Small Steps, Big Impact: Affordable Tech Solutions for Insurance Companies

by Business Strategy

Historically, the insurance industry has been known as more traditional and outdated when it comes to technology. However, with the covid pandemic, the rise of insurtech tools, and a more tech-savvy employee and customer base, insurance companies are adopting new ways of doing business. According to a McKinsey report, venture capital investments for insurtech surpassed $11 billion in 2021, doubling 2020’s number. The gap between modern companies and traditional ones is deepening.

Convenience now plays a significant role in people’s decision-making when purchasing insurance. People want coverage in quick, easy, and affordable ways – and insurtech tools aid in doing so.

Not all technology requires big changes, though. And we all know there are some tech tools all insurance companies already have, like a good management system. Sometimes, all you really need is to take full advantage of the current tools, instead of investing in new ones.

Here are four ways to do just that:

  1. Optimizing Your Management System (AMS)
    Management systems are the bread-and-butter of insurance companies, and they boast in being just that. This software is there to equip you with all the tools needed to manage policies, send quotes, and essentially give your customers a simple, one-stop-shop. Because of this, management systems have a wide-range of integrations that make life easier for your team and your clients. Your AMS might be the best place to find insurtech tools that are actually useful and easy to implement, since they integrate with a system you already have in place.

    Integrations facilitate instant data transfers between applications and your AMS, improving accuracy and eliminating repetitive tasks. By extending the functionality of the AMS, integrations empower insurance companies to remain flexible and innovative. Some integration examples that add to your AMS capabilities include online document signing (i.e. WeSignature), self-service kiosks (i.e. Pathway) and digital payment collection (i.e. ePayPolicy). Though some integrations come with added costs, it can be insignificant compared to the value they provide (examples provided start at just $15/month).

    It’s also important to have connections in the industry that can make processes from your AMS and integrations easier, like agencies partnering with carriers to transfer policy data or with premium finance companies to ease the burden of payment collection.
  2. Boost Your Marketing
    We get it, some of our customers operate on a small scale — you might not even have a dedicated marketing hire, let alone time to put out ads on social media or magazines. However, there are simple ways to make sure you’re reaching people who are interested in your business, or even upselling current customers.

    Email marketing tools like MailChimp and HubSpot allow you to add customers and prospects and send them automated emails. Instead of bulk sending an email and CC’ing all customers announcing a new product or feature, you can do it through an easy email tool in less time. Organize your audiences, utilize their email templates, and see data on opens and clicks.

    Another easy but effective tool is Google My Business (free). Through GMB, you can claim your business profile and fill out as many attributes as possible so that your business shows up when people are searching for you or your offerings. Google will prioritize search visibility for those that take advantage of the tools they offer.

    Note: before you do any of this, make sure your website is up to date! It shouldn’t just be easy to find, but also easy to navigate and understand. This is usually where your customer gets their first impression of you.

  3. Artificial intelligence Is Here to Stay
    Although artificial intelligence and machine learning are still in the early stages of adoption within the insurance industry, they will become indispensable as more companies utilize data-driven insights to price policies, assess risk, and more. Many predictions state that the emergence of AI will disrupt distribution, underwriting, claims, and service within the industry.

    Although the idea of incorporating AI might seem daunting for a small business, there are more accessible implementations available that do not require a steep learning curve or hefty budget. These technologies have the potential of automating simple but tedious processes, and hence simplifying the work of your employees. Chat bots, for example, are sometimes used by insurance companies to answer frequent questions or direct customers to the best available agent.

    Another trending tool is Open AI’s ChatGPT. This is a free AI tool that can help guide you in writing emails, social posts, website copy, or simply answering customer questions in a concise manner. Learn how to get started here. The rise of Generative AI tools like ChatGPT opens even more opportunities for chatbot solutions, enhancing new capabilities and improving accuracy of responses.
  4. Team Collaboration
    An organized team is an efficient team. Even if your business is just starting, you might benefit from an array of tools that can help you stay on top of projects. The first thing you might want to consider is a messaging tool, like Slack or Microsoft Teams. Slack’s most essential plan is free and Microsoft’s tool starts at just $4 per user.

