Northbridge Financial offers digital claims payments

Northbridge Financial, a Fairfax company, is the first insurance provider in Canada to leverage a global partnership between Mastercard and Dream Payments to offer a paperless way to send claims payments to its insureds.

Under the electronic payment system, policyholders can expect to receive funds quickly and directly, initially into their debit card account of choice, avoiding unnecessary wait times and getting the funds when they need it the most.

“Our claims experience is the moment of truth when it comes to the promise we make to our customers”, says George Halkiotis, executive vice president of claims for Northbridge Financial. “We know that waiting for and depositing checks are key pain points, and we’re excited be able to deliver a better, faster claims experience that helps make things right for our customers as quickly as possible.”

According to the latest annual Insurance Bureau of Canada report, Canada’s property and casualty insurance industry pays out approximately $30 billion in claims anually.

The collaboration between Mastercard and Dream Payments will allow insurance companies to digitize and automate claims disbursements, replacing the friction associated with printing, sorting, and mailing checks. Mastercard Send is a global push payments platform designed to work with banks, businesses, digital players, governments and money transfer services, helping them to modernize the way they send money, both domestically and cross-border.

“Mastercard and Dream Payments are helping to digitize payments for insurance providers of all sizes,” added Brent Ho-Young, CEO of Dream Payments. “Insurance customers deserve to receive their claims payments quickly, electronically, and into the financial accounts of their choice, whether it be a bank account, debit card, prepaid card, or mobile wallet.”

In addition to speeding up claims disbursements, Mastercard and Dream Payments intend to expand card and account-to-account payment solutions to other flows such as insurance premium payments’ collections, supplier and worker payments.