Case Study - AI-powered insurance reimbursement for disaster survivors

Overview

PaybackTime was born from personal experience with the Eaton and Palisades fires. Navigating insurance reimbursement while dealing with disaster recovery is overwhelming—tracking receipts, organizing documentation, understanding policy language, and managing claim submissions.

This app uses AI to automate the administrative burden of insurance claims, making a stressful process manageable for disaster survivors. 100% free for disaster survivors.

The Problem

Insurance reimbursement after disasters involves:

• Endless receipts: Hundreds or thousands of purchase receipts to organize
• Manual categorization: Sorting expenses into policy-defined categories
• Documentation requirements: Specific formats and evidence for adjusters
• Back-and-forth delays: Missing information causing claim rejections
• Cognitive overload: Managing complex processes while recovering from disaster

Core Features

• AI Receipt Categorization
• Automated Inventory Analysis
• MagicMatch & MagicFill
• Email PDF Summaries
• Claims Tracking Dashboard
• End-to-End Encryption

How It Works

Document Upload: Users upload receipts and inventory items via photos or drag-and-drop (supports multiple formats and PDFs)

AI Processing:

• MagicMatch: Automatically categorizes receipts into policy-appropriate categories
• MagicFill: Analyzes inventory items and matches them to reimbursements
• No manual sorting required—the AI handles organization

Claim Management:

• Generates organized PDF summaries for adjusters
• Tracks payment status for each claim
• Matches receipts to specific claims automatically

Security: End-to-end encryption and secure storage protect sensitive financial documents

Personal Context

Being part of the Eaton and Palisades fires recovery process revealed how many people struggle with insurance claims during already traumatic times. The administrative burden compounds the stress of displacement and loss.

PaybackTime removes friction from the reimbursement process, allowing people to focus on recovery rather than paperwork. This isn't just a technical problem—it's about reducing suffering during difficult times through thoughtful application of AI.

Real-World Impact

PaybackTime has served hundreds of users affected by the Eaton and Palisades fires, processing over 1,000 receipts worth nearly $500,000 and helping track over $100,000 in total reimbursements. These numbers demonstrate both the widespread need for these tools and the massive scale of financial documentation that disaster survivors must manage.

Key Metrics:

• Hundreds of users served during Eaton and Palisades fires recovery
• 1,000+ receipts processed and organized by AI
• $500,000 in total receipt value documented
• $100,000+ in reimbursements tracked

The gap between receipts processed ($500k) and reimbursements tracked ($100k) illustrates a key challenge: not everything purchased during recovery is immediately reimbursable, but all of it needs to be organized, categorized, and submitted correctly to maximize eventual reimbursement.

By automating receipt sorting, documentation, and claim tracking, the platform reduces back-and-forth with adjusters and helps hundreds of people compile comprehensive claim documentation quickly. The result: faster reimbursements and less administrative stress during an already traumatic recovery process.

These metrics validate both the critical need for these tools and the effectiveness of using AI to manage complex insurance workflows at scale during disaster recovery. The platform went from concept to serving hundreds of real users in crisis within weeks.

Visit paybacktime.app to learn more.