Paper is out and digital is in, whether it’s from your PC, Mac or cell phone, or from a point-of-sale terminal at your dentist, physiotherapist or other healthcare provider. Environmentally friendly and efficient, doing away with paper can expedite financial transactions and reduce the time you spend completing, copying and mailing forms. And that’s true not just for online banking, but also for submitting health claims, which can now be filed electronically rather than waiting for a cheque in the mail.

Many companies are implementing paperless payment and notification systems, allowing you to skip the process of snail-mailing your medical and dental claims forms and receipts and waiting for the cheque to arrive. So if you have a benefits plan, you now can file securely online and your payment will be deposited automatically into your bank account, as soon as within 48 hours. You may also receive paperless claim statements.

Many people have already made the move to online claims processing. And statistics show that those who already use e-claims are happy with this method of payment.

But that’s not all. Going paperless has many benefits:

  1. It’s good for the environment. Millions of sheets of paper are used every year in the claims process – the equivalent of thousands of trees. Reducing the amount of paper we use helps minimize our carbon footprint.
  2. Fewer claims mistakes and delays occur. Because everything is done by hand, there is a greater chance of mistakes with paper claims, delaying the proper payment of the claim. With instant e-claims adjudication, questions about the status of a claim can be answered right away.
  3. It’s a growing trend. Most Canadian employees already receive their pay through direct deposit. And the Canadian government has announced it will phase out paper cheques by 2016.
  4. It can help contain your employer’s costs while keeping your health plan going. E-claims help protect your benefits by reducing the potential for fraud (by eliminating the submission of doctored paper receipts) and by cutting costs for paper and postage.
  5. It makes claims information more accessible. With paperless claims, if you have a question about a past claim, there’s no need to look for records that are housed with a third-party storage company. You or your benefits provider can quickly access your claims history electronically.

Some complex claims will still require paper forms. But for most people, most of the time, going paperless can expedite the claims process, getting you the information you need and the payment you’re looking for more quickly and efficiently.

Find out how to go paperless with Sun Life Financial.