ePayPolicy’s Year in Review: More Than Just Payments

by Industry News & Company UpdatesUncategorized

Faster, easier online payments help insurance companies save hours of back and forth. But alongside the rapid pace of digital payment adoption, insurance companies of all sizes have been impacted by rising interest rates, talent shortages and high premiums over the last 2-3 years. This “hard market” has companies looking at their core processes to see where else they can find efficiencies and cost savings.

Beyond the immediate benefits of offering digital payment options, insurance organizations are looking for more. They’re seeking solutions that extend beyond payment flexibility for their clients—a need to optimize manual check processing, refine payables networks, and streamline premium financing.

Ultimately, we’re looking to build tools that give time back to our customers. And if we can, then our customers can devote more time to growth and retention-focused activities, improving the bottom line.

“We’re building an industry-wide network that allows money and the associated data to flow freely through the industry while saving time and providing security for our customers,” said CTO Nish Modi.

2023 was a big year for ePayPolicy. As our CEO, Mark Engels, likes to say, “ePay is not what it used to be”. We are proud to have evolved and transformed, introducing a suite of products and technology integrations aimed at serving insurance companies in the best, most efficient way possible.

New Products: CheckMate, Payables Connect, and Finance Connect

At the forefront of this evolution are three pivotal offerings—CheckMate, Payables Connect, and Finance Connect—each addressing distinct pain points within the insurance industry.

CheckMate: Revolutionizing Check Payments

Checks persist as a common method of payment within the insurance realm, prompting ePayPolicy to develop CheckMate. This solution streamlines the processing of paper checks, offering rapid, secure check routing, and automated reconciliation with accounting systems.

In the same way our digital payment pages are integrated with the most popular management and accounting systems (as well as custom API integrations), CheckMate uses those same integrations to reduce manual, double-work. CheckMate batches and processes checks every day, and uses the same ePay dashboard as our digital payments. Just one hub, for all your payments. Now, we not only have online ACH and credit card payments, but we’ve been able to digitize checks so that our clients never have to touch paper checks again.

One of our first CheckMate clients, a top 10 Broker in the US, said, “The rollout was agile enough for us to adopt it very quickly and for our teams to understand it.” The agency was able to redistribute over 50% of staffing resources dedicated to check processing.

Payables Connect: Payables Have Met Their Match

Another stellar addition to ePayPolicy’s arsenal is Payables Connect, an innovation that addresses the industry-wide challenge of managing paper-based documentation like carrier statements, checks, and invoices. By harnessing machine learning technology and existing integrations, Payables Connect offers a transformative solution that automates the reconciliation, creation, and payment of due payables.

The tool’s machine-learning assisted document scanning and matching capabilities significantly reduce the manual labor typically associated with reconciling market statements and invoices. Its continuous learning and improvement mechanism hold the promise of a future where such tedious tasks become a relic of the past.

Finance Connect: Premium Financing, Made Simpler

Completing the trio of ePayPolicy’s latest offerings is Finance Connect, a solution aimed at enhancing flexibility for payers. By integrating with companies’ premium finance partners, ePayPolicy enables payers to enroll in financing agreements effortlessly right at checkout.

This addition not only alleviates the cost of insurance payments, but also, eliminates manual aspects of financing agreements, and accelerates policy binding. Its ability to generate consolidated premium finance agreements (PFAs) and integrate with existing premium finance partners ensures a seamless experience for all parties involved.

“As premiums increase, access to financing becomes more important,” said Modi. “Finance Connect is going to help insureds pay faster and bind policies sooner, helping both insurance companies and their PFC partners.”

Integration Revolution: The ePayPolicy Advantage

Beyond these new product offerings, ePayPolicy stands out with over 30 integrations, uniquely positioning itself as the insurance industry’s go-to payment processor. By seamlessly integrating with popular tools and management systems, ePay ensures your accounting team is just as delighted as your customers.

