As Seen in CIO Outlook
WaterStreet Company Insurance for the Future
WaterStreet Company was established to meet its customers’ needs within the policy administration space. Founded by Gregg Barrett in 2000, the company has been helping property and casualty companies to increase efficiencies and reduce costs for over 18 years. “At WaterStreet, we’ve coined the word ‘extrasource,’” says Carol Barton, the company’s Vice President of Marketing and Business Development. “To extrasource means to gain the capacity to do more, without staffing up or investing in IT, through the technologies and capabilities of WaterStreet.”
As a client-focused company, WaterStreet offers a customizable fullservice management solution—rate, quote, issue, bill, payments, document management and claims management. The goal is increased flexibility for clients in a way that is comprehensive and integrated with their current processes. The result is that all screens look the same, and all data processing is consistent, whether WaterStreet is underwriting a homeowners’ policy, quoting a commercial property policy, processing a claim, rating a flood endorsement, or comparing rates for auto insurance. This consistency and integration help to significantly reduce human error and allow underwriters to be more effective. The service is customizable and is often enhanced through the co-development of strategic projects with individual clients. This allows clients to get functionality for specific requirements and unique product offerings enabling them to enhance their own brand. WaterStreet is constantly adding system upgrades to make sure clients are always on the cutting edge of technology.
The insurance industry today faces a number of new challenges. Technology is always changing, and companies usually face tough budget decisions on technology upgrades and staffing. Customer purchasing preferences are shifting, and companies must be able to meet their expectations while providing strong customer service and keeping expenses in check. Also, companies must remain dynamic enough to be able to respond quickly to changes in marketplace conditions. WaterStreet has designed solutions to help customers overcome these significant challenges, including a workflow engine and dynamic rules that support its web based quoting in real time. In one scenario, a WaterStreet client was able to reduce staff by more than 50 percent after the system went live, by eliminating manual processes, reducing errors, and streamlining workflow.
Customers choose WaterStreet because of its unique attributes: it offers a comprehensive solution, with all property and casualty functionality integrated under one roof. It makes investments in industry professionals and offers unparalleled service with a high level of flexibility.
WaterStreet has a track record of success collaborating with clients and developing new products. What sets the company apart from its competitors is not only its drive to succeed, but its drive to innovate. The company is developing new platform strategies to enhance its offerings for clients, including chat capabilities, universal API for third-party vendors, enhanced configurability, and self-service channels. As new industry problems arise, analysts, clients, and competitors alike understand that WaterStreet will rise to the challenge and produce technological innovation that will move the entire sector forward. Its current research is in the areas of usage-based insurance, the securitization of data through the blockchain, the integration of multiple distribution sources, direct to consumer channels and overall increased digitalization. This is how WaterStreet has risen to the level of an industry leader in the insurance market.
