Automating the Client Experience

by InsurTech Award
Article 4 in a 6-part series

Client Experience is one of six primary categories we recommend independent insurance agencies invest in to build out their InsurTech strategy in 2020.

What Is Client Experience?

Client experience is anything that gives your clients ease and comfort when doing business with you. 

Why It’s Important to Use These Tools

You’ve worked hard to build an agency your clients trust.  But in today’s digital world, more business is conducted virtually for buyer convenience. This presents opportunities for you to “up your game” and delight clients in new, tech-enhanced ways. 

The Importance of Client Experience

The agent/client relationship can never be replaced. However, today that relationship extends beyond personal interactions. It encompasses every single touchpoint a prospect or client has with your agency.

InsurTech both guides and reflects this trend. Technology that supports responsive service and puts clients at ease is a good thing. It also gives you greater control of your brand. 

Client Experience Automation Tools

Here are some of the major work tasks you can automate, and we’ve included representative solutions vendors as well. These are just examples. Our list is not intended to be exhaustive of all the options out there, nor does ePayPolicy endorse or prefer one vendor over another.*

Payment Gateways 

Today’s shoppers expect convenient, cashless payment options.  Most payment gateways, PayPal and Apple Pay, for example, are industry agnostic. These services let consumers:

  • Make purchases via mobile device or computer
  • Be assured of payment security
  • Send or receive money instantly

Other portals (e.g., ePayPolicy)* are designed specifically for the insurance industry. They:

  • Offer check-free payment convenience while speeding up agency receivables
  • Handle the unique fiduciary and compliance requirements of the insurance industry
  • Integrate into your Account Management System
Website

People access websites on computers, laptops, tablets, and phones. They use browsers like Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Safari. You:

  • Do want to provide a seamless experience on your website across all devices
  • Don’t want anyone to have to switch devices to visit your site

Likewise, you want your website to offer fresh, accurate and useful information. Web building platforms like Wix and WordPress:

  • Let you be your own web designer (no coding needed)
  • Make updating content a breeze
  • Give you control over the user experience (UX) of your site
Data Security 

Security threats are getting more aggressive. Give everyone peace of mind that all of their PII (Personally Identifiable Information), financial records, passwords, devices and applications are safe and secure. 

McAfee, Duo Security, LastPass, and IBM Security are just a few of the powerful data security platforms you can choose to:

  • Protect your agency
  • Protect your staff
  • Protect your clients
Client Onboarding

Once you bring on a new client it’s now time to create a successful onboarding strategy. This can be anything from a dedicated landing page highlighting how to “Get Started” to setting up automated email drips to keep your new clients engaged. Remember at the end of any good onboarding strategy is the request for a review. Although this seems slightly awkward it’s the most beneficial thing a new client can offer your agency. There are services out there like Rocket Referrals that have this down to a science. Those referral platforms help you:

  • Simplify and automate client communications (e.g., personalized notes)
  • Stand out online (rank higher with search engines, get more reviews)
  • Track your performance and act on client insights
Integration Portals (client-facing)

This six-part series covers both agency-facing and client-facing integration portals. These are a few examples related to Client Experience. 

Customer support integrations enhance:

  • Client communication
  • Client engagement
  • Client satisfaction

And Sales and Marketing don’t stop when you ink a contract. You have ongoing opportunities to stay connected, keep learning about your clients, and build loyalty (including client referrals).

Thinking Ahead

There are many functions that individually and collectively work to create the client experience. Whether that experience is good or bad is determined by the tech solutions you have in place. The Client Experience tools mentioned above are designed to enhance client satisfaction. Enhancing internal satisfaction is just another InsurTech bonus!

Where Does Your Agency Stand?

Find out! The InsurTech Award presented by ePayPolicy is now open for entries. Top scorers will get cash and other awesome prizes. All entrants receive their InsurTech adoption score, along with valuable feedback. Enter today and find out how your agency stacks up against others (and how you’ve improved over time, if you’ve entered before):

  1. Sales
    2. Marketing
    3. Team Collaboration
    4. Client Experience
    5. Customer Support
    6. Agency Management Systems

Our 6-part series covers all of these InsurTech solution categories. We invite you to explore them all.

