{"id":24218,"date":"2025-11-21T11:47:20","date_gmt":"2025-11-21T10:47:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.atriga.com\/?p=24218"},"modified":"2025-11-21T11:50:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T10:50:08","slug":"rethinking-payment-defaults-strategically-how-insurers-are-using-ai-and-digital-solutions-to-retain-customers-while-reducing-costs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.atriga.com\/en\/company\/atriga-up-to-date\/news\/rethinking-payment-defaults-strategically-how-insurers-are-using-ai-and-digital-solutions-to-retain-customers-while-reducing-costs\/","title":{"rendered":"Rethinking payment defaults strategically: How insurers are using AI and digital solutions to retain customers while reducing costs"},"content":{"rendered":"
[vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” remove_bottom_col_margin=”true” bg_type=”bg_color” bg_color_value=”#e9eef4″ el_class=”header-pic”][vc_column css=”.vc_custom_1573046173484{background-image: url(\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/header-grafik-atriga-news.jpg?id=6602) !important;background-position: 0 0 !important;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;}” min_height=”200px”]atriga News<\/span><\/span>[\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row remove_bottom_col_margin=”true”][vc_column width=”2\/3″ css=”.vc_custom_1566994559772{background-position: 0 0 !important;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;}”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner]

Rethinking payment defaults strategically: How insurers are using AI and digital solutions to retain customers while reducing costs<\/span><\/h1>[vc_empty_space][vc_column_text css=””]Irene M\u00fcller is unpleasantly surprised when she finds a reminder letter from her insurance company in her mailbox. Until now, her home contents insurance has deducted the premium each year via SEPA direct debit. Unfortunately, this was not the case this time, as the return debit on her bank statement shows. The account was overdrawn because the repair of the family car had cost more than expected. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Hence the rather friendly, but nonetheless annoying reminder letter. As a loyal customer, Irene M\u00fcller misses the reference to alternative payment options in it. Even the thought that fresh money is already on its way and that everything can be paid off next month does not reassure her. So the only option left is to call the insurance company to request a deferral.<\/strong>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text css=””]It’s an experience that many people are familiar with. And it exemplifies a structural challenge facing the industry: according to a study by ibi research, short-term financial bottlenecks are responsible for around 43 percent of all payment defaults, with a further 17 percent simply resulting from forgetfulness. Nevertheless, many insurers still rely on analog processes, send reminders by letter, and do without digital contact channels. This not only slows down internal processes, but also prevents modern customer service.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text css=””]\n

The crisis: Lack of digital communication channels<\/h4>\n

As long as reminders are sent by post rather than via digital channels, response times, processability, and dialogue capabilities remain significantly limited. Why do many insurers still cling to old processes when it comes to payment defaults? Often simply because they do not have their customers’ email addresses or mobile numbers\u2014until now, this has often not been a requirement. But speed and personalization are now crucial for customer satisfaction. Those who fail to keep up run the risk of falling short of their policyholders’ expectations. Digital communication channels, which have long been standard in other industries, can speed up processes and significantly reduce handling costs.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text css=””]\n

atriga Managing Director Christoph Ruoff: \u201cInsurers who are now relying on automated processes and AI-supported systems for collections and payments are not only securing efficiency gains, but also the trust and long-term loyalty of their customers.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_single_image image=”17326″ css=””][vc_empty_space height=”12px”][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text css=””]\n

Lack of customer focus<\/h4>\n

However, technology alone does not make a difference. The EPAM study \u2018Insurance: The Paradox of Digitalisation\u2019 clearly shows that the success of digital transformation depends above all on alignment with customer needs. Those who digitise processes but do not make them customer-friendly will lose relevance. Policyholders expect fast and simple processes, but many providers are still lagging behind in this area. Automated processes and self-service offerings can close the gap: according to Bain & Company, efficiency gains of up to 30 per cent are possible.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text css=””]\n

Save millions through digital invoicing and dunning processes<\/h4>\n

A glance at the manual processing of returned direct debits or unpaid invoices illustrates the potential: insurance companies with high communication volumes waste tens of millions every year by continuing to rely on paper-based invoices, policies and reminders.<\/p>\n

A simple calculation example shows how large this sum can be: an insurer with approximately ten million customers sends around twenty million letters per year. The average cost per item in the ideal case (consolidation effects already taken into account) is around one euro, including postage, printing, paper and organisation. That amounts to around twenty million euros per year. If the proportion of postal deliveries is reduced by fifty to sixty per cent, these costs alone will immediately fall by ten to twelve million euros per year![\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text css=””]\n

Digitisation pays off right from the moment the contract is signed<\/h4>\n

This potential for savings does not end with dunning, because sending extensive contract documents for new business also incurs high costs. However, a process that is managed digitally from the outset is most beneficial in follow-up processing: if all data is available in a structured form, significantly more process steps can be fully automated or part of the processing can be transferred to structured self-service offerings that function without additional effort for the company. This results in considerable savings in personnel costs, while employees can concentrate on more complex tasks. For customers, this means greater flexibility, transparency and speed \u2013 similar to self-scanning checkouts in retail, which are considered convenient even though some of the work is done by the customer themselves.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text css=””]\n

Email-based dunning process: cost-efficient, fast and image-enhancing<\/h4>\n

Reminders sent by email are not only cheaper than sending letters, they also open up new possibilities: interactive elements such as links to customer portals or individual payment pages speed up payment receipt and improve the customer experience.<\/p>\n

Examples from other industries show that this approach pays off:<\/p>\n