    Another tool that some people overlook is a project management tool. These are great even for “teams” of one. Managing whole lines of business, customer follow-ups, renewals, etc. can be tedious. Having everything organized with due dates, checklists, and documents in one place is highly effective. No need to look back at notes or search your emails. Some popular examples of project management tools include Trello and Asana, both which have free versions.

The insurance industry is on its way to digital transformation. We often overestimate the short-term impact of new technology and underestimate its long-term effect. So what are you waiting for? Dig in deeper into the integrations your AMS offers, claim your business on the most popular search engine in the world, don’t let AI scare you — let it empower you, and expand the tools that make you and your employees’ work easier.

As the old expression goes, “Work smarter, not harder”. Technology is the crutch to help you achieve this. It’s not as daunting (or expensive) as it seems!

5 Benefits of Offering Insurance Premium Financing

by Uncategorized

Premium financing is a financing arrangement that enables individuals and businesses to pay for their insurance premiums over time, rather than paying for them in full upfront. It works by allowing the borrower to obtain a loan from a premium finance company to pay for their insurance premiums, with the borrower repaying the loan over time with interest.

Offering premium financing presents various advantages for insurance companies and their customers. Because premiums can cost upward of thousands or tens of thousands of dollars, it’s become an industry staple for insureds to alleviate the cost of payment.

Why Offer Premium Financing?

  1. Attract New Customers
    Premium financing can be an attractive feature for potential customers who may be interested in purchasing insurance but are deterred by the upfront costs. By offering financing options, insurance companies can tap into a broader customer base and increase their sales volumes. This can also set you apart from competitors.
  2. Increase Customer Retention
    Premium financing can also help insurance companies retain their existing customers. It provides a convenient and flexible payment option, ensuring that customers can continue their coverage without financial strain. By offering financing, companies demonstrate their commitment to customer satisfaction and create a sense of loyalty.
  3. Financial Partnerships and Diversification
    Insurance companies that offer premium financing can form strategic partnerships with premium finance companies. These partnerships provide a reliable source of financing for customers, as well as potential cross-promotion opportunities.
  4. Revenue Generation
    Premium financing can create an additional revenue stream for insurance companies. While policyholders repay their premiums over time, the insurance company receives the full premium amount upfront from the premium finance company. This can improve cash flow and generate interest income on the financed premiums.
  5. Mitigate Risk
    Premium financing can help insurance companies mitigate the risk of non-payment. By partnering with a premium finance company, the insurance company transfers the credit risk associated with premium payment to the finance provider. This reduces the likelihood of policy cancellations due to payment delinquencies and helps insurance companies maintain a more stable customer base.

What About ePayPolicy? 

ePayPolicy recently announced a new product that enables insurance companies to offer premium financing options. Finance Connect allows insurance companies to work with their existing PFC partners to offer easy financing at online checkout. This new product “is going to help insureds pay faster and bind policies sooner, helping both insurance companies and their PFC partners,” said CTO Nish Modi.

Finance Connect combines the ease of integrated online payments with financing at checkout to help improve conversion rates and eliminate back-and-forth with your PFC partners. Finance offers and terms are presented up front, and PFAs are auto-generated. Once enrolled, auto-payment and payment reminders make payments and communication with insureds effortless. 

Learn more about Finance Connect here.

How Digital Insurance Payments Can Optimize Your Business

by Business StrategyDigital Payment Processing

A lot of people seem to have the misconception that implementing a digital payment option for their business is a big undertaking. In reality, not only can the process be easy, but it can also greatly enhance the customer experience. More and more consumers now have the expectation of being able to pay for services with credit card or ACH. Younger consumers, especially, don’t even own a checkbook.

Businesses that don’t offer digital payment options risk falling behind their competitors and losing customers. And if you feel like you have a more traditional customer base, you can still accept checks but also offer the option of digital payments for those who prefer it (and at ePay we even offer a way to make paper checks as easy as online payments).

Here are some ways digital payments benefit insurance companies:

1. Improve the Customer Experience
Many customers find the traditional payment process for insurance premiums to be time-consuming and cumbersome. By offering digital payment options, insurance companies can make the payment process faster, more convenient, and more secure. Customers can pay their premiums from anywhere, at any time, using their preferred payment method.

