DST Output and Zumbox today announced that Western National Insurance Group, a Minnesota-based insurance provider, is now delivering the majority of its customer communications via digital postal mail, powered by Zumbox. Through an agreement between DST Output, a leading print and digital customer communications provider, and Zumbox, the world’s first digital postal system, DST Output’s customers can realize vital paper suppression savings, reduce costs related to billing and customer service and enhance customer communications.

Western National Insurance is the first insurance firm to address consumer demand for a digital alternative to traditional postal mail, by enabling its customers to access all their bills, policies and other important documents digitally via digital postal mailbox. Such demand by consumers is driving down insurers’ direct mail volumes. Research from competitive intelligence firm Mintel Comperemedia recently revealed that the insurance industry’s direct mail volume to consumers was down 11 percent year-over-year in Q3 2011, and that it was the third quarter in a row to show a decline.

In August 2010, DST Output began integrating Zumbox’s delivery system as an additional electronic channel for its clients. Western National Insurance Group, through several of its affiliates (including Pioneer Specialty, Umialik, Western Home, Western National Assurance and Western National Mutual), is able to deliver mail digitally to over 100,000 customers across 11 states. By delivering digital postal mail and assuming a 10 percent increase in paper suppression, Western National Insurance can realize significant mailing cost savings.

Digital postal mail is an exact digital facsimile of the paper mail sent to consumers, delivered in a secure, central online environment. For insurance firms, in addition to providing cost savings from paper suppression, Zumbox directs customers to lowest cost payment and customer support options and can provide other relevant messages via an interactive panel below the bills and statements for strengthened customer education on policies and claims.