Which ePayPolicy Payment Page is Right for You?

by Digital Payment Processing

Whether you’re new to ePayPolicy or already a client, you may not know that ePayPolicy offers three levels of subscription: basic, custom and integrated. Naturally, the payment page is a central feature (and benefit) of each subscription. The one that’s right for you depends on the level of convenience and functionality you desire.

Basic Payment Page

This subscription lets you accept payments by credit card or ACH. ePayPolicy makes each digital transaction simple and seamless for the payer and for you.

Payer benefits: Your unique URL links directly to your branded payment page. Your client knows immediately they’re in the right place to pay your invoice. And, of course, they appreciate the convenience and security of paying digitally instead of by check.

Team benefits: Manage your account through your own user-friendly dashboard. Not only can you track payments, you can also send funds across the country. Plus, funds get applied to the proper account (trust or operating), so you’re always in compliance. 

New to digital insurance payments and want to make your clients happy fast? Request a demo and sign up now!

Custom Payment Page

As the word implies, this payment page offers you multiple customization options, from color (branding) enhancements to added functionality. For example, you can include graphics to  point to important information on the payment page. You can also (among other things) include your agency’s custom disclaimer at the bottom of the page and write special instructions in the notes field. 

Payer benefits: Easily upload attachments (e.g., documentation) directly to the payment page. Plus, payers can set up recurring payments for policies that require multiple payments.

Team benefits: Add custom fields to collect additional information for your accounting team. 

More client convenience, streamlined receivables and a branding advantage. You get a lot of extras with a custom payment page. It’s a great option, whether you’re just starting out with ePayPolicy or ready for next-level performance. Talk to your Account Manager or email us today at support@epay3.com.

Integrated Payment Page

Chances are you’re using an agency management system that integrates with ePayPolicy (or one that soon will). We partner with today’s most popular AMS providers and are constantly adding new providers to our list of integrations. Why? To make digital payment seamless for everyone involved. An integrated payment page is the ultimate in InsurTech power and efficiency.

Payer benefits: Auto-synched invoices let clients select and pay invoices pulled directly from the management system.

Team benefits: No more duplicate data entry for your accounting team!

Additional, exclusive features are available on an integration-specific basis. Depending on your AMS, these can include automated invoice notifications and auto-payment of multiple due invoices. You can even send commissions and refunds directly through your ePayPolicy dashboard. 

Talk to your Account Manager about integrating ePayPolicy with your AMS, or contact us at support@epay3.com with questions. And if you’re shopping for a new management system, be sure to ask about integration with ePayPolicy!

Service-Driven Agency Takes on Digital Payments

by Uncategorized

Specialty Risk Insurance is a customer service-driven agency with three offices in Missouri, as well as an office in Oklahoma and Texas. They are proud to live in the industries they serve which gives them a unique edge when understanding specific policies and products. Specialty Risk is a full-service agency—insuring everything from agribusiness, construction, livestock, energy/oil, trucking, farm and ranch, and personal lines. Since 2012, they have felt a personal responsibility to make insurance as easy as possible for their customers. 

Decision to Offer Digital Payments 

Kevin Charleston (founder/principal), Robin Smith (account manager), and Denise Kinman (accounting) researched multiple options for digital payments but ultimately decided ePayPolicy was best for their customers. Denise says, “When I realized how easy it was from the customer stand-point, and the fact that ePayPolicy has the strictest data security protocols among payment processors, it was a no-brainer for our agency.” 

For Specialty Risk, customer service is the foundation of the business—their agents are on the road meeting with current and potential clients at their place of business. They are taking payments on the spot, which is where the convenience of digital payments comes in.

When opening their Texas office Kevin says, “We really wanted to streamline and speed up the payment process for them right out of the gate.”  ePayPolicy allowed this to happen with peace of mind from a security standpoint. 

