The Travelers Companies, Inc. says its insurance customers can now receive claim payments through the digital platform PayPal. Auto, property and general liability claims can use Travelers’ link to PayPal for fast and easy reimbursement, the company said in a press release on Wednesday (July 31).
“The sooner our claimants are paid, the sooner they can recover from a loss and get their lives back to normal – PayPal will help make that happen as quickly as possible,” said Ellen Rizzo, senior vice president of claims at Travelers. “This is the natural evolution of our claim payment processes, and it is one more way we’re making the entire claim experience easier.”
Using PayPal can help claimants get reimbursement faster, many times on the same day the payment is issued by Travelers. The company expects to give PayPal access to workers’ compensation claimants in 2020.
The $1.1 trillion-plus insurance industry typically relies on slow-moving legacy methods like paper checks and snail mail. Change has been slow, but insurance providers are turning more to emerging technologies to pave the way for faster, more convenient disbursements.
Insurance-as-a-service company Setoo recently signed on with a new collaboration between SafeCharge and Visa’s real-time push payments platform Visa Direct to help power speedier payouts. Visa Direct can be used for more efficient payments, including cross-border payments, insurance disbursements and contractor payments for gig economy jobs.
Other outside players are looking to tackle the insurance payout pain points. Boston-based auto, home and business insurer Safety Insurance said it will roll out Same-Day ACH payment capabilities for insurance claims. It is teaming up with NACHA – The Electronic Payments Association to make this happen.