2. Reduce Manual Labor & Streamline Accounting
Traditional payment methods, such as checks and cash, require manual processing and handling, which can be tedious and costly. By implementing digital payment options, insurance companies can automate payment processing and reduce the need for manual handling. This also ensures accuracy of data and streamlined accounting.

3. Reduce Risk of Payment Fraud
Digital payment options, such as credit and debit cards, offer advanced security features that can help to prevent fraud. Additionally, digital payment processing systems can be configured to detect and flag suspicious payment activity, which can help to prevent fraudulent transactions.

4. Stay Competitive
In today’s digital age, customers expect businesses to offer a range of payment options. By failing to offer online payment options, insurance companies risk falling behind their competitors and losing customers.

 

In summary, implementing digital payment options is not a big change for most businesses, and it can provide numerous benefits for insurance companies. ePayPolicy is fully committed to simplifying the payment collection process for insurance companies. Our sign up request form takes 1 minute, and then our underwriting team reviews your submission and requests any additional details to verify eligibility. Once approved, our team sends final account signup instructions so that you can start collecting payments within 24 hours.

Easy sign-up with no contract, no signup fee, and you can cancel at any time.

 

Case Study: MGA is First to Launch Automated Check Reconciliation

by Client Spotlight SeriesDigital Payment Processing

Bailey Specialty Risks, Inc. (BSR) recently launched CheckMate, our machine learning powered check reconciliation solution, becoming the first customer to utilize every ePayPolicy service. 

As a wholesale insurance MGA that offers professional lines, their journey with us has been unique, and it continues to broaden and deepen.

An indirect route to digital payments

BSR has been offering digital payments since 2017. Vickie Harmon, Vice President & CFO, says, “Our customers were not coming to us saying ‘Oh, I wish I could pay online.’ They were saying ‘I wish you would offer direct bill.’ She categorically could not. She also wondered if offering electronic payment to her agents would meet with resistance. But she checked out ePayPolicy and some other payment processors.

Milan Malkani, ePayPolicy Co-founder, convinced Vickie to try it. He promised that If she liked it, we could go deeper and customize it for BSR. Vickie picked a few agents she knew were tech savvy and had the type of business that would benefit from digital payment. She had some good response, although there was some pushback at first about who pays the ACH and credit card fees. Because of ePay’s ability to pass fees or absorb them, they have found a solution that works for them and their partners.

Integration with AMS

BSR uses Vertafore’s AIM, and integrated ePayPolicy fairly early on. Fast forward to 2022. Vickie says, “I was on the hunt for a new agency management system. AIM is not an ideal fit for our specialty business.”

At a conference she found herself at dinner with an amiable payment processor rep. She says: “I agreed to view a demo, and at every step asked questions like” ‘Who pays the fees? What about integration? What about dunning notices? We can pay our carriers as outgoing payables?’” She reports: “They had nothing, and they’ve been in business almost as long as ePayPolicy! No one else in the marketplace is offering the breadth of services you do.”

In the end, she stayed with ePayPolicy, and also decided to keep AIM. Vickie talked about a deposit reconciliation problem she encountered shortly after the integration. Suffice to say it got resolved once she brought it to our attention and ePayPolicy introduced Batch Deposits. Another milestone in our relationship was when Milan suggested ePayPolicy could send out Notifications of payment due.

Automated check processing

Most recently, BSR became our first customer to use CheckMate, our automated check processing service that consolidates check payments and digital payments in a single dashboard. Vickie says, “We have to create the payment in AIM regardless. Before CheckMate we would create the check in AIM and go through several extra steps to mail it. Now I export it to ePayPolicy and it goes to a safe digital lockbox, and I don’t have to think about it.” She loves having the same process in CheckMate as she has for electronic payments. She only wishes more carriers would sign up for a recipient account to be paid via ACH.