Research and Vendor Selection 

Specialty Risk looked into multiple options for online payment systems, but most fees were “ridiculous.” What sold them on ePayPolicy? Denise shared “Part of our research was looking closely at cybersecurity. We never want to put our customers’ financial integrity at risk. ePayPolicy is PCI level 1 compliant. They purge everything. That was a major deciding factor.” 

The agency has been using the basic payment page from ePayPolicy since 2018 and with the recent implementation of CSR24, they’re excited to set up the integration between the two systems and activate bill pay pay (at no extra costs). 

Experience with ePayPolicy 

The ePayPolicy payment page was set up and Specialty Risk was accepting digital payments from customers in just a few days. Agents and customers all agree “It was way too easy!” 

Specialty Risk Insurance doesn’t push digital payment but rather “gives their customers the option as an alternative to cash or checks. Right now, $1 out of every $7 of customer deposits are digital. Most are ACH, with some debit/credit card usage.” 

Kevin mentioned “With COVID, it’s been invaluable. We have a wide age range of customers, some 70+, and ePayPolicy allows us to serve them without making physical contact. After customers experience the ease of instant payment, they don’t go back.” 

Benefits to the Agency

The Accounting department benefits the most from ePayPolicy, Denise mentions. 

  1. It streamlines the deposit process. “Not having to physically touch every check is helpful. Now we are able to just upload and record the batch on the back side.” 
  2. It speeds up our aged receivable dates. “It is nice to get paid faster, not having to wait days or weeks for payments to arrive by mail.” 
  3. It has decreased expenses for the agency and for customers. “Some customers want to pay by phone, but a wire or ACH transfer can cost anywhere from $30-$40 to send and receive. ePayPolicy has a $3 ACH fee or flat rate for credit card transactions, that is passed along to the customer at the point of payment.”

With customer service at the forefront of what Specialty Risk believes in, they “were worried about losing the personal touch of picking up checks in person. As it turns out, this is simpler for them. Customers appreciate the ease and speed of doing business with us,” says Robin. 

Specialty Risk also serves as a brokerage. “With Livestock Insurance Exchange, ePayPolicy makes payments easier for our brokers too.” 

Advice to Other Agencies 

Kevin, Robin, and Denise agree that offering credit card and ACH payments is a competitive “must,” especially in the age of COVID. “We’re happy to talk to other agencies about the technology we’re using” offers Kevin. “ePayPolicy is perfect for independent insurance agencies because it’s designed for our needs. MAIA recommends them. And we do, too.”

6 Reasons Why Independent Agencies Need a Strong Website

by Business Strategy

Standing out as an independent agency can be surprisingly challenging. While you may not think that your website is a crucial part of that equation, that genuinely isn’t the case.

To put it simply, without a strong website for your independent agency, you are missing out on opportunities. If you are wondering why having an exceptional site matters, here’s what you need to know.

1. First Impressions Matter

In many cases, your website is the first interaction a client has with your independent agency online. It acts as a digital handshake, introducing the visitor to what you have to offer. If your messaging, aesthetic, and information fall short of expectations, you may miss out on a new client.

Similarly, if you don’t have a website at all, today’s digital-savvy consumers won’t even know you exist. That leads to more missed opportunities.

But if you have a well-presented, highly informative website, you create opportunities. You draw visitors in through this exceptional first impression, keeping them engaged longer and increasing the odds that they’ll reach out or move forward as a client.

2. Bolster Your Brand Credibility

If you don’t have a website, you’re hurting your brand credibility. Without a site, your independent agency doesn’t seem as legitimate in the eyes of prospective clients.

Similarly, a poor-quality website harms your reputation. It makes it seem like you don’t care about the details or take your online presence seriously, both of which work against you.

Even a simple but well-crafted website makes your independent agency seem more credible. It creates a sense of longevity while also showing that you care about quality.

3. Showcase Your Company and Products

A website is, first and foremost, a resource brimming with information. When you spend time creating a standout site, you can highlight the best of what you have to offer, both as a company and in the way of the products.

Without a website, clients may not know where to turn for helpful information. If your site is poor, they may struggle to navigate it or otherwise finding the details they are after.

