ePayPolicy

Checks Are Dumb? Hear Us Out.

The article argues that despite their familiarity, check payments in the insurance industry are outdated, vulnerable to rising fraud—reported by 80% of companies since 2021—and inefficient due to slow mail delivery and cumbersome processing, ultimately hindering business speed and accuracy, thus necessitating a shift to easier, more secure online payment methods.

  • Check payments persist because they’re familiar. But in most cases, online payments are easier for everyone.
  • Check fraud has risen every year since 2021. Now, 80% of recently surveyed companies have reported check fraud incidents.
  • Mail theft is the most common form of check fraud, with average reported losses starting at over $19,000 per instance.

We know it might sound harsh. But, hear us out.

First, when we say checks are dumb, we mean they’re a simple, vulnerable, overused form of payment in the insurance industry. Their time should have already passed. If you Google the history of check payments, you find words like “Mesopotamia.” C’mon.

Secondly, we don’t think people who use checks are dumb. That would be mean. Most people want to do the best and smartest thing, and they either:

  • Haven’t found a better way yet, or
  • Are afraid of change. And fear of change is universal, and understandable.

But here’s the thing – the insurance industry has to change. Check payments aren’t “just slow.” They slow everything down. They slow down producers who want to bind new business faster (time kills deals), renew existing customers quickly and delight all customers with the easiest path to payment. And they slow down accounting teams by sending them on paper chases, bank runs and back-and-forth computer monitor reconciliation matching, daring them to make a wrong keystroke and unbalance the books for that week/month/quarter/year.

Check payments don’t persist because they’re better, but because they’re familiar. It’s “the devil you know,” but the devil’s in the details:

  • Reports of check fraud have risen every year since 2021. Now, 80% of companies recently surveyed have reported instances of check fraud (source).
  • A mailed check sent from within the same zip code can still take 3-7 days to arrive. The least expensive Priority Mail option (still 1-3 days) is now $8.
  • Rapidly rising mail theft is the most common form of check fraud (source), with average reported losses starting at over $19,000 per instance.

ePayPolicy has over 7,000 agencies, carriers, MGAs and PFCs who have made the easy switch to online digital payments. Some still have to deal with checks (for now), and that’s fine. We have smart solutions for that. And we’re working with them week in/out to find ways to make payments the easiest thing they do.

Just because something works, doesn’t mean it works well. Checks are slow, unsafe and prone to loss – overrelying on them means your payments are literally costing you. And they could cost you big.

It’s ok to say it with me – checks are dumb.

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