Increasing Fund Access for Disaster Recovery: Q&A With iink Payments

1. What inspired you to launch iink Payments, and what specific problem is the service addressing for homeowners?
My co-founders Ryan Holliday and Ken Lollar were both small business owners themselves working in the restoration space – one as a public adjuster and the other as a roofing contractor. The problem iink solves for was a problem they and their homeowner clients lived with every day. The slow disbursement of funds and all of the administrative work was a strain on the professionals supporting families after insurable losses, and it prolonged the length of time it took to help families and other business owners recover and get back to their normal lives.

2. Can you elaborate on the connection between iink Payments and financial health? How does the platform contribute to the overall financial health of the communities you all serve?
After a catastrophic event like a flood or hurricane, most families and business owners are dependent on their insurance claim funds to get back to their normal lives, and given the transition to remote work, the home in many cases has become the office, increasing the importance of speed. Most individuals don’t have extra money set aside to help recover after such an event, leaving them under financial duress while they weather the storm and deal with all the expenses they might incur while waiting for the funds they need to rebuild.

Likewise, many small businesses working to service these affiliated property owners in a community may only have so much cash on hand to purchase materials and pay for labor in advance of claim funds being released, which impacts their ability to take on new business and help as many people as possible. iink helps alleviate that cash flow issue and rebuild local communities faster than ever before.

3. With the increasing frequency and intensity of natural disasters, particularly during the hotter months, how does iink Payments’ digital platform become even more relevant in today’s climate crisis?
Natural disasters unfortunately are becoming more and more a part of life, both in quantity and severity, as global warming continues to have a meaningful impact on storm activity, which only intensifies the size of the problem. What we’ve also found is that natural disasters tend to occur in the areas where property values are lower, like flood zones. These are the areas more economically disadvantaged property owners are pushed to and therefore put at greater risk of more financial strain than they are already under today.

4. As climate change continues to impact the frequency and severity of natural disasters, how do you foresee iink Payments evolving to better serve the needs of customers earning low to moderate incomes?
iink seeks to expedite disbursements of all types of payments related to all disaster recovery, and as we grow, we believe there is a big opportunity for us to help charities and government organizations like FEMA ensure their funds are getting into the hands of the people who need it the most – and paid to well-qualified contractors who are getting the work done and not taking advantage of people who are already in a tough spot. iink also seeks to provide equitable financing to property owners, families, and businesses where damages were not fully covered by insurance. This has become more commonplace with insurance carriers looking to reduce their exposure in high-risk areas, such as in California and Florida.