By focusing on the quality of your website, you can showcase your company and products with ease. The information they are after will be right at their fingertips, whenever they want it.

4. Increase Brand Visibility

Without a website, many prospective clients won’t know you exist. It’s akin to not having a sign on your company’s office, something that an independent agency would never dream of skipping.

Since so many people head online to find out about businesses, you need to make sure you’re represented. Your website makes you visible to those clients, ensuring they know you’re there and ready to meet their needs.

5. Boost Your Online Marketing

If you aren’t marketing online, you’re missing out. A great website opens this door wider. You won’t just have an online presence, but you can also embrace SEO to place your site higher in results lists. This can increase traffic levels to your site, making it more likely that anyone looking for an independent agency finds you before your competitors.

Plus, if you decide to pursue other online marketing options, such as using Google Ads or a similar network, having a website is crucial. It gives you a place to direct people who see your advertisement that offers more than you can get those a social media profile alone.

6. Increase Accessibility

Today, shopping online is the go-to approach for many consumers. They can tackle research, make purchases, and more at any time, day or night. Plus, they can do it all while on the go, thanks to mobile devices.

If you don’t have a reliable, well-put-together website, you’re missing out on these digital-first prospective clients. By having a fantastic site, you’re essentially increasing accessibility, making it easier to do business with you.

Independent Agencies: Looking for More Great Tips?

At ePayPolicy, we understand the importance of standing out from the crowd as an independent agency. If you’d like more tips about how independent agents can boost their online presence, we’ve got you covered. Follow us on Facebook for more tidbits, tricks, and insights.

ePayPolicy Helps Boutique Agency LEGISequine Boost AR

by Uncategorized

“Horsemen Insuring Horsemen.” That’s the motto of Burbank, California-based LEGISequine. LEGIS agents and staff are passionate about horses, each bringing firsthand experience owning, showing, training, officiating and/or managing equine events. They also have highly specialized insurance knowledge. If it’s a risk associated with a horse or horse business, LEGIS insures it.

Operations Manager Sarah Rajoy shares how ePayPolicy is helping this high-end niche agency.

“We’re a small boutique agency with about 2,000 active clients nationwide. We work with high-net-worth clients, who have high expectations. We’re a luxury item (insurance) for a luxury item (horses). Our clients expect superb service. LEGIS delivers, and ePayPolicy delivers for us.”

Prior to moving to ePayPolicy in August 2020, LEGIS had another online payment system that Sarah describes as “dumb,” because clients could submit a payment, but it did not track to an actual invoice. The agency found ePayPolicy through Vertafore. LEGIS uses Vertafore’s AMS360 management system and integration was (and still is) a major selling point.*

Who Benefits from ePayPolicy

LEGIS agents are happy to offer multiple payment options. “Horse people are on the road a lot for shows and such. Payment due alerts give them time to move money if they need to. And they can pay from anywhere,” Sarah says. “It’s more convenient than writing checks. We also encourage automated payments so our clients can ‘set it and forget it.’”

Sarah’s favorite benefit? Not having to chase down payments. “It’s not my staff’s favorite task,” she admits. ePayPolicy sends out receivables notices, thus automating the dunning process. Sarah comments on the impact:

“I was looking at the numbers. We have decreased our aging receivables by 75 percent. That’s huge!”

Above-and-Beyond Service

Sarah makes a point of mentioning ePayPolicy’s above-and-beyond service. “I know we’re not the typical ePayPolicy client. Sometimes you’ll get a vendor that throws up their hands at a request. They say, ‘No way. That’s impossible. It won’t work.’ Not ePayPolicy. They work with you.” As an example, LEGIS had a situation involving collaboration between ePayPolicy and Vertafore engineers. Sarah says: “It was tricky. But they stayed on it and they got it done.”

In fact, she says the whole team has been great to work with. “Our service rep (Al) stays in touch just to check in. Sarah explains: “The more you live in a high-service community, the more you refuse to tolerate poor service yourself. ePayPolicy provides a caliber of service that we’re proud to offer our clients.”

