Going Beyond The Terms and Services For Your Clients

by Business Strategy

Your Clients Mean the World to You and Your Agency, Be Sure They Know It!

As we approach the holiday season take the time to identify your key clients and reach out to them with a handwritten note, letting them know how much you value their business and relationship. Taking five to ten minutes and collecting your thoughts can pay significant dividends for your agency and adds another differentiator to your business.   Even if you don’t have the resources to fully apply The Pareto Principle (also known as the 80/20 rule, which states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes) to your client base select your top five and go from there. To make your gesture even more impactful, start sending notes outside the regular holiday season. The reason for this is that it’s unexpected and will catch the attention of your insureds and not get lost in the holiday shuffle. 

Want To Track Those Efforts?

For those that want to track their ROI it can be as easy or as complex as they would like. A good place to start is recording the clients that are receiving personal notes in a CRM and compare their engagement with your agency (renewals,m social posts, industry events, referrals) with those that aren’t receiving any personal messaging. As you get more creative with your nurturing strategy be sure to record your activities in detail, this will help build a strong baseline of your efforts and allow you to optimize your strategy in 2020.    As you continue to invest in client-facing services such as chatbots, app portals, and digital payments don’t forget to invest in your relationship with your clients.

OIA Endorses ePayPolicy for Digital Payment Processing

by Industry News & Company Updates
We Welcome Ohio to Our Endorsers List  AUSTIN, Texas, November 21, 2019  –Ohio Insurance Agents (OIA) has named ePayPolicy as its electronic payment processor partner. The partnership offers OIA members a special signup offer on ePayPolicy services, which enable them to improve their customer experience by accepting credit card and ACH payments online. “Independent insurance agents are embracing technology at a rapid pace. We’re here to help them meet increasing consumer demand for digital forms of payment. ePayPolicy makes online payments simple and seamless — for the consumer and for the agency,” said Todd Sorrel, ePayPolicy co-founder. “We’ve eliminated the traditional barriers like pesky merchant accounts and long-term contracts. Plus, with ePayPolicy agents and brokers can get setup in 2 – 3 business days.” According to OIA’s chief executive officer, Jeff Smith, JD, CIC CAE, “We have high standards for the products we recommend to our members. Partners must be agent-friendly champions of the independent agency system, as well as best in their class. ePayPolicy scores 100 percent on all measures.” Concluded Sorrel: “Selection by OIA significantly broadens our penetration within Ohio and elevates our profile across the country. We appreciate their confidence in our abilities. We look forward to enhancing the insurance-buying experience for consumers and to supporting OIA members’ tech-enabled growth. Online payment is a big step forward for all involved in these goals.” Bring seamless online payments to your agency Agents who want to join OIA, or learn more about ePayPolicy and the other benefits and resources available to them through an OIA membership should visit www.ohioinsuranceagents.com/agent or call (800) 555-1742. About Ohio Insurance Agents (OIA) Ohio Insurance Agents Association (OIA) is the collective voice of 1,200 independent agencies that employ nearly 10,000 Ohioans and protect hundreds of thousands of Ohio consumers through personalized insurance plans. OIA members write 82 percent of the commercial insurance policies and 44 percent of personal insurance policies in Ohio.  OIA promotes, progresses and protects the professional advice and guidance only independent insurance agents provide. The company helps agents by providing professional consulting services, agency valuation and succession planning, operational benchmarking reports, and other business solutions and industry thought leadership. For more information visit  https://www.ohioinsuranceagents.com/ About ePayPolicy ePayPolicy is the simplest way to collect digital insurance payments. Designed for independent agents, brokers, MGAs, premium finance companies, and their clients, their innovative electronic payment processing portal enables clients to accept credit card or ACH without messy merchant accounts or hidden fees.  ePayPolicy sets up quickly, integrates seamlessly with leading management systems, and is endorsed by independent insurance associations nationwide. To find out more visit ePayPolicy.com.

The Real Value Of An Instagram Like For Your Agency

by Business Strategy

If No One Can See My Likes… Does My Content Really Count?