Biggest business benefit to BSR

Vickie credits ePayPolicy with creating an “incredible efficiency.” The accounting people get notified and they can stay on top of payables. “ePayPolicy makes it easier for those in our agencies to pay us timely. Operations people like us. They say, ‘they are so easy to work with. I can pay them in no time.’ Vickie says anything that gets people talking positively about BSR is a good thing. 

Advice to others on the fence about digital payment

“Just try it,” she advises. “There’s a really low barrier to entry. It’s a whole other way of doing business. Automated payments free up your time. Even if it’s five minutes, that’s five minutes you can spend on other things that aren’t not payment related.”

About BSR

Bailey Specialty Risks is a specialty insurance wholesale broker located in Hendersonville, Tennessee.  BRS offers coverages that include Professional Liability, Management Liability, and Privacy & Security/Cyber Liability. All business is written with licensed/contracted Retail Insurance Agencies throughout the United States

Why Does PCI Compliance Matter For Your Insurance Organization?

by Business StrategyDigital Payment Processing

As the world becomes more and more digital, online payments have become the norm–even in the insurance world. However, with the convenience of online transactions come risks. It’s important for organizations to ensure that their card transactions are secure and compliant with industry standards.

When asked about data security standards and protecting your customers’ payment information we proudly state we’re PCI level 1 compliant. But what exactly does that mean and why is it so important to you and your business?

Here’s a quick overview of the different PCI DSS levels and what they entail, how we assure Level 1 compliance, and explain why digital payments can actually be the safest payment solution.

What is PCI DSS Compliance?

PCI compliance refers to adhering to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS), a set of security requirements created to protect cardholder data and prevent data breaches. These standards apply to any organization that accepts, processes, stores, or transmits credit card information.

There are several levels of compliance, mostly determined by the number of transactions an organization handles each year. Because ePayPolicy is in the Level 1 (highest) tier, we must follow the strictest data security protocols as defined by PCI DSS.

PCI requires us to validate our PCI DSS compliance through:

  • Annual Audit of our PCI DSS compliance by a 3rd party Qualified Security Assessor (QSA)
  • Monthly network scan by an Approved Scanning Vendor (ASV)
  • Penetration Test of our Network and Application
  • Internal Scans

At ePayPolicy, we also utilize tokenization, a process by which the primary account number (PAN) is replaced with a surrogate value called a token. Implementing tokenization instead of storing PANs is a key technology that secures cardholder data and mitigates risk of data breaches; as a result preventing financial loss, identity theft and reputational damage.

Why is PCI Compliance Important?

The same technologies that make everyday business more efficient also make it easier for hackers to access sensitive information.

The Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council explains the seriousness this way: “The breach or theft of cardholder data affects the entire payment card ecosystem. Customers suddenly lose trust in merchants (that’s you) or financial institutions, their credit can be negatively affected — there is enormous personal fallout. Affected merchants and financial institutions lose credibility (and in turn, business).”

We’ve all heard the horrifying stories of major data breaches affecting millions of consumers. But security breaches are not just for big name retailers or credit bureaus. Theft of sensitive financial information can happen to any size or type of business.

Non-compliance with the PCI DSS can also result in fines and penalties from payment card companies, which can be significant. These fines can be issued if the organization is found to be non-compliant during a security assessment, or if a data breach occurs due to non-compliance. In addition to financial penalties, non-compliance can also result in reputational damage and loss of customer trust.

By following PCI requirements, insurance organizations can demonstrate their commitment to protecting customer data and providing a secure payment environment. This can help to build customer trust and loyalty, which is essential in the highly competitive insurance industry.

Secure Your Clients’ Sensitive Information with Digital Payments

As the payment processor, ePayPolicy takes full responsibility for safeguarding the security of all credit/debit card payments on behalf of clients. We’re constantly testing our platform to make sure it’s hack proof.

ePayPolicy is a PCI Level 1 service provider. A service provider is a business entity that isn’t a payment brand, but is directly involved in the processing, storage, or transmission of cardholder data on behalf of another business. In our case, we are a service provider for insurance organizations.

Irene Herman, CEO of Riskguard Insurance and ePay client says, “People have confidence in us that our system is confidential and private. We let them know, if they are skeptical, that ePayPolicy is PCI Level 1 compliant. The money goes straight into the bank. We don’t even know the client’s account number.”

