One Inc: COVID-19 is accelerating digital payments demand

Later today, Kevin Ostrander, executive vice president of sales at insurance software company One Inc, will be presenting during the first-ever Claims Innovation Virtual Event organised by Intelligent Insurer.

Ostrander will be taking part in a fireside chat—“Digitise Claims Payments to Save Costs and Improve the CX”—alongside Karen Furtado, partner at Strategy Meets Action, between 1:10pm and 1:30pm ET on Wednesday, October 28. Jennifer Overhulse, principal owner of St. Nick Media Services, will moderate the session.

Here’s a brief preview of what you can expect, from the issues surrounding the modernisation of claims payments to changing customer expectations and demands.

What will you discuss during your presentation?

We will discuss how digitisation throughout an insurance company streamlines operational efficiency, increases customer satisfaction, and future-proofs the entire business.

Consumer expectation for digital accessibility is especially high right now due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and carriers are accelerating their digital timetables to adopt strategic new technologies, including payment methodologies, to accommodate the increased demand.

What do you hope listeners will take away from your presentation?

As the most frequent customer touchpoint, we need to shift the payments focus away from a commoditised platform and prioritise it as an essential part of the overall customer experience.

Carriers have the opportunity to define their customer relationships and promote loyalty by transforming digital payments and disbursements. By leveraging a third-party partner that understands the complexities of the insurance business and workflows you can begin to modernise your business through digitisation at once.

Claims payments have become a primary focus for insurers looking to  digitise —why? Has the pandemic impacted this?

Providers can quickly and dramatically enhance the customer experience through digital claims payments. With a rapid time to market, adopting digital disbursement capabilities provides benefits to the insurer (reduced costs, streamlined operations) and the insured (faster, more convenient payments).

COVID-19 has served as an accelerant in the growing demand for digital disbursements, as insurers are seeking solutions to keep up with rising consumer expectations and rapidly changing market conditions. Carriers must also ensure the safety and protection of their employees, who need procedural alternatives that do not require them to go into the office to print and manage cheque processes.

Claims has long been a major focal point for carrier investment, as insurers are looking to reduce cycle times, streamline processes, and reduce churn, yet the industry still relies on cheques as a primary disbursement method.

According to a 2018 McKinsey study, digital efficiency can reduce claims expenses by as much as 30 percent, while increasing customer satisfaction scores by approximately 20 percent. The opportunities available to carriers are immense.

What are some of the major issues around security, compliance and verification when it comes to  modernising claims  payments?

Security, compliance, and verification are essential parts of our client analysis and criteria before moving forward as a digital payments partner.

First and foremost, when digitally moving funds in real time, you must ensure you are sending to the correct recipient—it is not like a cheque that you can simply void or cancel.

Second, from a compliance perspective, it is essential to understand the ever-changing Department of Insurance rules and regulations, as the regulatory body considers the impact of digital payments.

And finally, security. Any time you are considering payments, it is essential to understand how your partner will manage and protect sensitive Primary Account Number data (a key piece of cardholder data), including financial instrument capture, tokenisation, and maintenance.

How does One Inc stand out from its competitors?

One Inc specialises in digital payments for the insurance industry, including inbound payments and outbound disbursements. We understand the unique use cases, such as mortgagee, lien holder, vendor and service provider, field and cat payments, as well as simple single- and multi-party approvals and payments.

Each of these insurance-specific use cases benefits from event-based messaging and communications through SMS messaging, interactive voice response, and email, which we also provide. We were founded by insurance executives and that specificity is embedded in the DNA of our culture and our products.

Why are you presenting at Claims Innovation USA?

We have spent years studying payments in the insurance industry and building the most comprehensive inbound and outbound payments platform. With everything happening in the world today, we understand the need and urgency insurance companies are facing in their efforts to improve the customer experience and enhance operational efficiencies through digitisation.

We are committed to our mission of modernising the insurance industry through a frictionless payments experience and are dedicated to supporting our customers long into the future.

With more than 165 carrier customers, we confident we can help the audience future-proof their businesses.

The virtual Claims Innovation conference, which was originally scheduled to be held in Miami, will be held across three days (October 26, 28, and 30) and feature over 30 speakers from across the insurance ecosystem, including personal lines, commercial lines, brokers, and new entrants. More than 1,000 attendees are expected throughout the week.