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CLIENT
INDUSTRY
Insurance
FEATURING
Guidewire
50-60%
faster timeline compared to a traditional rebuild
Half
the cost of traditional implementation
250,000+
hours saved through new approach to build
PwC brought insurance insight and cloud expertise so Columbia can modernize and lead with confidence
Interview with:
Lisa Wharton
CIO
Columbia Insurance
What sparked the need for change?
“We’d been evaluating core modernization for years. Not because we had to, but because we saw where the insurance industry was going. The traditional model—starting from a blank slate, rebuilding configuration line by line, and committing to years of implementation—didn’t reflect how we operate. As a regional carrier, we’re deliberate. We move when the strategy is clear and the path is disciplined. We stopped asking how to rebuild. Instead, we asked how to modernize differently. Posing it that way to Guidewire and PwC changed everything. Together they introduced and validated the ‘lift and shift’ concept. This helped Columbia find an innovative way to modernize.”
What solution did the teams unlock by working together?
“That mindset shift unlocked a new model—one we shaped together with PwC. We didn’t start from zero. We started from proven configuration. Reusing a mature Guidewire InsuranceSuite instance allowed us to bypass thousands of hours of foundational build. PwC pressure-tested it, refined where it mattered, and aligned it to our operating model. Insurance, architecture, cloud: one coordinated effort. PwC guided the move to Guidewire Cloud and kept the program focused on outcomes, not activity. AI-enabled tools and automation were embedded throughout delivery, helping streamline configuration, improve quality, and accelerate execution at scale. The result was modern policy, billing, and claims capabilities delivered in a fraction of the traditional timeline.”
Where did tech innovation meet human ingenuity?
“This wasn’t a simple technology swap. This was a deliberate decision to reuse what already worked—and that only works when you’re disciplined about what stays. In insurance, customization can stall a program fast. So we made deliberate choices to preserve what was proven and adapt only where it created real business value. We opted to stagger the release of our Agent Portal to better manage the change impact on our stakeholders which also increased the long-term competitive advantage.
That took more than technology. It took governance, clear decision rights, and tight scope control. We were consistently aligning operations and technology. PwC helped design those guardrails from Day One—structuring the program, challenging unnecessary customization, and keeping teams anchored to outcomes, not expansion. Technology accelerated us. Discipline protected us. That balance made innovation practical, scalable, and far less risky.”
What was the real-world impact of approaching things differently?
“The metrics are clear—we cut timelines in half, reduced costs by 50%, and saved more than 250,000 hours in the implementation. But the real impact is what we didn’t lose. We didn’t lose focus on our agents. We didn’t lose stability. We didn’t lose momentum. Instead, we gained a modern cloud foundation that allows us to scale, innovate, and respond faster to the market. Modernization didn’t disrupt the business. It helped position us for what’s next.”
“PwC didn’t just help us execute. They challenged our assumptions, strengthened the model, and gave us the confidence to take a different path.”
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