Policyholders expect more from insurers.
Conditioned by their interactions with e-commerce providers, they want insurance experiences that are fast, simple, personalized, and on-demand. This is especially true when it comes to millennials.
Policyholders are increasingly willing to change suppliers to get the experience they are after. But legacy systems and entrenched paper processes make it hard for insurers to meet the challenge. Disruptive ‘digital born’ insurers are raising the stakes for legacy insurers to step up their game.
As a result, insurers are investing big bucks in “insurtech” initiatives designed to digitally transform cumbersome, paper-based processes across the insurance enterprise. These efforts are radically changing the way that insurers issue and underwrite policies and manage policyholder claims.
Other insurers are investing in best-in-class core systems such as Guidewire.
One area that’s been largely untouched by insurtech is the way that insurers pay out claims. Most insurers still pay claims using antiquated paper checks, studies show. Checks take a lot of time and manpower to produce and mail, they are a pain to reconcile, and they are vulnerable to fraud.
Paper checks are a hassle for policyholders, too.
Policyholders shouldn’t have to wait days or weeks to receive their payout – especially when it means that they won’t have the money they desperately need after a car wreck, injury, or disaster.
No wonder that slow claims payouts can have otherwise satisfied customers looking for the door.
Insurers cite lots of reasons for dragging their feet on migrating from check payouts.
But one of the biggest barriers to digital claim payouts for many insurers is the complexity involved with traditional approaches to electronic payments. No insurer wants to manage another standalone system or bank payment portal, log into separate systems to initiate payments, waste lots of time chasing down information about the status of payments, or manually reconcile another spreadsheet.
Payment solutions embedded in Guidewire offer insurers a faster, easier way to make payments: Insurers can effortlessly disburse funds from within the familiar screens of their Guidewire system.
Embedded payments empower Guidewire users to transform policyholder payouts in four ways:
Improved Payments ProcessesEmbedded payment solutions make it easy for Guidewire users to initiate and manage policyholder payouts. Single or mass payouts can be made in real-time or scheduled for later, with just a few clicks of the mouse, from within the screens of the Guidewire system. Payouts can be made from any originating bank account. And all payouts are automatically reconciled in real-time, eliminating the need for staff to rekey data.
Customers expect personalized experiences. That is especially true when it comes to claim payouts. With an embedded payment solution, insurers can initiate payouts in a policyholder’s preferred payment method, including card, Automated Clearing House (ACH), Real-Time Payment (RTP), or Mastercard Send to a bank account or card. What’s more, electronic payments arrive faster than paper checks (some electronic payments are instant), are less likely to be in the wrong amount, and don’t require a special trip to the bank for a deposit.
There’s also no chance that electronic payments will be lost in the mail or intercepted by fraudsters. Some embedded payment solutions also have a mobile application that guides policyholders through the process of verifying their identity, reviewing claim documents, providing a digital signature, and choosing how they get paid.
It’s easy for insurers to know where things with their payouts are when they use a single platform to make and manage all payments. A single dashboard shows all pending, in-process, and completed payments. And historical payment data can be queried fast using search criteria such as the claim payout amount, date, or policyholder.
Some policyholders can become overwhelmed by the process of registering to receive electronic payments – standing in the way of electronic payment adoption. The mobile onboarding capabilities built into some embedded payment solutions eliminate this issue. Policyholders receive an SMS or e-mail notification of an approved claim. A link in the SMS or e-mail guides the policyholder through the onboarding process.
Policyholders are raising the bar for how claim payouts should work.
By embedding a payment solution in Guidewire, insurers can meet the challenge.
Deliver a better customer experience while achieving new levels of operational efficiency.
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