Now comes the InsurCard Visa(R) Prepaid Card. InsurCard is designed specifically for workers comp, property, and casualty insurance claim payments.
Here’s how it works:
Your insurer’s claims adjuster enters your claim into their system indicating you should be paid by InsurCard. An electronic payment file is sent from your insurer to the bank that issues InsurCard. The bank mails you your card and loads the value of the payment to your card account.
You receive your InsurCard and, as with any Visa card, you call a toll-free number to activate it. You use the card much like a debit card at ATMs, banks, or merchants; wherever Visa is accepted. You call InsurCard’s call center or check the website for customer service or inquiries on balances. The bank provides audit trails, financial activity, & reconciliation reports to the insurer.
InsurCard is the brainchild of J. Robert Mendte of Lansdale, Pa. – a seasoned pro with more than 30 years experience as an insurance operations executive and management consultant. According to Mendte, a confluence of events made the time right for InsurCard.
“We are now living in the post-check age,” Mendte explains. “Old-fashioned, written bank checks are costly, cumbersome and time-consuming. On the other hand, debit cards have now become widely accepted and are easier to use. Today, no state prohibits the use of a properly designed debit card program for the payment of insurance claims,” he adds. “This new approach has many advantages. From one thing, it provides significant benefits for low-income people, There are no check-cashing fees or delays while you wait for a check to clear. And for the insurer, it lowers payment processing costs and improves cash control and fraud protection. And it protects customer privacy since the customer does not need to maintain a bank account or reveal a bank account number. This represents better customer service all-around. It’s what people want.”
Mendte says that studies have estimated the cost to an insurer of processing and issuing paper checks at “anywhere between $10.00 and $15.00 per check . One company figures it can save over a million dollars a year with InsurCard.”
Mendte says InsurCard is marketed through major insurance service providers and consulting firms and is issued by a leading bank in the prepaid card industry. “This is a safe and efficient way to pay claims and now we’re able to make it work because all the pieces are in place. Insurers agree the time is right to switch from paying claims with checks to paying them with InsurCard.”