This year, we added a number of integrations to our tech stack, including: Datacrest, Trailblazer, MCI, Surefyre, Cogitate, and WeSignature. Integrations automate work, improve security and reduce manual, redundant tasks for both payers and accounting teams.

Our management system integrations let payers review and select which invoices they would like to pay directly from the online portal. They also enable invoice notifications and automatic payments. Integrating with tools like WeSignature also make the payment process more seamless and quick, by allowing documents to be signed and paid all at once.

Propelling Industry-Wide Transformation

These products aren’t just about ePayPolicy’s growth; they’re catalysts for broader industry transformation. They are tools that accelerate growth, automate tedious tasks, and, most importantly, pave the way for a more efficient, automated, and customer-centric insurance landscape.

Winning in a Hard Market: How Agents Can Adapt to Challenging Times

by Business StrategyIndustry News & Company Updates

Change is accelerating all around us, possibly at a faster pace than in any period in history. Climate change, rising interest rates, and effects from the covid pandemic are propelling companies to transform their business models and offerings. The insurance sector is no exception. In reality, these factors might serve as the catalyst that triggers a reinvention of how the industry operates and the role it plays in the broader societal context.

For the third consecutive year, the non-life insurance industry continues to enhance its top-line growth by implementing above-average rate hikes across virtually all segments of business. Despite these efforts, increasing loss costs are proving to be a substantial obstacle, rendering bottom-line profitability a challenging pursuit for carriers and the industry as a whole.

Insurance companies need to remain resilient in the coming months and year to succeed in a hardening market. In this blog, we’ll delve into the ongoing changes to the industry and explore how companies can and are adapting.

Increasing Catastrophic Events

The increasing occurrence and seriousness of global risks, from climate change to cybercrime, are heightening the scrutiny on the insurance sector’s ability to serve as society’s financial safety nets. Insurers are looking for ways to prevent losses from happening in the first place; but when losses seem unpreventable and severely risky financially, insurers might opt to exit out of markets entirely.

The rise in natural disasters, from hurricanes to wildfires, has put immense pressure on insurance companies. Payouts for these events have escalated, straining their financial reserves. These events have caused carriers to reassess their exposure and price strategies.

Earlier this year, State Farm and Allstate, the top-ranked and fourth-ranked property and casualty insurance companies in the nation, announced their decision to cease issuing new home insurance policies in California. Other major insurance companies have also withdrawn from providing coverage in Florida. Hurricane- and flood-prone states are accustomed to getting these news. However, it does not make it any much easier for policyholders and insurers alike.

Regulatory Changes 

If it is becoming more expensive to cover payouts, why don’t insurance companies just increase their prices? Insurance companies in certain states are facing increasingly stringent regulations and standards, like constraints on premium hikes and prohibiting policy cancellations. 

Insurance companies are trying to find a delicate balance between ensuring financial stability and providing affordable coverage to policyholders. Some companies are investing in advanced risk assessment and pricing models, leveraging technology to more accurately underwrite policies. Additionally, many are expanding their product offerings or entering new markets to mitigate the impact of stringent regulations. Collaboration with regulatory authorities and industry associations is also common, as insurers aim to influence policy development and advocate for adjustments that maintain a fair market while allowing for sustainable profitability.

In California, the departure of major insurers might increase the urgency to loosen consumer-minded regulations that have maintained low insurance rates in the state for an extended period. While regulations have been acknowledged for delivering substantial savings to consumers, the insurance industry contends that it imposes limitations on precise risk assessment and pricing.

Escalating Costs

For those that are still able to increase prices, they seem to struggle to raise them fast enough to cover record growth in expenses. According to Deloitte, the price of single-family residential home construction materials soared 33.9% since the start of the pandemic while contractor services are up 27%. “The cost to insure new home customers in California is far higher than the price they would pay for policies due to wildfires,” Allstate said to ABC News.