Advice to Other Agencies

If you’re not sure about offering online payments or about choosing a digital payment processor for your agency, consider LEGISequine’s experience. “The biggest thing we learned is how much we could allocate resources away from AR and use them to write new business. We put that staff time into quoting and issuing policies. When you’re small and lean like LEGIS, that’s been the biggest win of all.”

*ePayPolicy integrates with today’s most popular agency management systems. If you don’t see your AMS here, please ask. Likely we’re in negotiations with your system vendor right now!

It Pays to be In Our Payment Network

by Digital Payment Processing

There’s more to ePayPolicy than taking digital payments from insureds. You can also take—and make—payments across all insurance verticals. The ePayPolicy Payment Network connects independent agencies, brokers, MGAs and premium finance companies with each other, as well as to carriers and insureds.

 

How Network payables work

Sending payments to partners within the Payables Network

The Payables feature within the ePayPolicy dashboard lets you send funds to any agency, broker, MGA or premium finance company across the industry for only $ .50 per transaction (less than the cost of a stamp).

Anyone with a paid ePayPolicy subscription can both receive and send payments.

Sending payments to partners outside the Network

Need to send funds to an agency, broker, MGA or PFC that doesn’t use ePayPolicy to collect payments? No problem. Simply have them sign up with us for a  free payment account.

 

Benefits of Payables Network membership

Many of the same benefits of ePayPolicy as a payment collection portal apply to leveraging ePayPolicy as a digital payment portal:

  • Enjoy fast, secure payments
  • Go paperless — Eliminate checks to insurance partners (and help save the planet)
  • Low per-payment fee — You can’t even mail a check for $.50
  • Easily track outgoing funds in the dashboard — Accounting staff love it!
  • Payee info is stored — No need to gather additional information 

Also:

  • Collect commissions and refunds faster, without waiting for a check
  • Simplify accounting — Funds from Network members go directly into your account

 

Join the Payables Network

Sign up for an ePayPolicy ePayPolicy subscription today.

Already have an ePayPolicy subscription? Learn more about paying with ePayPolicy.

Or, simply set up a free payment account* to exchange payments within the Network.

 

*Free accounts do not include a payment page.

 

 

Big Sky Underwriters: An Early Adopter of Digital Payments

by Client Spotlight Series

Todd Stoudt has been with Big Sky since 2018, but his history with ePayPolicy goes back to his previous job. They had ePayPolicy at his Hull & Company agency in Pennsylvania. When Todd was offered the Accounting Lead position at Big Sky, he thought digital payments/ePayPolicy would be something new he could bring to the table.

Turns out, Big Sky had been using ePayPolicy since our earliest days (2016)! 

Todd reflects, “Coming from another office, nothing caught me off guard. It was what I was used to.” That helped make his transition smooth.

Biggest Benefits 

“We didn’t have specific problems that we needed to fix with ePayPolicy,” Todd explains. “We have a diligent person doing our AR, so there’s little bad debt or collection issues here.”

Yet when one arises, ePayPolicy is a great tool for late receivables and debt collection. “We force our agents to use ePayPolicy to clear any bad debt. Once we start issuing cancellations, I see the automatic emails come in, letting us know the payment’s been made.”

Another benefit is lump sum payments. “Our agents get their statements, reconcile, and send one lump sum. We get an automatic email about the batches, then we manually apply the payments that come in through ePayPolicy,” explains Todd.

Who’s Paying Digitally

He says, “Most of our payments are from agencies. When an agent pays us, it’s almost always ACH. Our direct payers are a mix of ACH and credit card, but mostly ACH.”

Much as Todd would like to convert everyone to online payments, Big Sky still processes a lot of checks. They’ve put in a lock box to make it safe to drop them off during COVID-19. 

Favorite Features

Todd offers his thoughts without hesitation: “Auto emails. I see when something is or is not paid. I don’t have to log into the portal. All three of us in Accounting rely on the emails to know when payments are made.” 

