What Is Guidewire PolicyCenter? A Plain-English Guide
By GuidewireTraining.com faculty · Updated
Short answer: Guidewire PolicyCenter is the policy administration system in Guidewire InsuranceSuite. Property and casualty insurers use it to quote, issue, change, renew and cancel insurance policies, manage products and underwriting rules, and calculate premiums. Developers customize it with the Gosu language, PCF screens and a configurable data model.
What PolicyCenter does
An insurance policy goes through many changes in its life. PolicyCenter manages each of them as a policy transaction:
| Transaction | What happens |
|---|---|
| Submission | A new policy is quoted and issued |
| Policy change | Coverage, drivers or vehicles change mid-term |
| Renewal | The policy is re-rated and continued for a new term |
| Cancellation | The policy ends before its expiry date |
| Reinstatement | A cancelled policy is brought back |
| Audit | Final premium is calculated from actual exposure |
Where PolicyCenter fits in InsuranceSuite
- PolicyCenter: policies, products, underwriting and rating
- ClaimCenter: first notice of loss through claim settlement
- BillingCenter: invoices, payments and commissions
The three share the same technical foundation, so skills transfer between them.
How developers customize PolicyCenter
- Data model: extend entities and typelists.
- Gosu: write business logic, enhancements and rules.
- PCF files: build and change the screens users see.
- Product model: define lines of business, coverages and conditions.
- Integration: connect to rating engines, document systems and payment gateways through plugins, web services and messaging.
Jobs that PolicyCenter creates
Implementation teams hire PolicyCenter developers (configuration and integration), testers (functional and automation) and business analysts (requirements and product design). See our PolicyCenter Development course to start.
Frequently asked questions
Is PolicyCenter the same as InsuranceSuite?
No. InsuranceSuite is the family of core applications. PolicyCenter is the policy application within it, alongside ClaimCenter and BillingCenter.
What language is PolicyCenter customized in?
Gosu, a statically typed language that runs on the Java Virtual Machine and is used across all Guidewire InsuranceSuite applications.