Automating Your Team Collaboration

by InsurTech Award
Article 3 in a 6-part series

Team Collaboration  is one of six primary categories we recommend independent insurance agencies invest in to build out their InsurTech strategy in 2020.

What Is Team Collaboration?

Technology to keep your team organized and productive, using tools that allow you to message, meet virtually, share projects, and more. It’s often billed as a subcategory under the general heading “project management software.”

Why It’s Important to Use These Tools

Collaboration is essential for agencies of any size. You cannot do your job without the cooperation of multiple parties inside—and even outside—the agency.

Team collaboration software improves speed, efficiency and accuracy of teamwork. Sure, agencies will continue to use email and in-person communication, but why not take advantage of new tools that make it even easier to work together?

The New Importance of  Virtual Work

As we have all learned from the Coronavirus crisis, virtual and remote work heightens the need for collaborative technology. Even before the current situation, the trend toward technology-enhanced teamwork was clear. With mobile technology, agents and staff can log in and perform their work remotely. Imagine how efficient and effective your entire  team could be with a full suite of collaboration tools in place! And honestly, we don’t need a crisis to make these changes; better collaboration means better business, every day. 

Team Collaboration Tools

What follows are some of the major work tasks you can automate, including some solution vendors as examples. Our list is not intended to be exhaustive of all the options out there, nor does ePayPolicy endorse or prefer one vendor over another. 

Messaging

Communication is key to working effectively with your team. If you’re primarily using email, you might encounter some challenges that tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, or Skype for Business could solve. These tools allow you to:

  • Save time by communicating instantly with coworkers
  • Stay harmonized by sharing files and ideas in a centralized location
  • Be in-the-know about teammates with status updates (“out for lunch,” “in a meeting,” “at home sick”)
Virtual Work / Video Meetings

It was not uncommon to work from home prior to the pandemic. Some days it’s a necessity—maybe you have a sick child at home, or you’re waiting on a maintenance fix—but meetings still need to take place. Having tools like GoToMeeting, Zoom, or Google Hangouts can allow you to:

  • Meet with multiple people in an organized manner
  • Simplify meetings with people outside of the office
  • Share screens with participants to show current progress on projects
Task Management

You might have your own way of keeping track of individual projects, but there are situations where your whole team is working together on one project. How do you keep track of everyone’s responsibilities? Task management tools like Asana, Trello, and Basecamp help teams:

  • Keep track of projects in a centralized place
  • Send reminders to themselves as well as other team members
  • Assign tasks and create checklists to stay organized

Thinking Ahead

Having team collaboration solutions in place is vital for a flexible, cohesive and powerful team. Technology developed for Messaging, Virtual Meetings and Task Management will make your team feel connected and empowered both inside and outside the office.

Where Does Your Agency Stand?

Find out! The InsurTech Award presented by ePayPolicy is now open for entries. Top scorers will get cash and other awesome prizes. All entrants receive their InsurTech adoption score, along with valuable feedback. Enter today and find out how your agency stacks up against others (and how you’ve improved over time, if you’ve entered before). Judges even offer tips on specific ways to leverage automation for:

  1. Sales
    2. Marketing
    3. Team Collaboration
    4. Client Experience
    5. Customer Support
    6. Agency Management Systems

Our 6-part series covers all of these InsurTech solution categories. We invite you to explore them all.

Automating Your Marketing & Branding

by InsurTech Award
Article 2 in a 6-part series

Marketing Automation is one of six primary categories we recommend independent insurance agencies invest in to build out their InsurTech strategy in 2020.

What Is Marketing Automation?

Generate qualified leads, craft personalized buying journeys, and interact with contacts from top to bottom of the funnel with powerful marketing tools that allow your team to work smarter not harder.

Why It’s Important to Use These Tools

Marketing is critical to feeding your sales team and keeping loyal clients in the fold. But that means connecting with prospects and clients where they live— increasingly, online.

Marketing in the Digital Age

Online is where the action is—and if you’re not engaging there, your competition is.
If you are doing some digital marketing already, that’s great. Now think about what you could do even better—or finally start doing—with these labor-saving tools.

