Late Payments & Cancellations in the Time of COVID-19
A Survival Guide – by Emily Saunders
With the onset of the COVID pandemic, we have all experienced delays with the mail. Made worse by an increase in shipping as people begin adapting to working from home, mail workers increasingly off the job due to illness or quarantine, as well as a multitude of other factors the mail has been taking significantly longer to arrive. Items that used to take a day or two to mail are now taking two or more weeks, and while this is annoying when ordering from our friends at Amazon, as a business owner this can mean late invoices, late payments and at the worst cancellations. We’ve seen this with many of our clients, and we want to help by arming you with a survival guide that has a few quick tips on how you can work within the new COVID mailing system.
Be proactive, engage with your carriers (or broker) before they are contacting you concerning a late payment. Discuss with them the typical delays they are experiencing through their preferred mailing route, as well as any notable problems they have seen with other customers. Many carriers offered automatic payment options before the pandemic, and the vast majority have followed suit since. They are easy to apply for, typically being no more than a one-page form needed to confirm.
Wary of automatic payments? Most insurance carriers have online portals where you can check your invoice status 24/7, as well as pay online with almost automatic turnaround times. If you’re having trouble locating a portal, or aren’t sure if your carrier offers one, give us a call! We pride ourselves on maintaining strong relationships with our carrier partners and we can help you figure out some of the alternatives available to you if you’d like to pass on automatic payments.
The smallest approaches can still make a big difference. It may not be as flashy as a digital portal, but don’t forget to give yourself reminders. A few monthly reminders on your phone or work calendar can help keep you honest on checking your online portal, or preparing your payment well in advance of its due date.
At IBTX we have been doing our best to make sure any and all payments you are required to make to us are as safe and secure as possible. We have adopted a secure online credit card payment link, as well as a secure portal for paying with a virtual check if you prefer. And as always, we are here for you and want to help in any way we can. If you have questions, concerns, or problems with payments to a carrier reach out to us (service@ib-tx.com) and we will help you as quickly as we can!
Posted by Nicole Lozano in Blog, Health & Benefits, Property & Casualty