Duck Creek Technologies will steer a multi-year program to modernise systems at Suncorp and replace legacy equipment with cloud-based solutions.

The insurer’s CEO of consumer insurance, Lisa Harrison, says US-based Duck Creek was selected after a rigorous tender process, and the overhaul will roll out new systems in a “safe, smart and efficient way”.

“Modernising our core insurance platforms will help us deliver innovative and affordable customer propositions, simplify and streamline our operations and, importantly, enable our people,” she said.  

Suncorp business and technical leaders will work with the Duck Creek team, which will introduce cloud-native, low-code insurance delivery tools as part of the $560 million “digital insurer” policy transformation program, announced last month.

Duck Creek’s modular OnDemand platform will speed up Suncorp’s innovation timelines, reducing new product time to market from months to weeks, and product amendments from weeks to days, according to the insurer. It will also help Suncorp increase automation, eliminate manual processes and improve data-driven decision-making.  

“The multi-year agreement for Duck Creek policy, billing and Clarity (data, insights and AI) solutions is an important milestone, and will underpin the next era of technology modernisation and process simplification for Suncorp,” the company said. 

The Duck Creek suite is designed to reduce Suncorp’s technological complexity, enhance customer personalisation and lift efficiency. The insurer aims to develop new data-driven propositions “without the associated complexity” across its personal and commercial brands in Australia and New Zealand. 

Duck Creek Asia-Pacific MD Christian Erickson says Suncorp is “pushing the boundaries” of insurance innovation.  

“They appreciate that they’re not in the business of just insuring assets but of delivering confidence and better experiences and outcomes for their policyholders,” he said. “We believe Suncorp will push us to think and innovate differently, and we are excited for the outcomes we will achieve together.”