Marketing Automation Tools

Here are some of the major tasks and functions you can automate. We’ve included representative solutions vendors as well. These are just examples. Our list is not intended to be exhaustive of all the options out there, nor does ePayPolicy endorse or prefer one vendor over another.

Email Automation

Email is a versatile way to stay engaged with prospects and clients alike. But it requires time and skills you may not have on staff. Today, managing email campaigns has never been easier or more affordable, with software from  HubSpot, MailChimp and Marketo, to name a few.

Email automation tools enable you to:
  • Customize templates to your brand and target campaigns by audience segment or their actions
  • Schedule and deploy your campaign during prime time and track essential metrics and KPIs
  • Split test different elements to continue improving your campaign outcomes

Social Media Presence

Yes! Businesses do need to be on social media. People expect to find you there. Each site has its own niche, but it’s important to have a presence on all of them:

  • LinkedIn is a professional (business) networking site
  • Twitter centers around real-time global conversations and timely trends
  • Facebook is a multifaceted social networking site with the emphasis on “social”
  • Instagram is a popular photo and video sharing site owned by Facebook
  • Pinterest is a photo sharing site dedicated to visual inspiration
Social Media Management

Your social media visibility is only as good as your last post. Luckily, Social Media Management (SMM) tools do the heavy lifting for you. SMM software from  Sprout Social, HubSpot, Hootsuite and the like allow you to:

  • Schedule social posts when the right people will see them
  • Save valuable time by posting for you across all the platforms
  • See every interaction with your mentions
  • Connect with prospects and clients to grow your brand

Digital Advertising

Digital, or pay-per-click (PPC) advertising complements your other online marketing (especially social). You can display brief advertisements, service offerings, video content and more on Google and social media platforms and only pay when someone clicks on your ad. Management software and platforms such as AdHawk, Google Ads, and,AdRoll can:

  • Manage your digital advertising across all platforms
  • Aggregate your data into one dashboard for real-time updates
  • Suggest optimization tips based on viewer response

Thinking Ahead

If this seems like a lot to absorb, you can phase in these Marketing Automation Technologies at your own pace.
Email Marketing,  Social Media Presence, Social Media Management, and  Digital Advertising tools are designed to turbocharge your marketing. With their powerful analytics, you’ll see instantly how each channel is working for your agency.

Where Does Your Agency Stand?

Find out! The InsurTech Award presented by ePayPolicy is now open for entries. Top scorers will get cash and other awesome prizes. All entrants receive their InsurTech adoption score, along with valuable feedback. Enter today and find out how your agency stacks up against others (and how you’ve improved over time, if you’ve entered before). Judges even offer tips on specific ways to leverage automation for:

  1. Sales
    2. Marketing
    3. Team Collaboration
    4. Client Experience
    5. Customer Support
    6. Agency Management Systems

Automating Your Sales Process

by InsurTech Award
Article 1 in a 6-part series

Sales automation is one of six primary categories we recommend independent insurance agencies invest in to build out their InsurTech strategy in 2020.

What Is Sales Automation?

Boost your sales by managing and utilizing relevant information on prospects, leads, and clients. Centralize information and streamline your workflow to increase sales efficiency and productivity.

Why It’s Important to Use These Tools

Sales are about contacts, numbers, and nurturing. Now, more than ever, technology provides you with actionable intelligence about your prospects and clients so you can tailor your engagement, convert more business, and keep happy policyholders coming back for new coverage, as well as renewals.

The Always Essential Role of Sales

There will always be market dips and other times when you’ll need to ramp up quickly or even rebuild your business. Sales automation tools accelerate the sales process, so you can do more in less time.

As you prepare for the US economy to reopen, these tools can make a big difference right now. Not only can you laser focus your prospecting, you can spot opportunities within your own data, and take your client nurturing to new heights.

Sales Automation Solutions To Consider Implementing

Here are some of the functions you can automate. We’ve included representative solutions vendors as well. These are just examples. Our list is not intended to be exhaustive of all the options out there, nor does ePayPolicy endorse or prefer one vendor over another.

