For property and casualty insurers, operational efficiency and cost management are critical to maintaining profitability and staying competitive. Yet legacy processes tied to escrow payments for homeowners insurance continue to create significant barriers.
Slow check processing, error-prone manual reconciliation, payment delays, and interruptions strain operational budgets and can negatively impact customer satisfaction and relationships with financial institutions.
One Inc’s Escrow Premium Pay network tackles these challenges head-on. By combining real-time, straight-through processing with the largest network of insurers and mortgage servicers, Escrow Premium Pay transforms inbound escrow payments into a cost-effective, fully digital process.
Below, we examine the core challenges homeowners insurers face, how Escrow Premium Pay addresses each one, and the measurable benefits it delivers.
Join us on April 8, at noon central, for actionable insights into optimizing performance and visibility into escrow payments!
Despite advances in financial technology, most escrow payments still rely on bulk paper checks. With an estimated 35 million escrow checks sent annually, this method remains a significant drain on resources. According to Bank of America, a single check costs $6 to $8 on average,¹ not counting time lags from mailing and manual reconciliation. The fully loaded cost of bulk check processing, including internal labor, fraud risk, and operational overhead, is likely significantly more.
For insurers managing large volumes of checks, individually small costs quickly become substantial expenses.
The root of reconciliation problems is systemic, not incidental. Outdated, paper-based processes depend on checks and incomplete supporting documents, creating ongoing inefficiencies that go far beyond error correction:
Insurers routinely receive service inquiries from lenders related to escrow payment status and discrepancies. Based on industry experience, we estimate that 20% of payments result in policyholder calls, each costing $8 to $12. Many of these payments require multiple calls to resolve. In addition, these calls divert staff from higher-value work and limit opportunities to improve other critical customer experience touchpoints.
Mailing checks exposes insurers to heightened risks of lost payments and fraud. According to the 2025 AFP Payments Fraud and Control Survey, 60% of respondents reported check fraud in 2024, and 23% experienced fraud specifically due to mailbox theft.² These risks compromise financial security and erode trust with stakeholders.
Escrow Premium Pay introduces a fully digital, integrated solution that automates inbound payment processing and removes the need for manual reconciliation. The four pillars below map directly to the challenges above.
Our network of insurers and mortgage lenders is the foundation of Escrow Premium Pay and its most important differentiator. One Inc maintains formal relationships with mortgage servicers who make escrow payments on behalf of lenders, which means adoption is guaranteed rather than aspirational.
Formal relationships with mortgagees and servicers paying escrow on behalf of the industry.
Guaranteed adoption through a single, product-based connection to the paying servicer that supports rapid deployment with no customizations required.
An industry-scale payments network already widely adopted across carriers that consolidates real-time payments through one, standard workflow regardless of the payer.
Stronger funds-flow control and meaningful carrier cash flow benefits through accurate, digital payments received significantly earlier than today.
The result: bulk checks and bill lists are eliminated. Carriers gain immediate payment access to their high-volume lenders through one product connection, fully supported by One Inc, and network growth continuously enhances value for all participants.
Escrow Premium Pay replaces paper checks with real-time, straight-through digital transactions. Payments are deposited directly into the recipient’s bank account, eliminating postal delays and mail-based fraud risk. On average, companies receive funds 10.5 days sooner, meaningfully improving working capital and reducing revenue lost to payment delays.
Escrow Premium Pay validates payment amounts in real time, ensuring every transaction is correct before it clears. The platform then automatically posts payment data directly to core systems, eliminating manual matching, shortening processing cycles, and reducing errors that come from human intervention. Together, real-time validation and automated reconciliation address the two biggest drivers of exception costs and call center volume.
Escrow Premium Pay integrates with insurers’ existing systems with minimal setup, enabling quick onboarding for both insurers and mortgage lenders. The shift to secure digital payment infrastructure simultaneously eliminates check fraud risk and the risk of funds lost in transit, protecting insurers, lenders, and policyholders alike.
One Inc’s Escrow Premium Pay network is more than a technology upgrade. It’s a strategic investment for property and casualty insurers modernizing their financial operations. By digitizing and automating escrow payments, insurers unlock cost and time efficiencies, reduce financial risk, and strengthen relationships with mortgage servicers, lenders, and policyholders.
Traditional escrow payment processes, with their inefficiencies and fraud exposure, are costing insurers valuable time and money. Escrow Premium Pay offers measurable savings, operational excellence, and improved financial security. For senior executives looking to future-proof their operations, the case for digital transformation has never been clearer.
Take the next step toward modernizing your escrow payment processes. Contact One Inc today to learn how Escrow Premium Pay can transform your operations, position your business for sustainable growth, and deliver an unmatched return on investment. Let’s talk.
Join us on April 8, at noon central, for actionable insights into optimizing performance and visibility into escrow payments!
Bank of America — Beyond Paper: B2C Payments
AFP — 2025 AFP Payments Fraud and Control Survey Report Key Highlights