He also likes that ePayPolicy is so simple to use. “We direct first-time payers to the website and they can figure it out. They have the option of using a card or ACH.”

For his team, too, Todd appreciates the simplicity. “You literally can’t get confused. The fields are there for a reason. We rarely get a payment where we don’t know where to apply it.”

Other features Todd likes about us:

  • Batch in the bank is easy
  • Having the payment link on the Big Sky website
  • Being able to access information in the portal and the emails both
  • Knowing when they’re approaching a bad debt

He also says good things about our customer service. “We rarely have an issue, but it’s always solved quickly.”:

Advice to Other Agencies

If you’re on the fence about offering digital payments, Todd suggests you use Big Sky as an example. “We pay $50 a month for it.* If you can absorb that cost, go for it.” 

* Monthly fee for our Custom Plan.

About Big Sky Underwriters

Big Sky Underwriters is an independent MGA based in Missoula, Montana. The agency has been in business since 1955, and is now a division of Hull & Company, LLC. Licensed in all 50 states, Big Sky’s business mix is primarily commercial and agribusiness, along with personal lines and some religious groups. Big Sky has 35 employees and made $5 million in revenue last year.

How Independent Agents Can Communicate with Today’s Digital Consumers

by Business Strategy

Today, the business world is increasingly digital. Consumers constantly turn to online resources to find information, and independent insurance agencies need to be part of that landscape if they want to connect with clients.

The sheer volume of options can make developing an online strategy challenging. After all, as an independent agent, your time is valuable, so you need to know which approaches are more likely to yield results and resonate with your clients.

If you aren’t sure where to begin, here are some standout options for communicating with today’s digital consumers as an independent insurance agency.

How to Communicate with Today’s Digital Consumers

Facebook Groups

While traditional Facebook posts and comments can allow you to connect with your clients and prospects, adding a Facebook Group into the mix is beneficial. With a Facebook Group, you still get to communicate directly with your clients, but you also create a space where clients can help one another.

It provides a simple platform where clients can ask questions and share experiences. Along with getting responses from your team, they can also gather insights from other insureds.

Facebook Groups also make sharing major announcements simple. The information is accessible to an engaged audience who gets notifications, increasing the odds that it’ll get noticed.

Client Toolkits

A client toolkit is an online central repository of helpful information and tools. This can be anything from how-to guides, checklists, FAQs, or other resources that clients may find valuable.

With a client toolkit, selling isn’t the primary goal. Instead, it’s about positioning your independent insurance agency as a go-to resource for helpful tips, tricks, and insights, drawing clients in with the wealth of handy information, increasing engagement, and bolstering your brand.

Videos on Social Media

Today, video is the content-sharing approach du jour. It’s one of the most popular mechanisms for enhancing engagement on most social media platforms and is a solid option for developing your brand’s voice.

Video can be a great way to share updates and/or helpful resources. Plus, most social media video formats are embeddable on websites, allowing you to add valuable ones to your client toolkit with ease.

Email Newsletters and Surveys

Email newsletters are a classic option for sharing information with clients. One of the simplest approaches involves sharing an overview of a blog, announcement, or similar content and then including a link that directs the reader to the actual post to learn more. Not only does this let you keep your newsletter short and enticing, but it also boosts traffic to your other pages.

When it comes to follow-up, emailed survey links are one of the easiest options. You can use them to gauge the client experience, giving you the ability to find any areas where improvement is beneficial.

How to Increase Engagement with Your Online Resources

At times, if you want to boost engagement with your online resources, independent agents should consider incentivizing participation. By, for example, sending swag, an eBook, or something similar after a client signs up with your newsletter, you’re rewarding them for engaging with your agency.

The incentive doesn’t have to be expensive to be effective. As long as it is helpful or useful — providing value over being part of a sales pitch — it can potentially be a winner.

Looking for More Independent Insurance Agency Tips?

At ePayPolicy, we understand the importance of engaging with your clients. If you’d like more tips about how independent agents can connect with today’s digital consumers, we’ve got you covered. Follow us on Facebook for more tidbits, tricks, and insights.

