When making direct payments to claimants, pre-paid cards offer insurance companies some significant advantages, including cost savings, greater financial control, fraud reduction and improved customer service.

Pre-paid cards are already established in the UK and are increasingly being acknowledged as the payment method of choice to a wide range of recipients because they are secure, inclusive and safe.

Financial managers within the insurance sector have new found flexibility and control available to them because pre-paid cards have an impressive range of benefits over cheque payments, vouchers or cash. Advantages include reduced management and reconciliation times, automated processing which cuts out back office administration, and monitoring of claimant spending.

A choice of pre-paid card solutions has been developed by Alliance & Leicester Commercial Bank to meet the needs of insurance companies. For instance, cards are available as single use or re-loadable, they can be loaded in Sterling, Euros or US Dollars and insurance companies can even restrict where the funds can be spent. For increased security cards are also available as Chip & PIN.

For the end customer, there is an altogether better experience. Waiting for a cheque to clear becomes a thing of the past. Using a stylish, branded plastic card is both more convenient and more secure than other payment methods.

Stewart Fraser, Director of Pre-Paid Cards at Alliance & Leicester Commercial Bank, said: "Our pre-paid cards offer managers in the insurance industry some exciting benefits. There are distinct advantages in terms of cost savings and control throughout the claims process, the complete removal of cash and cheques plus the cards are well received by customers.

"As a leading bank we are able to provide everything managers in insurance companies require in banking terms - supported by a dedicated relationship management team."

The complementary strengths of Alliance & Leihs of Leihs of Alliance & Leicester Commercial Bank and MoneyCard Limited ensure a unique balance of experience and innovation in pre-paid cards. The bank has a heritage of providing cost effective financial solutions stretching back nearly four decades.

Graham Utton, Director of Sales and Marketing at Money Card Limited, said: "The Insurance card gives organisations greater opportunities to reduce cost whilst increasing customer choice and satisfaction. Money Card Limited's new association with Alliance & Leicester Commercial Bank combines our state of the art technology with the bank's expertise, to deliver this simple and cost effective solution."

Once funded by the insurance company, a pre-paid card, which can be Chip and PIN enabled, may be used for a predetermined timescale or until the allocated funds are exhausted.

Pre-paid cards are popular with recipients too as they speed up handling at tills as well as allowing Internet, mail order and telephone transactions. Lost or stolen cards can be blocked and replaced.