Guidewire Honors P&C Insurance Innovators and AI Pioneers at Connections 2026

Guidewire has recognized the P&C insurance industry's leading digital transformations at its annual Connections conference, highlighting how carriers like Beazley and Definity are deploying agentic AI and cloud-native platforms. For insurance professionals, these awards signal a shift from experimental AI to production-scale implementations that directly impact underwriting efficiency, claims processing, and broker distribution networks.

What was announced

Guidewire honored several organizations across its Innovation, Partner Excellence, and Insurtech Vanguard categories. Beazley was recognized for replacing manual processes with a cloud platform built with Capgemini, achieving real-time broker submissions and GenAI-led product simplification. Definity, working with Deloitte, launched an agentic AI solution that automates broker FNOL intake by converting submissions into structured claims within Guidewire. RCIS was noted for its "Passion for the Possible™" initiative, which used the Jutro digital platform and PwC to unify agricultural insurance across 50 U.S. states, replacing a legacy environment and cutting customer transfer times.

Partner awards included PwC for AI-powered PolicyCenter implementation at CNA Surety, and Accenture for transforming employer registration at WSIB Ontario. LexisNexis Risk Solutions was named Global Technology Partner of the Year, while GhostDraft took Marketplace Partner of the Year. Regional winners included CCC Intelligent Solutions (AMER), Newgen Software (APAC), and Sprout.ai (EMEA). The InsurPitch winners from the Insurtech Vanguards program included Kayna, Miss Moneypenny Technologies, Stream, and Sync Technologies. Finally, the All-Stars Class of 2026 recognized 52 individual champions from the global user community for their contributions to technology-led transformation.

The companies involved

Guidewire (NYSE: GWRE) is a dominant provider of core software platforms for P&C insurers, offering a suite that includes PolicyCenter, BillingCenter, and ClaimCenter. The company has pivoted heavily toward cloud-native delivery via Guidewire Cloud and its Jutro Digital Platform. Beazley is a specialist insurer operating globally, known for its focus on professional indemnity, cyber, and property risks. Definity Financial Corporation is a major Canadian multi-channel insurer, while RCIS (Rural Community Insurance Services) is a leading provider of crop insurance in the United States.

The ecosystem is supported by global consultancies like Capgemini and PwC. Capgemini is a French multinational information technology services and consulting company with a significant footprint in financial services transformation. PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) operates as a global network of firms providing professional services, including extensive insurance-specific consulting for core system migrations and AI integration. These partners are central to Guidewire’s PartnerConnect program, which facilitates the integration of third-party technology and consulting expertise into the Guidewire environment.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has tracked Guidewire’s aggressive expansion into advanced automation, recently reporting that Guidewire to Acquire hyperexponential for $2.1 Billion to Revolutionize Agentic Underwriting. This move aligns with the company's focus on AI-led transformation, as seen in the recent news that CASE3 Technologies Joins Guidewire PartnerConnect to Drive AI-Led Insurance Transformation. Additionally, FF News covered the broader professional services landscape, noting that Capgemini Selected as Strategic Technology Partner for UK’s Financial Services Compensation Scheme. These developments come at a critical time for the sector, as Regulatory Complexity and Geopolitical Risk Threaten 77% of Financial Services Firms, putting pressure on carriers to modernize legacy systems to maintain compliance and operational resilience.

What this means from an insurtech perspective

This announcement marks a transition for the P&C sector from discussing AI as a theoretical tool to deploying it as a core operational component. The focus on "agentic AI" and automated FNOL intake suggests that carriers are finally tackling the high-friction points of the claims and underwriting lifecycle. For MGAs and brokers, the move toward real-time submission processing reduces the administrative burden that has historically plagued distribution. However, this shift puts immense pressure on legacy-bound incumbents. As leaders like Beazley and Definity successfully integrate AI into their core systems, the gap in loss ratios and customer trust between cloud-native and legacy-reliant carriers is likely to widen significantly.