TRENDING: The Overdue Overhaul For Insurance Settlements

In the aftermath of an accident or loss, filling out an insurance claim is never an enjoyable experience. However, when that time comes, consumers want, and expect, to be able to access their funds quickly so they can afford to pay for recovery and repairs — and get back to normalcy.

Unfortunately, it’s rarely so simple. Insurance settlements have long been processed by legacy payment methods and often entail lengthy processing times — pain points which often keep customers from quickly accessing the funds. Fortunately, companies from around the insurance and payment processing space are working to improve the last mile of the claims payment process.

In the latest issue of the Disbursements Tracker, PYMNTS explores the latest news from around the space, including a wave of debuts from insurance companies aimed at improving settlement speed.

Around The Disbursements World

Payment processing solutions provider Ingo Money, for one, is working to enable real-time disbursements for insurance claims.

The company recently teamed up with auto glass repair and claims management provider Safelite Solutions to offer instant payouts for car insurance claims to the latter’s customers. These payouts will be offered via a one-time-use mobile app that moves the claims process along in hopes of creating a more self-service experience.

Other insurance players are also looking to make same-day claims payments a reality.

Mutual insurance provider Shelter Insurance — based in Columbia, Missouri — unveiled plans to improve the notoriously slow claims payout process with the debut of a digital claims payment feature on its online and mobile offerings, in partnership with Commerce Bank. Under the agreement, the bank provided Shelter with its Claims Payments solution, giving customers access to their funds via Visa Direct within 30 minutes.

To read more on these and other stories throughout the space, check out the Tracker’s News and Trends section.

Deep Dive: Same-Day Insurance Claims

Insurance providers are turning to emerging technologies to pave the way for more convenient disbursements. From enabling claims via smartphone apps to improving payment processing capabilities, service providers are changing the way consumers file insurance claims and how they make and receive their insurance payments.

In this month’s Tracker, PYMNTS takes a data-driven deep dive into the quickly shifting, $1.1 trillion insurance claims market.

How Digital Disbursements Are Changing Low-Dollar Lending

Of course, insurance claims are far from the only disbursement type that needs improving. While 75 percent of young college-going consumers said they prefer to interact with mobile banking apps, the vast majority of student loan recipients are still paid via paper check or other legacy payment method.

That’s a problem that digital banking platform BankMobile aims to resolve. The company recently partnered with three dozen colleges and universities around the U.S. and is working to change how students receive their loan funds. In a recent interview, Andrew Crawford, head of BankMobile’s disbursements business, explained why he and his team believe mobile disbursements and money management features could provide a more convenient way for students to manage their loan funds and tuition payments.

“Paper checks are terrible for students,” he said. “You have to wait forever for the school to mail it to you and for it to arrive. Then, once the student gets it, if they have a bank account, they have to go deposit it and wait for it to clear — or, if they don’t have a bank account or branch or ATM nearby … they’ve got to wait even longer. Electronic delivery is safer, and it really speeds up the process.”

Download the Tracker to read the full feature story.

About The Tracker

The Disbursements Tracker, powered by Ingo Money, is the go-to resource for staying up to date on a month-by-month basis on the trends and changes in the digital disbursement space.