P&C insurance payments face several persistent problems that impact both operational efficiency and customer satisfaction. Many carriers still rely on outdated systems and manual processes, which lead to slow, error-prone transactions. While these legacy systems struggle to meet modern expectations, insurers are being tasked to deliver faster, more transparent, and customer-friendly payment experiences.
Modern carriers need more than a digital payment page; they need an orchestrated, insurance-native solution that simplifies collections, accelerates payouts, and unlocks choice across rails and providers.
Beyond Payment Processing: Why P&C Must Rethink the Payment Experience
If you’ve started questioning whether your payment experience is driving policyholder churn, you’re not alone.
Many carriers are beginning to realize that outdated or fragmented payment systems aren’t just operationally inefficient; they’re strategically limiting. They slow down billing, create friction during claims, and limit your ability to adapt to new providers, rails, or customer expectations.
In fact, a McKinsey survey of 8,500 customers across the 40 largest North American carriers found that customer experience (CX) leaders outperform peers in revenue growth, retention, and satisfaction. And that poor CX, including payment delays, can directly impact churn and loyalty. (Elevating customer experience: A win–win for insurers and customers, September 2023)
But knowing there’s a problem is only the first step. The next question is much harder.
What Does a Modern, End-to-End Payment Solution Look Like for P&C Insurance?
Legacy payment systems in P&C insurance have long been a source of friction for customers, carriers, and internal teams alike. But solving the problem isn’t just about speeding up transactions or digitizing checks. It’s about recalibrating the entire payment experience, from billing to claims, through the lens of customer expectations, operational efficiency, and long-term growth.
So, what does a truly modern, end-to-end payment solution look like in today’s insurance landscape? Let’s break it down.
End-to-End Insurance Payments Begin with Core System Modernization
Let’s start with the truth that many carriers have learned: you can’t continue to simply bolt things on and expect a modern, slick payment experience.
To truly improve customer experience and unlock operational value, payments must be:
- Embedded into your core billing and claims infrastructure
- Bidirectional, supporting both premium collections and claims disbursements
- Orchestrated, not cobbled together across point solutions
- Flexible, giving you control over providers, rails, and flows
According to Gartner’s definition in the 2025 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for SaaS P&C Insurance Core Platforms, North America, these systems are considered mission-critical and foundational to digital transformation, supporting full lifecycle operations and integrating with key technologies like payment gateways and CRMs. (2025 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for SaaS P&C Insurance Core Platforms, North America, September 2025)
That’s why Duck Creek built Duck Creek Payments, a modern, purpose-built solution designed specifically to support the unique needs of P&C insurance carriers.
The Duck Creek Difference: Smarter, End-to-End Insurance Payments
Duck Creek Payments isn’t a plugin or single-provider gateway. It’s a comprehensive, insurance-native platform designed to simplify and scale every part of the payments journey.
Embedded + Bidirectional: Seamless Integration That Speeds Up P&C Payments
Payments are fully integrated into the Duck Creek core suite, enabling seamless premium collections and instant, secure claims disbursements, all within a unified experience.
Payments Orchestrator: A Foundation for Insurance
Our orchestrator serves as the intelligence layer between your billing system and the payment execution layer. It routes payments through the most efficient provider, supports retries and fallback flows, and handles edge cases without manual intervention.
Multiple PSPs and Rails: Flexible by Design
We don’t lock you into a single payments provider. Duck Creek Payments supports a range of PSPs and rails, from cards and ACH to digital wallets and real-time payments, giving you control and flexibility to optimize for speed, cost, or customer preference.
Internal PayFac Capabilities: Insurance Focused Payment Processing
Need to move fast? Duck Creek’s internal PayFac capabilities mean you can start processing payments out of the box, without needing to sign up or integrate with third parties on day one.
What Payment Modernization Really Means for P&C Carriers
Instead of relying on legacy payment systems that are slow, siloed, and difficult to scale, P&C insurers can now orchestrate payments across the entire insurance lifecycle with a unified, intelligent solution. Duck Creek Payments reduces the need for manual reconciliation and removes single-provider lock-in. It supports multiple PSPs and rails, and integrates natively with core systems, giving insurers the flexibility, control, and speed they need to meet rising customer expectations and regulatory demands.
With Duck Creek Payments, you can:
- Accelerate time-to-cash by making premium payments fast, seamless, and always available
- Prevent churn by proactively communicating with policyholders via automated reminders and flexible payment options
- Increase claims satisfaction by enabling real-time digital disbursements that eliminate waiting for checks
- Gain operational control with real-time visibility into cash flow, payment statuses, and exceptions
- Avoid vendor lock-in by keeping flexibility over your PSPs and financial partners
Insurance is Unique—Your Payment Solution Should Be Too
Most payment providers were built for retail, not risk. They aren’t built to handle:
- The complexity of policy lifecycles
- The nuances of premium refunds, cancellations, and reinstatements
- The urgency and emotion of claims payouts
- The regulatory overhead and audit trail requirements of insurance
Duck Creek Payments was designed from the ground up for this complexity, built for insurance by insurance, and that makes all the difference.
Future-Proofed for What’s Next
The world of payments is changing fast, and so are policyholder expectations. From real-time payment rails to emerging wallet systems, stablecoins, and embedded financial services, the next five years will once again bring major shifts.
With Duck Creek Payments, you’re not just solving today’s problem. You’re setting your organization up to:
- Embrace payment technology evolution without re-platforming
- Swap providers or payment channels based on performance or preference
- Layer in future use cases like Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) or on-demand payouts
Conclusion: Rethink What Payments Can Do for Insurance
Payments are no longer just a back-office task, they’re a frontline opportunity to build loyalty, drive revenue, and earn trust. With Duck Creek Payments, carriers can finally treat payments like the strategic advantage they are. You get the tools to:
- Simplify operations
- Delight customers
- Adapt faster
- Future-proof your business
And you can do it all from within your existing Duck Creek Billing and Claims environment —no friction, just results.
The future of payments is here. Are you ready to lead it?