CRM

Customer Relationship Management (CRM), also known as Sales Force Automation (SFA), captures every prospect/client interaction in a live record. This includes everything from emails and calls to quotes and renewal notices. Major platforms like Salesforce, Pipedrive and HubSpot let you:

  • Replace multiple tools (or manual tasks) with a convenient, one-stop solution
  • See where to focus efforts and receive alerts when action is needed
  • Sell smarter, close faster, and grow your agency
Meeting Software

You might think of meeting software as a digital “time management assistant” that coordinates your schedule, organizes meetings, and keeps your team on track, wherever they’re working today. Apps (some free!) like Calendly, GoToMeeting and Google Calendar:

  • Alert you about upcoming tasks and appointments
  • Schedule team meetings without the back-and-forth emails
  • Make it easy to attend video meetings remotely via any mobile device (or computer)
Tracking & Analytics

Business Intelligence (BI) solutions let you manage and support business data with analytics, easy-to-understand visuals, and reporting. BI software providers include Tableau, Sisense, Domo, and many more. For insurance agencies, advantages include:

  • Securely connect, combine and manipulate data from multiple sources
  • See key data in real-time across agency functions (sales, marketing, customer support, etc.) to track and plan 
  • Get trusted insights to make decisions faster and more confidently

Thinking Ahead

Who wouldn’t want easy-to-use tools that help you focus, organize, track, and ultimately, boost your sales? With powerful automation technology like CRM Solutions, Meeting Software and Tracking & Analytics (BI), your sales team becomes super productive—and nothing falls through the cracks. 

Where Does Your Agency Stand?

Find out! The InsurTech Award presented by ePayPolicy is now open for entries. Top scorers will get cash and other awesome prizes. All entrants receive their InsurTech adoption score, along with valuable feedback. Enter today and find out how your agency stacks up against others (and how you’ve improved over time, if you’ve entered before). Judges even offer tips on specific ways to leverage automation for:

  1. Sales
    2. Marketing
    3. Team Collaboration
    4. Client Experience
    5. Customer Support
    6. Agency Management Systems

 

Our 6-part series covers all of these InsurTech solution categories. We invite you to explore them all.

How Much Are Paper Checks Costing Your Agency?

by Business Strategy

In your office, do you send coworkers letters instead of emails? Do you hand-write invitations to meetings and deliver them to everyone’s desk? Do you post physical to-do lists on everyone’s office door? Then why would someone hand-write and mail paper checks?

How Much Are Checks Costing Your Insurance Agency? 
In the digital age, people avoid paper materials due to the inefficiencies. Physical transactions waste time and money, create the possibility for confusion, and are an unnecessary use of resources. Now, 80% of businesses are seeking ways to convert paper checks into digital payments. 

So, are paper checks outdated? Yes. In fact, it’s possible for banks to consider them “stale” after only a few months. The Federal Reserve Study estimated 28 billion checks were processed in 2009 with a decline of 1.2 billion every year since. At this rate, they estimate paper checks will become extinct by 2026. 

While the need for paper checks is shrinking, the cost is not. In a study conducted by the Aberdeen Group, $7.78 was the average cost of a paper check, while Bank of America reports a cost of $4 – $20 factoring in mailing and processing. Bottomline showed processing a check costs a business ten times more than an ACH transfer, and receiving a check costs five times more than an ACH payment. That’s a lot of money being spent on receiving money. 

Let’s Talk About The Customer Experience
Customers crave flexibility, convenience, and speed. Paper checks cost them all three. They don’t want to reach for a checkbook, pen, envelope and stamp before running to the mailbox just to make a payment. The same Federal Reserve Study states paper check usage has decreased by 7.2%, and debit and credit card payments have increased by 8.9%.

We live in a world where there are online services for everything. Customers want and need, to be able to pay for their insurance from anywhere at any time. Slow payment systems like the paper check increase wait times and add the layer for human error to the process.

The Security Risks That Come with Paper Checks 
Paper checks increase the customers risk for fraud and identity theft. In its 2015 Deposit Account Fraud Survey, the American Bankers Association says that check fraud accounted for 32 percent of the industry’s $1.91 billion in losses in 2014. The sheer number of times a check must be passed from hand to hand while it is being processed means there is less and less security available. This also implies an increased risk for your agency to even receive the payments. 