Many insurance companies are opting for reinsurance as their own form of protection against risky scenarios. However, recent years have witnessed a rapid surge in reinsurance costs due to escalating expenses from global disasters. When these prices become prohibitively high, and insurers can no longer effectively transfer excessive risk, they find themselves “holding the risk.” These financial pressures can either force insurers out of business or compel them to exit specific regions, as exemplified in the cases of California, Louisiana, and Florida.

One area in which the industry could face a disruption is the opportunities in embedded insurance. There has been a substantial growth in insurance premiums integrated into various third-party transactions, circumventing traditional intermediaries like insurance agents and potentially sidelining legacy carriers. These carriers should proactively explore partnership opportunities before they face the risk of not having an embedded partner. Alternatively, they need to devise strategies for competing against those who do join forces with product or service providers.

The Prominence of Excess and Surplus (E&S) Lines

The U.S. excess and surplus (E&S) insurance market is anticipated to achieve a second consecutive year of direct underwriting profits in 2023. With traditional carriers exiting high-risk markets, E&S lines have become a crucial component of the insurance landscape. 

Recent growth can be attributed to admitted markets offloading business that falls beyond their risk tolerance to the E&S market, like in homeowners’ business in states like Florida and California. E&S insurance offers greater flexibility in tailoring policies to specific needs. 

Excess and surplus lines also operate under a distinct regulatory framework, providing more flexibility to insurers and consumers. It enables carriers to take on higher-risk clients without adhering to the same regulations that apply to standard insurance.

The Time Has Come to Adopt Agency Billing

In an attempt to control risk, carriers are relying more heavily on MGAs and wholesalers to take on previously placed policies. In many cases, these MGAs may require agents to manage billing, thereby transferring any payment-related risks. Agencies lacking the infrastructure for agency billing may face greater operational challenges, both in terms of handling payments and reconciling accounts effectively.

“It is imperative for agents and brokers to adapt and find effective solutions to manage client payments, automate payment reconciliation, and integrate premium financing into their workflows,” says Dan Maloney, Head of Enterprise Sales at ePayPolicy. “Agents that position themselves to help clients navigate these challenges will come out the winners.”

Many insurers don’t want to deal with taking payments and reconciling them. They also don’t want to pay the fees. Because of this, it’s important to find a payment processor that is (1) highly automated and (2) able to pass the fees to the policyholders. 

ePayPolicy set out to automate the agency bill process to support both insurance companies and their customers. We made collecting payments convenient by enabling insureds to pay digitally by credit card or ACH. ePay also allows the insurance company to pass the fees either partially or entirely to the insured.

In reality, consumers face credit card and ACH fees in everyday life. “If insurers ever want to do something that might be a bit unpopular for consumers but beneficial for the business, now is the time to do it,” says Maloney. Agencies that can efficiently handle agency billing will be better positioned to navigate changes and provide a seamless payment experience for their policyholders.

The Myths of Check Payment Security

by Digital Payment ProcessingUncategorized

In today’s fast-paced digital world, where cashless transactions dominate, it may seem archaic to discuss the use of checks for payments. Yet, checks are still very much in circulation, and many insurance companies rely on them for various reasons. There’s a common misconception that paying with checks is a secure and foolproof method. In this blog, we’ll debunk these myths and reveal why paying by check can pose a significant danger for both the business and the paying customer.

Myth 1: Checks Are a Safe and Reliable Payment Method

One of the most persistent myths about checks is that they are a safe and reliable way to make payments. Many people believe that since checks are a tangible form of payment, they must be secure. However, this perception doesn’t align with the reality of the modern financial landscape.

The Truth: Checks Are Vulnerable to Fraud

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service reported roughly 300,000 complaints of mail theft in 2021, more than double the prior year’s total. Postal authorities and bank officials have warned Americans to avoid mailing any checks if possible. As cases of fraud increase, it is also taking more time for victims to recover any stolen money.

