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Farm Bureau Insurance Picks Guidewire Software

LANSING (WWJ) -- Farm Bureau Insurance of Michigan, a provider of property-casualty insurance in Michigan, has selected the InsuranceSuite from Foster City, Calif.-based Guidewire Software Inc.  (NYSE: GWRE) as its new platform for rating, underwriting and policy administration, claims management, and billing.

The organization also selected Guidewire Client Data Management to help it manage customer contact data.

Guidewire PartnerConnect alliance member PwC US has been selected to work with Farm Bureau Insurance on the implementation project.

Farm Bureau Insurance selected InsuranceSuite to help it transform its core systems as well as its business practices as part of a larger business transformation initiative. Another key business driver for the project is Farm Bureau Insurance's desire to continuously improve its service to customers, including both policyholders and agents.

"As we went through the selection process, it was really the quality of the Guidewire team and technology that reaffirmed that they were the best fit for our needs," said Bill Hodges, director, Marketing Development and Support, Farm Bureau Insurance. "Whenever we had questions, the Guidewire team demonstrated the answer visually, through the solution versus just telling us. This made us comfortable and confident in the fact that we were making the right decision."

"We are committed to our agents as our distribution method and trusted advisors," said Teresa Ruckle, director, Policyholder Services, Farm Bureau Insurance. "With InsuranceSuite, we will be able to provide them with the ability to make faster decisions leveraging straight through processing and tools that will help eliminate manual processes. This will, in turn, allow them to focus more on customer service."

InsuranceSuite will enable Farm Bureau Insurance to: • Increase its speed to market with integrated policy, billing, and claims systems; • Enhance its operational efficiencies and consistency across all its P/C lines of business; • Consolidate disparate systems to more easily gather data for accurate pricing which will enable it to be competitive in the market; and • Reduce operating costs by leveraging a common skill set and con?guration tools.

The suite was designed using a modular approach, enabling insurers to select individual applications -- Guidewire PolicyCenter, BillingCenter and ClaimCenter -- or a pre-integrated set, driven by their requirements and priorities. InsuranceSuite provides the flexibility insurers need to deliver insurance the way they want to, by rapidly delivering better products and service to their policyholders and agents, while improving underwriting discipline and lowering operational costs.

Farm Bureau Insurance of Michigan was founded in 1949 by Michigan farmers -- members of Michigan Farm Bureau -- who wanted an insurance company that worked as hard as they did, gave honest service, and cared about Michigan's future. Those values still guide the company today and are a big reason why Farm Bureau Insurance of Michigan is known as Michigan's Insurance Company, dedicated to protecting the farms, families, and businesses of this great state.

Its 400 agents across Michigan provide a full range of insurance services -- life, home, auto, farm, business, retirement and more -- protecting nearly 500,000 Michigan policyholders. For more information, visit www.farmbureauinsurance-mi.com.

More about the vendor at www.guidewire.com.

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