The mail itself offers little security, and someone could easily steal the bank account and routing numbers for an account from a physical check. Your customers trust you with their largest assets and the safety of their banking information. Digital processing creates a secure environment to receive payments and keep accurate records while eliminating these risks.

The Environmental Impact
A growing consumer concern over the last decade has been the environment and our negative impact on it. Customers like to know the companies they do business with are green-conscious.

Take paper receipts for example. Have you noticed a trend of customers saying no to printed receipts and receiving them electronically? People view paper checks as equally not preferable. The check creation process involves water, gas, trees, and releases greenhouse gases. Once the check is processed, it will most likely end up in a landfill, adding to more waste. Moving to a greener, digital solution will not only create positive PR but will have a powerful effect on the environment. 

Have questions on how you can move away from paper checks? Reach out and schedule a demo to learn why ePayPolicy is the simplest solution for you to collect credit card and ACH payments for your insurance agency.

Studies used for this posting include…
The 2019 Federal Reserve Payments Study
2019 AFP Electronic Payments Survey
What is Check Fraud 

The Indie Agents Guide to The Coronavirus Relief Options

by Industry News & Company Updates

New Options Available For Your Insurance Agency  

Most insurance agents and agencies could consider themselves small businesses. Thanks to the recent CARES act, signed into law by the President on Friday, March 27th, there are four new funding options available to small businesses. These are temporary but necessary programs established to support businesses affected by Coronavirus. We’ve gathered a bit of helpful information for your agency to consider. 

So, What’s the Government Doing Exactly?

Here it is in a nutshell. They are offering:
1. A Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) – expanding one of their traditional loan programs and forgiving businesses for retaining employees
2. Economic Injury Disaster Loans – providing up to $10,000 advance loan if your business is facing temporary difficulties
3. SBA Express Bridge Loans – allowing businesses to get a quick $25,000 if they have a current SBA Express Lender relationship
4. Debt Relief – affording financial reprieve to small businesses


Here it is, in less of a nutshell.

Where to Start

When our friends at Broker Buddha reached out to let us know they developed a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) resource, we were excited to share it with you! Not only because it’s backed by a fellow InsurTech leader, but because this is one of the primary loans independent agencies should apply for. It benefits small businesses who have focused on keeping their employees on payroll – we love that. 
When it comes to the PPP, the 31 pages of guidelines are just the start. Our best find for an overview is on Marketplace, where they dive into some major details like who can apply, where to apply, and some basic terms of the loan. They also emphasize that you should apply ASAP since there is a funding cap.
The application can be submitted “to any SBA lender or any federally insured depository institution, federally insured credit union, and Farm Credit System institution that is participating,” according to Janet Nguyen with Marketplace. But those institutions haven’t made it easy.

I’ve Got Friends in “Loan” Places

Thankfully, Broker Buddha did make it easy. They designed an entire PPP Loan Smart Form application to make the process “easier and far less time-consuming for businesses to complete.” 
Their resource makes it simple to apply for this loan, and includes instructions throughout the process – something the original PDF application did not provide. They also offer this service free to all agencies, even those not using the Broker Buddha platform.
We highly recommend your agency apply for a PPP Loan if you have prioritized keeping your team employed. Using the free access Smart Form to apply will simply make that experience better!

It's Time To Build Your Brand Persona!

by Business Strategy

Building a Brand Persona – Why Not Now?

It’s become a slow season for most businesses. This was unexpected, and probably not preferred, but there is a silver lining. During this period, you have the opportunity to sit and re-align on your company’s core values, and finally develop a persona that reflects them.

Don’t think a Brand Persona is Worth The Time? Think Again!

Smaller companies tend to skip this step in brand development, or at least never quite narrow it down. It benefits your customers to envision your company as a person or personality that is not only memorable, but exemplifies your company mission. And we all know that whatever benefits your customers, benefits your business.

A Brand Persona embodies what your company does and how you make your clients feel. Take Gordy Z for example. He’s our big green monster disrupting the way the insurance industry collects payments. He doesn’t like checks, and he likes to make himself known in big ways. For our users, he makes it clear that paper checks aren’t going to last and that we’re able to help them get noticed in big ways.

