Insurers and financial service companies know the value of postal mail. Whether using the mail to attract or upsell customers or for vital transactional correspondence, these organizations conduct a good amount of their business via the US Postal Service. Unfortunately, companies for which mail is a critical part of their business plan are experiencing disquieting postage cost hikes. Every January and July, for the foreseeable future, postage rates will increase by approximately two to five percent if industry predictions hold. With no practical alternatives that match the effectiveness of postal mail, insurance and financial service companies seem to be captive to the rising costs. Fortunately, the U.S. Postal Service offers several discount programs. The primary strategy available to mailers that allows them to qualify for workshare postage discounts is presorting. Many companies send their mail to a presort bureau, but others sort it themselves. Organizations such as large insurers, banks, brokerage companies, and credit card issuers may have enough volume to justify handling the mail presort operation in-house. What is Presorting? In its most basic sense, “presorting” means grouping mail by ZIP code before handing the mail to the post office. In a presorted mailing, all the pieces going to the same destination are grouped into bundles or trays. Mailings are sorted to specific ZIPs and then sorted up to more general ZIPs. Most mailings will have some mail qualifying at the 5-digit level, the most sought-after discount. Depending on geographic density, a portion of the remaining mail may be entered at a higher rate. However, this rate is still less than full-rate postage. Some companies generating daily mail send it to outside services for presorting. Outsourced presorting involves no capital investment. However, it does not always save money. Presort bureaus charge a processing fee and/or keep some of the postage discounts gained by commingling mail from several companies. Companies may decide on outsourced presorting as a matter of convenience. Insurers and financial service companies, however, have unique considerations that often make them excellent candidates for presorting their mail in-house rather than using an outside service. Here are some of the key reasons: Data Privacy and Security Insurers and financial service companies handle sensitive customer information, including personal and financial data. Presorting mail in-house allows them to maintain greater control over the security and privacy of this information. While using an external mail service is generally secure, companies may be uncomfortable with having their customer correspondence handled by an intermediary before it is turned over to the USPS. Compliance The insurance and financial sectors are subject to strict regulatory compliance requirements, such as HIPAA, GLBA, and Sarbanes-Oxley. Presorting mail internally provides more control over meeting compliance standards and ensures an organization can manage confidential information appropriately. Customization Insurers and financial service companies often have specific needs regarding the organization and delivery of their mail. Presorting in-house allows for greater customization and adaptability to meet unique business requirements. Financial organizations can build a presort schema when sending claim forms, statements, and other documents to the same geographic areas. They schedule the mail and fine-tune the order of the printed output to achieve the deepest postage discounts with the fewest runs through the sorter. Speed and Efficiency Companies transacting business through the mail must quickly process and distribute large mail volumes. Presorting in-house can offer more control over the timing and speed of mail delivery, essential for time-sensitive communications, such as policy updates, financial statements, or account information. Flexibility Presorting in-house provides greater flexibility to make changes or updates to mailing processes, adapt to developing business needs, and address issues promptly without relying on an external service provider. Business Continuity While established presort services have disaster recovery and business continuity backup plans, presorting in-house allows companies to build, practice, and control their business continuity programs themselves. Presorting Pays Off Insurers and financial service companies rely heavily on printed and mailed communication. They welcome any strategy that helps offset rising postage costs, including presorting their mail. As with any business decision, weighing the advantages of in-house presorting against the costs, time, and convenience of an outside service is essential. Companies must consider factors like equipment, labor, and expertise when determining whether to presort mail internally or use an external service. The decision will depend on the specific needs and priorities of the organization. Action Tritek stands ready to support the presorting requirements of financial and insurance companies who decide an in-house solution is best. Since 1984, Tritek has engineered patented, field-proven mailroom automation and document imaging solutions to improve productivity and mailroom efficiency. Tritek's outbound mail processing equipment and software allow organizations to weigh, label, manifest, barcode, print reports, and build trays and bundles of outbound mail. For companies that prefer to outsource their presort work, Tritek operates their own presort service bureau. Tritek’s clients include Fortune 500 companies, government, educational institutions, financial services, healthcare, insurance, and fulfillment.