Columbia Insurance Group Taps Into One Inc’s Payment Solutions

Insurance industry payment platform One Inc says Columbia Insurance Group has adopted its digital payments solutions.

Columbia Insurance Group (CIG), specializing in property and casualty insurance for small and mid-size businesses, will now begin using One’s PremiumPay and ClaimsPay solutions, for both inbound and outbound payments, the company announced in a Thursday (Jan. 16) news release.

“By integrating PremiumPay, One Inc’s low-code/no-code inbound payments solution, CIG will have the tools to power personalized branding, manage multi-channel communication preferences and deliver proactive messaging at the most critical times,” the release said.

The outbound-focused ClaimsPay lets CIG policyholders make payments through platforms such as PayPal, Venmo and Zelle, as well as interactive voice responses (IVR) and text messaging, the company added.

CIG Chief Information Officer Lisa Wharton said One’s “deep expertise in digital payments enables us to seamlessly integrate cutting-edge technology, providing our policyholders with a payment experience that is not only modern and efficient but also secure.”

PYMNTS spoke last year with One Inc. CEO Ian Drysdale about the potential for embedded payments in the insurance sector to improve the overall user experience while helping to improve corporate margins.

“You might pay your auto insurance 12 times a year, or you might pay for other insurance several times a year,” he said. “That’s when you really ‘experience’ your insurance company.”

That report noted that One offers client firms the ability to remind people that it’s time to make a payment for their insurance.

With a nod to payments, Drysdale added: “We make sure that modern wallets are there, we make sure it’s completely embedded in their core system” and that claims submissions and sign-offs are handled digitally.

He predicted that $70 billion in premiums will be embedded in the years to come. It’s a system that lets data be shared seamlessly between parties, while giving insurers some added top-line growth and momentum.

“Any kind of insurance that is completely online and seamless is hyper-attractive to an insurance company,” said Drysdale, arguing that “the future of insurance is ‘instant.’”

The executive returned to speak with PYMNTS again earlier this week amid the wildfires in Los Angeles, where the insured losses could exceed $20 billion. It’s another challenge for California, where insurance companies have been raising their rates or exiting the market entirely.

“People are going to have to think through how insurance works, where they want to live and how they want to live — because the cost of living in certain areas is continuing to increase,” Drysdale told PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster.

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