Accenture (NYSE:ACN) announced that West Bend Mutual Insurance Company (West Bend) is the 50th client to have gone into production with Accenture Duck Creek Policy and Duck Creek Billing software. Initially using the software across 14 commercial lines, West Bend will be able to better serve its independent insurance agents through streamlined operations, increased flexibility and accelerated product development. West Bend provides insurance services to home, auto and business owners in the United States.

Accenture’s Duck Creek software is helping West Bend streamline operations around its commercial, personal, specialty insurance (NSI), and Argent (workers’ compensation) lines of business through a flexible and intuitive platform. Real-time access to policy and billing information increases agility, allowing West Bend to easily adjust and introduce new products, and has also enhanced its online billing capabilities.

“Accenture’s Duck Creek software is allowing us to transform the cost effectiveness and agility of our IT systems,” said Tracey Berg, West Bend's senior vice president and chief information officer. “We can operate more efficiently, respond more quickly to shifts in the marketplace, and make better use of information. This supports the growth of our business by enabling our organization to introduce new capabilities with greater speed and efficiency. Our new systems will help us better provide The Silver Lining to our agencies and policyholders.”

West Bend is also using Accenture Duck Creek Commercial Lines Templates, a pre-configured insurance product deployment solution for Insurance Services Office (ISO)-based commercial lines and National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI)-based workers’ compensation products. Duck Creek Templates are actively maintained with changes and updates, delivered 90 days in advance of the effective date.

William Hutchison, NSI senior vice president at West Bend, said, “We are excited about the implementation, as we are certain that it will drastically improve our internal efficiency and ultimately help us be more competitive in our product pricing. In our segment of the business, specialty lines, it makes sense to expand and grow geographically. The cost of doing that with our previous system hampered our plans, due to the expense and complexity. We fully expect that the implementation of Accenture’s Duck Creek software will open up many options for adding new states and improving our product line.”

“West Bend needed to increase their flexibility in a way that was cost-effective,” said Michael A. Jackowski, global managing director of Accenture Duck Creek. “The codeless configuration capabilities of our Duck Creek software allow them to make quick changes in-house. We look forward to working together as they expand their implementation efforts to additional lines of business.”

About West Bend Mutual Insurance Company

West Bend Mutual Insurance Company, headquartered in West Bend, Wisconsin, provides property/casualty insurance products throughout the Midwest. The company offers a broad personal lines coverage package, a full range of commercial products and services, and insurance for specialty lines. West Bend employs more than 1,000 associates and is represented by approximately 1,200 independent insurance agencies throughout Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Missouri, Kansas, Kentucky, and Nebraska. The company has been rated A (Excellent) or better by A.M. Best since 1971 and is consistently ranked at the top of a nationwide ease-of-doing business survey. Its home page is www.thesilverlining.com.

About Accenture

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with approximately 289,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world's most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$28.6 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2013. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

Accenture Software combines deep technology acumen with industry knowledge to develop differentiated software products. It offers innovative software-based solutions to enable organizations to meet their business goals and achieve high performance. Its home page is www.accenture.com/software. For Accenture Duck Creek software, its home page is www.accenture.com/duckcreek. By applying its extensive industry knowledge to continuously enhance its software, Accenture helps insurers reduce operating costs, and drive growth through better customer interaction and product innovation.

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