Arizona Agency Values the Simplicity of ePayPolicy

by Client Spotlight Series

Dick Gufstason founded Dickson Insurance in Mesa, Arizona in 1995. Today it is run by Dick’s sons Simon and Jake, who took the reins in 2010. Jake started with the agency in 1998, specializing in trucking insurance. He then branched out, now also selling personal lines and managing the agency’s accounting functions.

Jake says Dickson has had the ability to handle credit card and ACH payments for 10 years. The problem was, they had to be manually entered. The agency also took a lot of fax checks. Jake wanted a system to relieve the manual entry burden. He also didn’t want to worry about the high fees his credit card processor charged him.

How Dickson Chose ePayPolicy

Dickson Insurance is big on industry referrals. Their website lists recommended professionals ranging from real estate agents and title companies to janitorial and auto glass repair services. In this case, it was IIABAZ that connected Jake with ePayPolicy.

Jake saw ePayPolicy listed on the IIABAZ site as a recommended product. He says, “They called me. We went through a demo. I made the decision based on that interaction. Within a day it was up and running. It made total sense.”

The timing of that call was perfect. Dickson installed ePayPolicy in 2019. “It turned out to be great for us during COVID,” he mentions.

He also shares that Dickson’s business has doubled “three or four times” since 2012. Their business mix is 80 percent trucking/business insurance and 20 percent personal lines. Most of the growth comes from trucking. Jake is happy to have a secure payment system in place “with that kind of money flowing through the agency.”

Customer Response to Digital Payment

They did not promote credit card or ACH payment much prior to ePayPolicy because those payments were almost as time-intensive to process as checks (and expensive). 

He says, “I still have to promote it to my agents. They’re stuck in their old way of doing things.” But since COVID, that’s really changing.”

He says most customers who use ePayPolicy use ACH rather than credit or debit cards. There are still the occasional few who don’t want to pay even a $3 transaction fee* but otherwise, Dickson customers love the convenience.

Benefits to the Agency

According to Jake, the top three benefits Dickson Insurance gets from ePayPolicy are:

  1. “It’s a time saver for me, not having to deposit money.”
  2. “The ease of using it; it streamlines taking money from the customer.” 
  3. “If someone’s credit card payment isn’t approved, we know right away.”

He’s also pleased with ePayPolicy’s service. “CSR has been great. I had to switch banks and sent a message to support through the portal. We got a call back right away. No problem.”

Advice to Other Agencies

Jake is direct in his recommendation: “If you are taking a lot of payments in-house, this is a function that will ease the process for the entire agency. For your agents and your accounting staff, it eases the entire process.”

* ePayPolicy passes the transaction fee along to the payer, separating it out from the payment and depositing only what the agency is owed. This net funding process provides a simple and easy way for accounting to track and manage inbound digital payments.

 

Features Feature: AutoPay and Recurring Payments

by Digital Payment Processing

ePayPolicy offers two features that make payment a “set it, and forget it” proposition for those paying you. We get a lot of questions about the difference between AutoPay and Recurring Payments. Here’s a quick overview to take the mystery out of these convenient features:

Recurring Payments

Recurring payments are available with our Custom Payment Page subscription. The ability to set up recurring payments is embedded right on your payment page to make the payment experience seamless for your payer. Once the payer is logged in, a simple toggle turns it on and they can set up payments to occur on a set schedule. The payer sets the start date and end date, according to frequency (e.g., monthly, semiannually).

The payer can easily track payments directly through your payment page on the Recurring Payments page. You can also track their recurring payments through your dashboard.

Main benefits: Payers don’t have to remember when payments are due. They control the schedule of payments and can turn the feature on themselves and change the schedule at any time, if needed.