We certify Level 1 compliance on our end — so you can concentrate on what you do best — delighting your customers and running your business.

If you’re still curious, you can educate yourself about all things PCI DSS compliance here: https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org

7 Insurance Industry Predictions for 2023

by Business StrategyIndustry News & Company Updates

For the insurance industry, 2022 was a mixture of positive and negative events. On one side, premiums increased for both personal and business insurance, largely due to rising interest rates, geopolitical crises, and natural disasters.

On the other hand, many insurance organizations made innovative changes to differentiate themselves and stay ahead of the curve. “We saw insurtech solutions disrupt, automate and enhance process efficiency and increase overall production across all channels of insurance,” said William Trainer, with ePayPolicy. “Organizations leveraged the power of data and analytics to better their forecasting and business modeling.”

We spoke with industry experts and leaders to see what they’re expecting and hoping to see in 2023. Here’s the best of what they said:

1. Social Inflation

Of course, inflation impacted the insurance industry in 2022 and it will probably continue to do so. Michael Fusco, CEO of Fusco Orsini & Associates, predicts that the most significant impact in the industry this year will revolve around social inflation which refers to the rising cost of insurance claims, particularly in the areas of liability and workers’ compensation.

“We will now see pricing increases in liability insurance across all lines. Specifically to litigation costs (litigation funding), increased jury awards (anti-corporate sentiment and nuclear verdicts), broad policy form interpretation, and tort reform,” said Fusco.

2. Carrier Rates Will Increase

Some experts are predicting a substantial increase in carrier rates this year. Because of the Covid pandemic and inflation, many carriers took very minimal increases in the past three years to help out customers.

Nicole Gonzalez, Enterprise Sales Executive at ePayPolicy, says carriers are taking a 10%+ rate increase in 2023. She believes carriers will try to grow by mirroring large insurance companies like Geico and Nationwide. “Call center [models] can pump in a ton of leads and write new business, with less overhead than a brick and mortar location.”

David Carothers, Principal at Florida Risk Partners, predicts, “we will continue to see more and more carriers require full financial underwriting to look at the viability of businesses moving forward.” They will look more closely at their financials and in many cases, “require collateralization against any deductibles/SIR,” says Carothers.

3. Consumers Will Shop Around More

The ongoing pressures of inflation, the possibility of rising unemployment, and dwindling savings may cause consumers to be more price-conscious in 2023. Robert Hartwig, President of Risk Management and Insurance at the University of South Carolina, believes “this will likely result in more shopping around for insurance given that this is a ‘big ticket’ purchase for many households.”

Nicole Gonzalez also predicts customers will be shopping for their insurance more due to the rising carrier rates.

4. Investing in Customer Relationships

The industry experts we spoke to mentioned the need to focus investments for the year in customer relationships and customer retention. Michael Fusco believes that “the technology that continues to evolve and enhance the client experience” will have the biggest impact on the market. When investing in ‘disruptive’ technology, Fusco considers that client experience “should remain the goal for all.”

William Trainer directed our attention to the importance of digital payment processing for customer retention as well as business process improvements. “The payments automation functionality will not only shorten the time to collect outstanding receivables and reconciliation time, but also can automate and track payables, and promptly adjust your ledger immediately,” says Trainer.

5. AI Will Become More Mainstream

As cost of operations increase, insurance companies are looking for ways to automate manual, labor-intensive processes. Mark Engels, CEO of ePayPolicy, predicts AI implementation will be seen “across the entire customer engagement lifecycle, from underwriting to onboarding, policy servicing and payment collection and claims disbursement.”

David Carothers also believes machine learning will be big this year. “With the further development of bots to handle normal service tasks, we may be getting ready to see the single biggest threat to underperformers in our industry,” says Principal of Florida Risk Partners.

6. Leveraging Partnerships

As the Enterprise Partnerships Representative at ePayPolicy, William Trainer spoke to us about the importance of strategic partnerships during these times. They allow companies to “collaborate and develop better customer-centric insurance solutions, much more quickly, and more cost effectively.”