Where to Start When Designing your Brand Persona

Developing Gordy Z required many creative ideas, iterations, and input. As a young company in an industry not well-known (yet!) for allure or glamour, we wanted something that would stand out while still representing our mission and values. One concept included an astronaut, because we viewed digital payments as a new frontier to be explored. Another was the loyal “man’s best friend” since we want our clients to know they can rely on ePayPolicy.

Neither was a perfect fit. So we went back to our purpose, our original goal when we launched the company – to destroy the outdated payment methods for the insurance industry. There wasn’t anything like ePayPolicy and we were determined to be a monster of innovation. Out of this, Gordy Z was born. He now wreaks havoc on traditional ways agents collect payments.

Once we found the winning idea, we consulted with a designer to develop his look. Expanding on his personality alongside our team ensured he has the real heart of our company. Gordy is approachable, fast to react, and excited! Most importantly, he’s disrupting the norm and not dealing with paper checks when he knows there is a better solution out there.

Additional Benefits of Having a Brand Persona 

 – Social Media Buzz – Using your persona on social makes your company easy to identify, and ideally keeps them entertained as you create new and creative content.
 – Promotional Products – When we see a brand we like, we want everything we can get our hands on. Stickers, t-shirts, socks, you name it!
– Client Connection – Let’s be honest, we love a unique, engaging brand. With your persona, clients can be “in” on the fun and feel like they are part of the team.

It takes a little work but establishing a brand persona is the perfect way to bring your team together, have some fun, and create a little excitement in and around your company. Check out this article to dive further into developing your own Brand Persona

Your Time is Valuable: Maximize Growth and Boost Profits for your Independent Agency

by Business Strategy

Understanding The Opportunity Cost Across Your Agency

As an independent agent, your time can be rather divided. Between processing claims, building new business and nurturing your current clientele – there is little time to grow.. 

How are you spending your time?

When hiring support staff isn’t an option, you might have to buckle down and wear a few necessary but non-revenue-building hats. From prospecting to invoicing and everything in-between, you are down in the trenches, doing it all. 15 minutes here, 20 minutes there, and by the end of the week you have 5+ hours spent on… not growing your business. What if you could have those hours back?

Achieve Sustainable Growth

You may have considered investing in some InsurTech solutions such as a digital payment processor to speed up your receivables, but are hesitant. The upfront cost seemed too high at first, but have you crunched the numbers, determined the value of your time, and compared them apple to apples? You might find that the cost-benefits far outweigh the initial expense.
If you are still accepting paper checks, chasing payments, physically making deposits and reconciling your accounts, you are leaving money on the table. You might be saving $20 a month, but when you look at the opportunity cost to you and your team, it just doesn’t add up.

What is Your Time Worth?

Those tasks need to get done, and that’s a fact. However, assigning a specific value to your time can clearly show the ROI from a variety of InsurTech solutions.

If you streamline your workflows and automate repetitive processes—like accepting manual payments—you can allocate those hours towards more profitable activities that will grow your customer base and send value to the bottom line.

Here are examples of profitable activities you’ll have time for:
 – Build and expand your business
 – Deliver top-quality customer service
– Offer convenience and expedience
 – Gain insight and improve your company’s operations

And here are examples of the extra benefits you’ll reap:
– Reduce the time you spend on mundane tasks
–  Reduce missed payments
– Streamline and simplify accounting processes
– Eliminate data entry and accounting errors
– Automate payments and improve cash flow

Dreams Do Come True

You might be thinking that it sounds too easy, and in a way, you’re right. You’d be giving up a lot of inefficient busy work and giving yourself the luxury of time; time you can now use to improve the value of your business.

And the cost? Insignificant in comparison. Though your investment will rise a bit, the gains in revenue will more than makeup for it. 

It’s 2020. Time to grow and adapt to modern conveniences, time to strategize and invest in your agency. When you’re ready, ePayPolicy is here to help with payment gateway solutions to support your growth. Reach out today to schedule a demo.

Going Remote? Actions For Your Insurance Agency to Take Right Now!

by Business Strategy
The foreseeable future includes social distancing, remote workforces, and grocery stores that feel apocalyptic. But it also provides the chance to build a stable business structure where your team feels prepared for productivity from anywhere.  As an organization who made the “work from home” transition seamless for our entire team, we wanted to reveal the tips and tricks that allowed our company to feel good about remote work. We narrowed down five key activities an agency should implement to be successful during a pandemic. *Note, these tips work anytime and help your business perform better in general! It is just especially important to apply these activities now.

