Preferred payment options were a reason to choose an insurance provider for 44% of policyholders, PYMNTS Intelligence found.

More than half of insurers let customers set up installment plans without calling the company.

Policyholders wanted to use digital wallets at 34%, but only 20% of insurers offered them.

The payment experience plays a role in how consumers choose a property or home insurer, not just how they pay once a policy is in place.

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The PYMNTS Intelligence playbook “The Service Commerce Performance Gap: Insurance Providers Playbook” found in October that 44% of policyholders said preferred payment options were a reason to choose a provider. Another 34% said they wanted more flexible payment or billing options.

Insurers provided some of that flexibility. The playbook showed that 53% of them let customers set up installment plans without calling the company. That compared with 35% across the four service categories covered by the broader study, which included healthcare and medical providers, auto lenders and utilities. Insurance providers offered installment plans more widely than any of the other industries studied.

Other payment accommodations were also common. According to the playbook, 73% of insurers offered payment extensions or grace periods, 78% offered installment plans, 57% allowed customers to reschedule a payment, 55% accepted partial payments and 43% allowed due-date changes.

There were some differences in how easily policyholders could use these options themselves.

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