Checks are also risky for businesses receiving them as payments. Criminals can easily create fake checks or modify legitimate ones to redirect funds to their accounts. Once a fraudulent check is deposited, it can take time for banks to detect the fraud, leaving businesses to bear the financial loss.

Myth 2: Checks Offer a Paper Trail for Accountability

Another myth surrounding checks is that they provide a clear paper trail for tracking payments and holding parties accountable. This perception often leads businesses to believe that checks are a reliable way to handle transactions. Payers may also think that businesses must believe them when they say they mailed a check that hasn’t actually arrived.

The Truth: Checks Create Administrative Hassles

While checks do generate a paper trail, they also create significant administrative burdens. Businesses must manually process each check, which consumes valuable time and resources. Moreover, the paper trail can be easily manipulated by dishonest parties or the check can be lost by accident.

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. Tracking becomes complex and error prone, leading to potential financial discrepancies.

Myth 3: Checks Are a Cost-Effective Payment Method

Some businesses and payers view checks as a cost-effective way to collect payments because they don’t involve transaction fees associated with credit card payments or digital wallets.

The Truth: Hidden Costs and Inefficiencies

Accepting checks may appear cost-effective on the surface, but when you factor in the hidden costs and inefficiencies, the picture changes. According to a Bank of America study, the costs of processing one business check ranges from $4 to $20, when taking into account stamps, envelopes, reconciliation, etc. Businesses must invest in equipment like check scanners, which can be expensive. The time spent on manual processing and addressing issues related to checks can also offset any perceived savings.

Checks are also expensive and tedious for payers. Though credit card payments often involve fees, individuals (including business owners) often earn rewards for paying by credit card. And if they rather not earn points for a lower fee, an ACH option usually offers that.

Myth 4: Checks Provide Quick Access to Funds

Many businesses believe that when they receive a check, they have immediate access to the funds. This misconception is partly due to the fact that checks are often cleared within a few days.

The Truth: Check Holds and Bounced Checks

When businesses go to deposit paper checks to their bank, it takes time away from making those funds immediately accessible. Not only that, but banks may place holds on check deposits, especially for larger amounts or from unfamiliar sources. Furthermore, checks can bounce if the payer’s account has insufficient funds or if they close the account before the check clears. Bounced checks can result in financial losses and additional fees.

For the payer, it can be unclear when the funds will be cashed, making it difficult to plan and prepare for premium payment dues.

Myth 5: Checks Are Preferred by Customers

A lot of insurance companies believe that their customers are very traditional, and prefer paying with paper checks. “That’s the way we’ve always done it”, is what we hear often.

The Truth: Changing Customer Preferences

Customer preferences have evolved over time, and many now prefer the convenience and security of digital payments. Accepting checks exclusively may alienate potential customers who expect more modern and efficient payment options. The Federal Reserve has been tracking payment trends since 2001. Their most recent report states that debit and credit card payments have increased by 8.9%, while paper check usage has decreased by 7.2%

Avoid Risk and Inefficiencies

The primary goal of insurance is to manage and mitigate risks. Yet, many insurance providers still jeopardize their financial health by adhering to outdated payment methods. Modern consumers seek convenience without compromising security. While checks may have been a prevalent payment method in the past, the reality today is that they come with a host of security risks and inefficiencies.

Insurance companies should reassess their reliance on checks and consider embracing more secure and efficient payment solutions, such as credit card payments and electronic fund transfers. These modern options not only offer better security but also streamline the payment process, reduce administrative burdens, and provide a better experience for both businesses and customers.

About ePayPolicy

Over 6,500 insurance companies trust ePayPolicy to speed up inefficient payments with an easy-to-use, connected platform. We allow your business to collect credit card and ACH payments online while also offering an automated check collection and reconciliation tool that makes checks as easy as online payments (because some customers just can’t give up the checkbook). Our custom payment page is branded to your business, linked to your unique URL, and backed by PCI Level 1 Security. Learn more about how it works here.

Download the Check Security Myths Infographic here:

Download Infographic

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