AutoPay

This feature is available to clients with an Integration. We integrate with today’s most popular management systems, with new ones being continuously added. (Here’s a list of current integrations.)
AutoPay is automatically enabled so your payers are ready to set up automatic payments for their account. Payment is made directly from the payer’s account (ACH or debit or credit card) as soon as an invoice is posted from the management system. The payer gets an automatic e-receipt of the transaction and the activity writes directly back into the management system.

Main benefit: It’s all done automatically—for your payer, and for you. It guarantees that your invoices will be paid as soon as you submit them to your payers—making things simple for you and your clients.

Which is better for your agency?

Both Recurring Payments and AutoPay add an extra layer of convenience—the whole point of offering digital insurance payments. Both reduce (or even eliminate) the problem of missed or late payments. Both offer you and the payer the ability to easily track when payments are made.

The difference is your ePayPolicy subscription. If you’re not ready to integrate ePayPolicy with your AMS (or if we don’t yet integrate with your management system), you can’t go wrong with a Custom Payment Page subscription, offering your payers the easy option of turning on recurring payments.

For more information on ePayPolicy features, follow us on Facebook. Already a client? Be sure to join our Facebook Users Group!

Tech Evangelist Stephanie Beninati Describes ePayPolicy in Two Words

by Client Spotlight Series

Strategic Insurance Services (SIS) is a woman-owned agency specializing in industry-specific insurance and hard to place risk. Based in Denver, SIS is licensed in 18 states.

Broker/owner Stephanie Beninati says she’s been trying to implement processes and technology “from day one.” But finding solutions for SIS hasn’t been easy. “We do construction and excess and surplus lines. We don’t write with the big carriers, where you can type in a few things and get a quote. Our policies don’t download into our system.” She adds: “Where other agents may talk to a client once a year, I’m on the phone all the time. Our clients constantly have urgent needs (e.g., subcontractor certificates). We love it—but it’s time-intensive. ”

Stephanie’s a big fan of third-party vendors. She’s always on the lookout for partners who can automate business functions and make things easier for her clients. Two years ago, she switched her agency management to EZLynx.

Credit Card Payments

Next up on her list: a system to process credit card payments. Initially, she signed up with a credit card company. But they charged a hefty percentage per transaction. She knew there had to be a better way. She asked and asked. Finally, at a PIIAC event, she picked up an ePayPolicy brochure. And there was her answer: a digital payment portal designed exclusively for the insurance industry.

Stephanie describes ePayPolicy in two words: so easy. “I just called them up. It took five minutes. It was so easy to set it up. I did the 10-minute intro training and haven’t had to call them since.”

“ePayPolicy literally changed my life”

She mentions again that she outsources as much as possible. “I hired a guy to handle our AP/AR who was willing to learn our EZLynx and ePayPolicy. Ever since:

    • People have an easy way to pay
    • Everything gets paid on time
    • We no longer have to chase people down for money. We just give them the payment link and they can pay on the spot.
    • I don’t ever have to look at money!”

Advice on Technology

“As a society, we are moving faster and faster, and you have to adapt. You have to be smarter and quicker than others to survive. Technology is the revolution.”

Of her highly specialized work, Stephanie says, “I can train people on the business, but they have to have that fire in their belly, that “how do I make it better?” attitude. I look for people with tech backgrounds, or the willingness to learn new technologies—just like I’ve done myself.”

She’s so committed to speed, ease, and efficiency that she even switched SIS over to Macs and said goodbye to her PCs. Her employees were fully comfortable in just a few days. Like ePayPolicy, she describes Mac and the iOS operating system as “so easy.”

Advice on using ePayPolicy

ePayPolicy took a problem most insurance agencies didn’t yet see as a problem. And they engineered digital payment technology that’s easy to implement and use.

Stephanie says: “There is no reason in this day and age not to offer credit card and ACH payment.”

Her reasoning: “Taking money should be the easiest thing we do. Once we sell the product, if we can’t get paid for it, our cash flow suffers. Writing a big check makes you feel bad. No wonder clients drag that payment out. Digital payment is instant. When clients can pay quickly, they do. And they feel good.”

Plus, “It makes you look like a larger agency.”