Billing system integration

The default configuration of PolicyCenter includes a completely functional integration with Guidewire BillingCenter. Alternatively, you can integrate PolicyCenter with another billing system of your choice. This topic describes how PolicyCenter integrates with any billing system generally and provides specific information about how PolicyCenter integrates with BillingCenter.

The integration between PolicyCenter and a billing system allows them to share information about accounts, policies, producer organizations and producer codes. The billing system is BillingCenter if you enable the integration. PolicyCenter and the billing system exchange information by using Guidewire plugins and standards-based web services. The Billing System plugin sends information from PolicyCenter to the web services published by the billing system. Conversely, a variety of web services that PolicyCenter publishes receive information from the billing system.

Both PolicyCenter and the billing system maintain shared account, policy period, billing, and other information. While both applications have access to the information, only one application is the system of record (SOR) for each piece of information. In the default integration with BillingCenter, either PolicyCenter or BillingCenter is a system of record for some shared information.

The default integration handles shared information in the following ways:

You create and edit most shared information in PolicyCenter then push the information to BillingCenter.
In some cases, an initial value is set in PolicyCenter so that BillingCenter automatically creates a new account or policy. After that, BillingCenter owns the value.
You can customize the integration to use another application as the system of record. This application provides shared information to both PolicyCenter and the billing system. For example, an insurer can have a producer management system which manages producers and producer codes for PolicyCenter and the billing system.

PolicyCenter enables you to view billing information retrieved from the billing system. PolicyCenter displays billing information for the convenience of users who work mostly in PolicyCenter or do not have access to the billing system. If you have a BillingCenter login, PolicyCenter provides links to view account and policy period information in BillingCenter.