Few decisions shape a carrier’s future like modernizing the core, and the leaders who get it right are pulling ahead of the pack. They’re also the kind of industry innovators who appear on Guidewire’s InsurTalk podcast series. In our just-completed seventh season, several of them came to talk about core modernization initiatives and how they help their organizations redefine what’s possible in P&C insurance. Here are three lessons that stood out.

A Modern Core Isn’t the Finish Line; It’s the Springboard

It’s easy to see why a growing number of carriers are replacing outdated legacy systems with modern, cloud-based infrastructure and expansive, best-in-class solution ecosystems. According to Capgemini’s 2026 World Property & Casualty Report, for example, trailblazers running AI on top of a modern technology infrastructure to enable new “intelligent insurance” capabilities have been posting 21% higher revenue growth and roughly 51% greater share price than their peers. And McKinsey estimates that companies modernizing core applications see up to 40% faster time-to-market, 30% reductions in operating costs, and double-digit revenue growth within two years. But fair warning: core modernization isn’t a one-time system swap. It’s a composable foundation for continuous innovation.

Take Lisa Wharton, CIO of Columbia Insurance, who recently completed her third Guidewire implementation by going live across nine commercial lines. During our discussion, she explained how her team used a fully vetted core system implementation from an existing Guidewire customer to cut delivery effort by 60% and deployment time by 50%. But her biggest surprise came after go-live. Thanks to core system modernization, introducing a new line of business, which has traditionally meant slogging through a tangle of legacy systems, has become a fast, efficient process.

Then there’s Casey Kempton, President, P&C Personal Lines at Nationwide Insurance. In our conversation, she outlines what else that kind of modernized foundation can launch, including a shift from reliance on the industry’s “repair-and-replace” operating models to “predict-and-prevent” services that help avoid claims from happening in the first place. In Nationwide’s case, that translated into real-time alerts that now warn policyholders up to 30 minutes before a hailstorm hits, so they can move vehicles to covered parking or get children and pets indoors. It’s a small intervention that can have an outsized payoff at a time when wind and hail drive more than 40% of all homeowners’ insurance claims.

“The implementation of Guidewire…serves as a springboard for so much more that we couldn’t have even contemplated, let alone achieve, without [a] modern core system.” – Lisa Wharton, CIO, Columbia Insurance | Listen Now >>

“As risk professionals, our aspiration should be keeping roads safer and homes safer…The real opportunity is bringing real-time information…directly in front of the consumer, in a way that’s simple and clear and lets them take action quickly.” – Casey Kempton, President, P&C Personal Lines, Nationwide | Listen Now >>

Discipline Beats Heroics: Don’t Retrofit the Work, Reinvent It

Standouts in core modernization share a common trait: discipline. Avoiding the kind of stasis that compounds the costs and lost productivity that come with maintaining legacy systems requires rigorous planning, tight execution cadence, and the willingness to reinvent the work itself.

Adrian Thompson, Chief Customer Officer at MOTER Technologies, applies that same discipline to his organization’s telematics-based, private-label insurance. During his appearance on InsurTalk, Adrian explained how his organization transmits connected-vehicle data straight into core claims and underwriting workflows. That necessitates a modernized core and strategic service reinvention around a specific business outcome. With connected vehicles streaming real-time data on speed, braking, and steering, carriers can retire the old claims playbook. Instead of reconstructing a crash from statements, photos, and police reports, they can replace it with verification. Modern telematics isn’t bolted onto old processes, it remakes them—so first notice of loss (FNOL) can begin the instant a crash occurs, not when the customer picks up the phone.

Mika Kuusela, CIO of Finland’s OP Pohjola, uses that same approach with AI. In our episode, he points out that while 76% of carriers have deployed new forms of generative AI somewhere within their operations, few have truly scaled it. In fact, that figure is just 10% by Capgemini’s count. In Mika’s view, this is because the shortcut of taping new tools onto old processes doesn’t move the needle. The disciplined path is to completely reinvent the workflow atop a modern core and then measure business outcomes, not just AI adoption.

“You really have to think about, ‘What is it that we’re trying to do,’ start reinventing it with this new set of tools you have, instead of this hammer-and-nail situation where you try to sort of tape GenAI on top of different functions without looking at things holistically.” – Mika Kuusela, CIO, OP Pohjola | Listen Now >>

“There are some longstanding assumptions in how to manage an auto claim that simply don’t hold up anymore…You cannot accurately reconstruct a crash from statements, photos, and a police report…Modern vehicles already produce the data on speed, braking, and steering. Using that vehicle data really gives the adjusters full context.” – Adrian Thompson, CCO, MOTER Technologies | Listen Now >>

Tap AI to Keep Hard-Won Wisdom from Walking Out the Door

Modernization isn’t only about systems, of course. It’s also about humans. But therein lies another challenge for carriers. As it stands now, more than 400,000 seasoned P&C professionals are expected to retire within the next decade, taking years of expert judgment with them.

For Gavin Pokan, Chief Recovery and Care Officer of Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB), that exodus isn’t a distant worry. It’s an operational risk in the here and now. In our episode, Pokan discusses his aim to use his organization’s modernized core to preserve institutional know-how and make it accessible to even the newest employee. His vision: taking the old “over-the-baffle” habit—leaning over the cubicle wall to ask a 30-year veteran how to handle a thorny claim—and rebuilding it as an always-on assistant, so newer staff can perform like seasoned pros from day one.

Aviva Canada CIO Brett Fawbert knows a thing or two about that. In our episode, Brett shares insights from leading core modernization initiatives for Aviva operations on two different continents. He describes deploying Guidewire ProNavigator, an AI knowledge management solution, to shift his teams from tenure-based experience to system-enabled insight. This way, an adjuster facing a tricky claim no longer has to track down a long-tenured colleague who has dealt with that specific scenario before. Aviva is actively documenting even the most obscure, edge-case knowledge and embedding it into ProNavigator in order to capture and codify institutional know-how before it walks out the door.

“The challenge isn’t about how to replace human wisdom; it’s about preserving it, sharing it, and making it accessible to the next generation. GenAI makes knowledge more accessible to newer staff without waiting eight years for them to absorb every nuance…[giving] us a bridge between generations.” – Gavin Pokan, CRCO, WSIB | Listen Now >>

“We’ve deployed ProNavigator, and the future’s very bright, particularly in terms of expertise. You need to think about how you can use it within your organization, how you can give the claims handler the right information at the right time. The other thing we’re doing here is, when you’ve got these people with deep expertise—’I’ve been around the block a few times, really know claims inside and out’—is to capture that institutional knowledge and…embed it into ProNavigator so it’s available to everyone…The opportunity is great.” – Brett Fawbert, CIO, Aviva Canada | Listen Now >>

-Note: Excerpts featured in this post have been lightly edited for clarity and context. 

Go Live, Then Go Further

The through line across all three lessons is that the modern core isn’t a destination—it’s the foundation. The carriers pulling ahead treat go-live as a beginning, execute with discipline, and put the platform to work building intelligent, proactive insurance informed by human expertise. To hear the full conversations behind these lessons, and so many other expert insights from industry analysts, insurtechs, and thought leaders, subscribe to InsurTalk on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, or wherever you get your podcasts. Because if you want to learn about the trends and technologies reshaping P&C insurance, InsurTalk is the show for you.