The data: Nearly half (46%) of insurance claimants surveyed ranked speed of payment as the top priority in the payments process, outranking security, convenience, simplicity, and costs, according to PYMNTS Intelligence. That preference is especially pronounced during severe-weather claims: 51% of policyholders cite quick payouts as their top priority after those events.

Zooming out: Payout speed is one piece of a broader timeliness problem. In homeowners claims, the average claimant doesn't receive their final payment until more than 44 days after the first notice of loss—the longest since JD Power began tracking in 2008.

Customer satisfaction scores plummet as claims drag out. Faster disbursements won’t fix the whole cycle, but they’re one lever insurers can pull; others include clearer communication and digital tools, which drive satisfaction especially with younger customers.

Implications for insurers: Payout speed is one of the few parts of the claims process insurers can control directly, and improve at scale. Unlike adjuster availability or repair timelines, payment infrastructure can be upgraded once and applied across every claim. Insurers now have several instant or near-instant options: push-to-card, push-to-wallet, and real-time bank deposits.

That's an opportunity to build trust with policyholders, especially when major loss events and the complex claims processes that can follow dent insurers’ reputations. Faster payouts are low-hanging fruit, especially with the expansion of the RTP and FedNow networks, since insurers can process instant payouts cheaply and send them to an increasingly broad array of customers.