Make sure your internal team can communicate

It’s about efficiency AND effectiveness here. Relying only on email – or worse, thinking text/calls will suffice – isn’t going to cut it. We recommend using a free platform like Slack to communicate across the agency. 

Provide clear project management outlines

Working together while you are miles apart isn’t impossible, it just requires a little more outlining. Using Trello, Asana, or another project management platform makes goals, steps, and accomplishments clear for the entire agency. 

Set up a video conferencing system!

This one stands VITAL because it’s as close as you’re going to get to your coworkers while working remote. Typical, in-person meetings reveal short attention spans, which are worse across a computer screen. Everyone in the agency assembles as present as possible for virtual meetings, and that means turning on your webcams and showing face. Lots of good and affordable options out there!

Provide digital payment options for your clients

Your insureds still need to make payments, and coming into an office of people appears the current worst option. Allowing your clients to make digital payments is as vital as communicating with them online. 

Communicate with your clients online

Speaking of communicating with your clients online, social media recently developed into our primary form of socializing. You MUST use this opportunity to connect, and trust us, it’s easier to expand updates on social platforms than to set up email marketing. These activities demonstrate quick fixes with lasting results, and some exist as free solutions! Don’t settle on just surviving when you could be thriving. Use this time to invest in your organization and build a sustainable business, no matter what comes your way.

Selecting the Best Payment Processing Integration for Your Management System

by Business Strategy

When it comes to managing your agency bill payments, simplicity and affordability are essential. Some agencies (probably you!) need a payment solution that can integrate seamlessly with your existing management system to further streamline your accounting.
Beyond integration, the digital payment processor you choose should meet two other requirements: easy to use and simple to deploy. It should also offer a user-friendly interface so your employees and customers have a smooth experience.

Choices, Choices, Choices

The first step in choosing a payment processing integration is to define the features that you need. Not all payment integrations do the same thing – not all are created equal.
Be sure the payment processor you choose clearly defines and outlines how and what the integration does. More importantly, you should be aware of what it does not do. Features and functions can differ from management system to management system.

Management System Integrations

Digital payment processing should make your life easy and a great integration should make it even easier. Ideally, this means the integration should be seamless with your agency management system. ePayPolicy integrates with a variety of management systems, including AMS360 Powered by Vertafore, Applied CSR24, Novieda, and many more. 
Integration with your management system saves your team time and reduces errors, giving you and your employees more time to spend on the important things – like nurturing relationships with your insureds. With the right digital payment processor, invoices are sent on schedule and payments collected on time, improving cash flow and driving value to the bottom line. 
Unlike many other digital payment processors, ePayPolicy focuses exclusively on the insurance sector, so our features and interfaces are designed for you the independent agent.

Identifying the Best Payment Processing Integrations

There are two overarching benefits that the best integrations will have.
        1) Improve Productivity
        2) Drive Customer Success

A good integration will access the data in your management system and provide invoicing features that can help not only your teams but also your clients. For example, being able to send an invoice directly from your management system saves time, reduces data entry errors and creates an easy process for your payers.

Specific features and benefits could include:
      – Automated payment reminders
      – Pre-populated fields
      – CRM (client contacts) connectivity
      – Invoice selection
      – A single view of client history and transactions
      – Partial and multiple invoice payment options

All of these features are possible, as long as the data is available in your management system.

Always Make Sure You Have a Stand-Alone Solution

In case of technical difficulties with your management system, you’ll want to make sure that you can digitally process payments via a stand-alone solution. This approach ensures that you don’t miss any payments should anything happen.

A stand-alone solution also supports a remote workforce, allowing your employees to access the system anytime and from any device. ePayPolicy operates fully integrated or as a stand-alone application, giving you the ultimate flexibility to adjust to your preferences or business needs.
Additionally, ePayPolicy is secure (PCI level 1) and fully compliant with international data security frameworks, giving your customers the peace of mind they need to commit to you. Schedule a demo today or reach out directly to learn more about how our AMS integrations can help your agency today.