Partners do not only improve the customer journey, but also make it easier for insurance companies to grow and expand their market reach. Ryan Bosworth, CSO of XDimensional Technologies, believes that in 2023 roles will merge between agencies, MGAs, carriers, and other organizations in the hybrid world of insurance. “Retail agencies are opening wholesale divisions, and growing wholesalers have been given complete underwriting authority by their carrier partners. In addition, we’ve seen carriers investing in revenue streams via in-house MGAs or retail agencies,” says Bosworth.

7. Resilience in the Industry

Economic challenges present difficulties to the insurance industry just like they do to other industries. However, Robert Hartwig explains that “insurers are organized and regulated in a way that ensures they can continue to function normally even under the most stressful of economic circumstances.”

In the previous years, insurers were quick to deploy technologies that allowed them to service customers in the best way possible despite the rapidly changing economic and political environment. Hartwig believes that the “continued resilience and disciplined operational approach” of the insurance industry continues to prove itself, “just like it did during 9/11, the financial crisis, and other challenging periods.”

“I have every confidence that [this] resilience will remain intact despite a recession that most forecasters believe will occur in the second half of the year. Growth in the industry will slow as a result but longer-term trends in the innovation and deployment of technologies will continue,” says Professor Hartwig.

WeSignature and ePayPolicy Launch Insurance eSignature Integration

by Industry News & Company UpdatesUncategorized

Austin, Texas, January 24, 2023 – WeSignature today announced a partnership with ePayPolicy, a market-leading payments platform for the insurance industry. ePayPolicy will be integrated with WeSignature, enabling WeSignature’s customers with access to robust payment processing capabilities.

ePayPolicy provides an easy-to-use, end-to-end solution that allows carriers, retail agencies, MGAs, and wholesale brokers to get up and running with electronic payments in days, dramatically reducing the number of paper checks they process while also simplifying their accounting reconciliation with automated data entry.

WeSignature is the first e-Sign Sales Cloud offering an alternative to traditional e-signature platforms by focusing on the insurance sales process and not just the action of obtaining a signature. WeSignature’s Send, Sign, and Pay themed portal is bridging the gap between contract execution and payment collection while also adding a human touch with video messages.

“Digital payments are the new standard. Policyholders are used to paying by credit card or ACH,” said ePayPolicy CEO Mark Engels. “With ePayPolicy, WeSignature customers will be able to meet their clients’ demand for digital payments and enhance their digital experience with automated payment reconciliation,” continued Engels.

“Document execution and payment collection have always been a required part of the insurance sales process,” said CEO Ryan Pegram. “Now with the integration between WeSignature and ePayPolicy, our clients can get documents signed and insurance paid for in a single transaction.”

About ePayPolicy
Since its founding in 2014, ePayPolicy has become one of the market-leading E&S-focused solutions, serving over 6,000 customers, processing over $2 billion in payments monthly, and leading in customer satisfaction with customer ratings nearly 5x higher than the market average.

About WeSignature
Founded in 2019, WeSignature is the first e-Sign Sales Cloud with focus on the insurance industry, serving over 2200 active users across industries, processing thousands of documents, and payments monthly.

eBook: How Technology is Changing Insurance in 2023 [Free Download]

by Uncategorized

What are insurtech leaders focusing on in 2023?

The insurance leaders that can most quickly and effectively transform their processes will become more efficient and will be able to offer their customers the experiences they want and are asking for.

This moves the burden to you, as leaders, to future-proof your insurance technology, promoting business scalability and continuity.

But how?

Throughout this eBook, we will go over the three key ways that technology is changing the insurance industry:

  1. Digital Transformation
  2. Organizational efficiencies
  3. Customer experience

Each of these areas has seen significant shifts post-pandemic, seeing once niceties become necessities.

About ePayPolicy

Built by insurance professionals for the insurance industry, ePayPolicy is the fastest, easiest and most secure way to move money for insurance. ePayPolicy’s products bring insurance payments up to speed for agencies, carriers, MGAs and PFCs, with secure online payment pages and automated check processing, with CheckMate. 6,000+ insurance companies trust ePayPolicy to handle their payments every day. Learn more: ePayPolicy.com