single, open platform offers our diverse client community. In practical terms, this has meant the EIS Suite™ core platform is uniquely designed to support multiple lines of business and segments of insurance – currently P&C and Benefits insurance – on a single platform. Its modular policy, billing, claims and customer management core components share a common platform in support of a consistent and seamless digital user experience. And by taking a customer-centric view of core operations from the start, we have championed the 360-degree portfolio view of the customer that enables better service.
Some of the benefits of this approach can be seen in the manner in which our core and digital solutions can leverage cloud environments and services, such as those from AWS and Microsoft. It can also be seen in the way EIS Suite core capabilities are extended to mobile and web apps through DXP™, our digital experience platform. By leveraging an end-to-end series of core APIs, offering an extensive set of out-of-the-box and configurable persona-based apps, and supporting emerging technologies such as chatbots and AI, DXP goes beyond what is offered in the market today to unify core and digital insurance operations.
So, over time, our platform has grown good bones. It can support our customer’s digital needs today but also has the flexibility to support increased levels and varieties of customer engagement and emerging tech as the connected world continues to advance. Guardian’s SVP for direct to consumer business, Peggy Maher, described this characteristic in a recent interview with Digital Insurance: “EIS’s modern architecture is a modular design that can be leveraged as component parts or as an end-to-end ecosystem. The component parts are supported by APIs that allow us to easily connect to other services as we choose. The component approach gives us maximum flexibility to connect partner relationships into the ecosystem over time. EIS’ design and architecture will be the perfect foundation for our digitally enabled direct to consumer business.”
Thank you to our customers who have shared this belief and supported us as our vision has become a reality.
Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
* Gartner, Inc. “Magic Quadrant for P&C Core Platforms, North America,” September 28, 2017.
