Insurance carriers and insurance software platforms can now use the Dream Payments API to deliver real-time payments to customers and suppliers through J.P. Morgan Wholesale Payments and The Real-Time Payment (RTP®) Network
Dream Payments, a fintech company powering digital payments for financial institutions and insurance carriers, announced the launch of the Dream Insurance Payment Network across the U.S. The announcement was made at the InsureTech Connect Conference in Las Vegas. Built to meet the specific payment needs of the insurance industry, the Dream Insurance Payment Network enables insurance carriers of all sizes to connect with customers and suppliers and deliver digital payments rapidly and securely.
The Dream Insurance Payment Network features the insurance industry’s first Application Programming Interface – the Dream API – that plugs into insurance software platforms and enables the instant* delivery of digital payments via integration to J.P. Morgan and connection to The Clearing House Real-Time Payment (RTP®) Network. Once the Dream API is integrated directly into policy administration and claims systems, insurance carriers can deliver digital payouts for approved claims to the bank accounts of claimants and suppliers across the U.S. in seconds.
The Dream API and Insurance Payment Network also enables claimants to choose how and when they receive their money, with insurance payouts being delivered not only through instant RTP payments, but also through a range of other common B2C payment options including ACH bank transfers, virtual cards issued on-demand, and checks that are mailed to claimants that prefer traditional payouts. Each of these payment options are powered by J.P. Morgan, enabled through the Dream API and a simple claimant directed, three-step payout process:
- Step 1: The Dream API sends a notification to a claimant that their claim has been approved by their insurance carrier via an email message or text message.
- Step 2: The claimant is directed to the Dream-powered, insurance carrier branded payment portal and selects how they would like to receive their payout – Instant Payment, ACH, Virtual Card, or Check.
- Step 3: The payment is delivered directly to the claimant via their desired payout method, and both the claimant and insurance carrier are notified by Dream of the completed payout.
“We are excited to power Dream Payments as they foster innovation within the insurance payments ecosystem – as our Wholesale Payments business continues to be the provider of choice for fintech payments globally,” said Cyrus Bhathawalla, Global Head of Real Time Payments, J.P. Morgan.
Insurance carriers pay out over $4 trillion in insurance claims each year, with over 50% of those payments still occurring through slow, inconvenient, and expensive processes. Interest in digital payments had been growing in the insurance sector before COVID, but the pandemic has accelerated demand for real-time payments among insurance carriers that are eager to reduce manual handling of claims and paper checks, and policyholders that are demanding rapid access to funds when they need them most.
To enable insurance carriers to launch real-time digital payments rapidly without undergoing lengthy and expensive payment technology implementations, the Dream Insurance Payment Network has also launched the Dream Insurance Platform Partner Program. This program consists of an ecosystem of leading insurance policy administration and claims management platforms that have integrated to the Dream API and Insurance Payment Network to provide their end insurance carrier clients with digital claims payment services from their platforms.
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Dream’s insurance software platform partners integrate to the Dream API, enabling automated claims payouts for their insurance carrier clients and generating new revenue streams from digital payment services without the need to spend millions of dollars building and operating next generation digital payment services themselves.
Among the first wave of insurance software platform providers launching Dream-powered digital payments for insurance carriers are Insuresoft and Virtual Claims Adjuster. These platforms currently manage billions of dollars in claims annually that will now be converted from slow and expensive check-based claims payments to fast and convenient insurance payouts, delivered across the Dream Insurance Payment Network.
“At Insuresoft, we strive to provide our insurance carrier clients with digital products and services that improve claims efficiency, reduce the cost of claims handling, and deliver an exceptional experience for claimants,” said Tony Villa, CEO, Insuresoft. “Through our partnership with Dream Payments, we are automating and digitizing the claims payment process and enabling our insurance carrier clients to delight their end insurance customers with claims that are paid out to customers and suppliers across their preferred digital payment channels.”
“Issuing claimants and supplier payments via checks are a real pain point for our insurance carrier and third-party administrator (‘TPA’) clients,” said John Varghese, CEO, Virtual Claims Adjuster. “Manual checks are slow, expensive, and in this digital age, do not meet the needs of today’s modern and tech savvy consumers that have come to expect digital interactions with all of their service providers, including insurance carriers. Integrating the Virtual Claims Adjuster SaaS platform and to the Dream API enables our insurance carrier and TPA clients to send claims payments directly from our web-based core claims platform to enhance their relationship with end customers while automating and improving the efficiency of their internal claims processes.”
Dream currently has several other insurance platform providers that have joined the Dream Insurance Payment network and will be launching Dream-powered digital payments for their end insurance carrier clients in Q4 2021 and Q1 2022. With the expanding set of Dream partner insurance software platforms, hundreds of insurance carriers across the U.S. will soon be able to seamlessly access and activate digital claims payments directly from their existing and trusted insurance software platforms, without ever needing to undertake a payment technology build-out.
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“By integrating to the Dream Insurance Payment Network and embedding our real-time payment API into their policy administration and claims systems, both insurance carriers and software platforms can now deliver the ultimate claims payment experience to their customers and suppliers,” said Brent Ho-Young, Dream Payments CEO. “With J.P Morgan, Dream and its insurance software platform partners have ushered in the real-time digital payment era into the insurance industry. Insurance customers can now receive their claims payment instantly and immediately use the payment to recover from the unfortunate event that caused the claim in the first place.
“Several years ago, my family waited months for a critical illness claim to be approved and paid via a check that was sent in the mail. That entire claims process was horrible. In today’s digital age, no insurance customer should have to suffer from the pain of a slow and delayed insurance payout. The Dream team is proud to transform how claims are handled and paid out. From here on out, insurance carriers can integrate directly to our Dream API, or leverage a connected insurance software platform, modernizing their claims payment processes while enabling their customers and suppliers to get paid quickly when it matters most.”
In addition to powering the digital and automated payout of claims to consumers, Dream also enables insurance carriers to issue virtual cards on-demand. Dream’s Virtual Cards deliver frictionless B2B payments and enable suppliers to get paid for their services quickly and securely without needing to provide their banking information or receive a paper check.
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