Insurance Policyholders Now Rate Insurers by How Fast They Pay

With policyholders facing more choices, more transparency and fewer switching barriers, insurers are discovering that retention is no longer protected by inertia but earned through performance at the most emotional moment of the relationship: getting paid.

Competition Has Turned Insurance Into a Buyer’s Market

The report “The Demand for Instant Insurance: Why Speed Is the New Trust,” a collaboration between PYMNTS Intelligence and Ingo Payments, underscores that insurance markets are now firmly tilted toward consumers, with elevated shopping levels and declining tolerance for friction.

A growing share of customers report low satisfaction, and those customers are far more likely to change carriers when renewal approaches. In this environment, loyalty is increasingly transactional and time-sensitive.

Customers Are Willing to Pay

One of the clearest signals in the research is that policyholders do not just want faster payments; many value speed enough to pay for it. PYMNTS Intelligence finds that 23% of consumers receiving insurance disbursements between $500 and $1,000 are willing to pay a fee for instant access to funds, along with 18% of those receiving smaller payouts.

That willingness reframes disbursement speed from an operational upgrade into a perceived premium service. In moments of loss or disruption, faster access to money is treated as relief, not convenience.

Speed and Satisfaction

The report shows that payout speed has overtaken nearly every other factor in shaping how customers judge their insurance experience. Nearly half of all claimants rate speed as the most important element of the payment process, ahead of choice, simplicity or cost.

This effect intensifies during catastrophic or severe-weather events, when more than half of policyholders prioritize quick payouts above all else. In these moments, speed becomes synonymous with care.

Why Loyalty Is Ultimately About Trust and Churn

Trust is built when insurers deliver at the moment customers feel most vulnerable. The research shows that customers who are dissatisfied with their claims experience are far more likely to cite slow payments as a central failure, while highly satisfied customers consistently point to payment speed as a reinforcing factor.

This dynamic directly affects churn. Delayed payments erode goodwill and increase switching intent, even among customers who otherwise value their insurer.

How Disbursement Methods Reinforce Loyalty

While checks still dominate insurance payouts, the report highlights a growing shift toward digital options that give customers control. Policyholders who are offered payment choice report markedly higher satisfaction than those limited to a single method.

Among instant disbursement recipients, push-to-credit card payments emerge as the most commonly used rail, followed by digital wallets, real-time bank deposits and push-to-debit cards. The preference for card-based speed reflects the urgency many customers feel to access funds immediately.

Why Disbursements Have Become a Loyalty Strategy

The core insight of the PYMNTS Intelligence and Ingo collaboration is that disbursements now sit at the center of the insurance loyalty equation. Payments are no longer a back-office function but a defining brand moment that shapes trust, satisfaction and renewal behavior.

For insurers competing in a crowded, price-sensitive market, the ability to move money quickly is becoming one of the most reliable ways to keep customers when it matters most.