Accenture has completed its acquisition of Duck CreekTechnologies, a privately held company that specializes in softwaresolutions for the property & casualty insurance industry.

Approximately 370 Duck Creek employees based in the UnitedStates and the United Kingdom are joining Accenture through theacquisition. Duck Creek will become part of Accenture Software,Accenture's dedicated software business.

The acquisition, announced in July, complements AccentureSoftware's existing p&c, component-based softwareplatforms. It gives Accenture a suite of software withprocessing capabilities for the p&c insurance market — fromproduct configuration and definition to policy management,including underwriting, billing, rating, ISO-based productssupport, and claims management.

“This acquisition demonstrates our commitment tooffering insurers a full suite of p&c software withindependent but interoperable modules that cover all core insurancefunctions,” says Colin Davies, global director of AccentureSoftware. “The software is designed to address insurers' businessrequirements while helping reduce implementation time andrisk.”

“Clients will also benefit from continual access toAccenture's ongoing R&D investments into advanced technologies,and can rely on our commitment to providing standard upgradablesoftware, backed by valuable and cost-effective softwaremaintenance services,” says John Del Santo, global managingdirector of Accenture's insurance practice. “We are pleased withour clients' excitement and support for this acquisition. Likeus, they see how these complementary capabilities can lead tobetter and faster software implementations and more efficientoperations.”

“Some insurers are looking for best of breed applications;others want a comprehensive end-to-end suite,” says Donald light,senior analyst at Celent. “All insurers are looking for effectivesoftware solutions that can be easily integrated and maintained.The .NET framework shared by Accenture and Duck Creek willfacilitate integration and easier maintenance for a strong combinedset of claims, policy administration, rating, and billingsolutions.”