_{Why Small  Carriers Need a Claims Payment Platform Built for Them}

_{If you run claims operations at a regional carrier, an MGA, or a TPA, you already know the math doesn't work. The enterprise claims payment platforms that dominate the market were designed for carriers with 1,000+ employees and $100 million IT budgets. They come with six-month implementation timelines, long-term contracts, and pricing structures that assume you're processing billions in annual claims volume. Meanwhile, your team is still cutting paper checks because the available digital alternatives feel like they were built for someone else's operation. That's a structural gap in the market. The insurance payments market has historically prioritized the top 50 carriers. The hundreds of smaller carriers, MGAs, and TPAs that make up the rest of the industry have been left to choose between enterprise platforms they can't afford, generic payment processors that don't understand insurance workflows, or staying on manual processes and hoping for the better.}

_{The Real Cost of Paper Checks in Claims}

_{Paper checks cost carriers between $4 and $20 per check to process. Bank of America's research puts the lowest average at $6 per paper check, and that figure climbs quickly when you factor in printing, postage, manual reconciliation, escheatment handling, and fraud exposure. For a carrier processing 5,000 claims per year, that's $30,000 to $40,000 annually in check-related costs alone.}

_{But the bigger cost isn't the checks themselves, It's time. The J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Property Claims Satisfaction Study found that the average U.S. property claimant waits more than 44days from first notice of loss to final payment, the longest wait time since the study began in 2008. Claims completed within 10 days scored 762 on a 1,000-point satisfaction scale; claims taking more than 31 days scored just 595, a 167-point drop. Every day a policyholder waits for a check to arrive in the mail is a day they're considering whether to renew their policy.}

_{For small carriers competing on service rather than brand recognition, claims payment speed isa direct retention lever. You can't outspend a top-25 carrier on advertising, but you can pay a claim in 48 hours instead of 44 days. That's a competitive advantage that doesn't require a bigger budget. It requires a better process.}

_{What Small Carriers Actually Need}

_{When we talk to claims teams at small and mid-size carriers, the requirements are consistent. They need a platform that integrates with their existing claims management system without replacing it. They need something that can go live in weeks, not months, because they don't have a 20-person IT department to manage a migration project. They need flexible pricing that scales with their volume, not a fixed enterprise license fee that assumes they're processing $50billion in premiums. And they need insurance-specific workflows. Generic payment processors can move money, but they don't understand mortgagee approvals on homeowner's claims. They don't support multiparty payments where a claim needs to be split between a policyholder, a contractor, and alien holder. They don't know that a hurricane season means your claims volume can spike 10x in a week and the platform needs to handle that without downtime.}

_{The Custodial Account Problem No One Talks About}

_{Here's something most small carriers don't realize until they're deep in the evaluation process: the majority of digital claims payment platforms require you to deposit your claims reserves into the vendor's custodial account before disbursing to policyholders. That means your money leaves your bank, sits in someone else's infrastructure, and you lose the interest yield on those reserves. For a carrier processing $20 million in annual claims, e vena modest yield differential adds up. And beyond the financial cost, there's the counterparty risk of parking your reserves in a third party's account. The alternative is a platform that connects directly to your existing bank accounts via API, disburses payments from your accounts, and lets you maintain full custody of your reserves. Your money stays where it belongs, in your bank, earning your interest.}

_{What to Look For When Evaluating Platforms}

_{Deployment speed. If a vendor tells you implementation will take 3 to 6 months, they're selling you an enterprise solution in small-carrier clothing. Modern API-based platforms can go live in under two weeks by connecting to your existing CMS without requiring a system replacement.}

_{Bank account model. Ask directly: do my funds stay in my bank account, or do they move to yours? This single question will tell you more about the vendor's business model than anything on their website.}

_{Insurance-specific features. Mortgagee approval automation, multi-party claim routing, papercheck fallback for policyholders who need it, and direct integration with your CMS. If the vendor also serves utilities, government, and healthcare, ask what percentage of their product roadmap is dedicated to insurance.}

_{Pricing structure. Transaction-based pricing that scales with your volume is the right model for small carriers. Be cautious of platforms that require annual commitments or minimum volume guarantees that assume enterprise-level through put.}

_{Contract flexibility. A vendor that offers a pilot program or a flexible contract term is signaling confidence in their product. A vendor that requires a 3-year commitment before you've processed your first payment is signaling something else.}

_{The Bottom Line}

_{Small carriers deserve digital claims payment technology that was designed for how they actually operate. Not a scaled-down version of an enterprise platform. Not a generic payment processor with an insurance landing page. A purpose-built solution that understands your workflows, respects your budget, and can be live before your next board meeting. The technology exists. The question is whether you're going to keep mailing checks while you wait for the perfect solution or start modernizing now with a platform that meets you where you are.}

_{‍ClaimsSnap by SnapRefund was purpose-built for carriers, MGAs, and TPAs who want to digitize claims payments without replacing their core systems. Go live in under two weeks. Keep funds in your own bank accounts.}