Last week Instagram announced that they would be getting rid of the “likes” feature on the app for users in the U.S, in other words no one will be able to see how many likes your posts get. However, you will still be able to view the like count within your own account. This may not come as a huge surprise since Instagram started testing out this change back in July in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Italy, Japan and New Zealand. This update will begin as a test to some users in the U.S this week before the change becomes more permanent. 
So what’s the deal, Instagram? What’s so wrong with those little hearts? Instagram CEO, Adam Mosseri said the reason behind this big change is, “about creating a less pressurized environment where people feel comfortable expressing themselves.” This update will serve as a way for users to concentrate on the posts and interacting with the app rather than just focusing on the amount of “likes” their post may garner. 
It seems Instagram’s reasoning behind this change is pretty valid and may prove to be beneficial to its users, but what will this mean for your marketing efforts for your insurance agency? Well, that depends on your social strategy.  Many companies and brands who want to work with influencers use the number of likes from posts to determine if they have enough “influence” with their audience. The update to remove likes will now require more work from the company or brand’s side to look further into whether an influencer is worth the investment. However, like most insurance agencies if you don’t rely on influencers and are providing great content get ready to roll up your sleeves.

It’s Time To Get To Work!

If you want your content to stay in your followers’ feed, this update will challenge your content strategy (and all Instagram content producers for that matter) to create quality content that does not rely on the “group influence effect” to receive engagement. Your content will need to capture and keep your followers’ attention and focus on the point you’re trying to convey.
If you’ve been waiting to up your Instagram game and really display your creativity, now is a perfect time! No more “like” comparison, it will be a level playing field for everyone on Instagram.

Jumping on the Agency Re-branding Bandwagon?

by Business Strategy

When Should You Rebrand Your Agency? 

Social networking giant, Facebook, unveiled a new logo on Monday that is meant to distinguish the parent company, Facebook, from the companies they own, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and more. The new logo is a GIF that shows the word “Facebook” displaying in different colors to represent the different brands. The new logo will begin to roll out in the coming weeks within Facebook products and marketing materials. 

So when it comes to branding what can your agency take away from Facebook’s new redesign? See it as a new opportunity to possibly freshen up your own branding and image in the industry. Re-branding helps your business stay current and relevant and offers opportunities to clarify your values and messaging in the marketplace. It’s important that your organization adapts to the changing trends and stays ahead of the curve so that your brand and mission continues to align with your existing demographic and prospective clients.
When reviewing your logo something as simple as rounding out your corners can help differentiate you from your competitors by conveying a sense of modernism and technology.  Remember updating your logo isn’t going to change your agency that writes $100,000 in premium to a million in premium, but it’s a start in the right direction. 
If you’re interested in learning more or ready to start re-branding, there are A TON of resources available that can fit almost any budget. Here’s a few check out:
For those who are unsure of where to start and in need of guidance, I recommend reaching out to consulting services like Agency Performance Partners.
For those who have a vision of what they would like to do but just need a little help bringing it to life, a service like Upwork or Fiverr will help you find your ideal designer.
To learn about the why’s behind Facebook’s new logo and the design you can read more here.

A New Type of Giving This Season

by Great Causes

Not your average haircut 

As we approach the season of giving you may be wondering what you can do to help someone in need, but a haircut may not come to mind for most of us. Last week, our sales trainer, Keith Langtry, went in for a haircut, but this time his hair wouldn’t just be swept up and thrown away. Instead, his hair would be sent to Children With Hair Loss in South Rockwood, Michigan, and assembled into a wig for a child with hair loss.

What is CWHL?

CWHL or Children With Hair Loss is a non-profit organization that provides human hair replacements to children and young adults facing medically-related hair loss at no cost to them. Currently, CWHL has provided a customized human hair replacement and care kit to over 300 children a year with their mission being, “covering young heads to heal young hearts”. What may be “just hair” to us may be something more than cosmetic for a child with hair loss.

Other ways to help

Did you know that human hair replacement system and hair care kit can cost a family of a child with hair loss up to $5,000 a year? If you are not able to donate your hair, you can still help out by making a monetary donation to CWHL.

Looking for other organizations to donate your hair too?

Here is some info on other hair donation charities that you might find helpful:

How to donate to Children With Hair Loss

If you or someone you know is interested in donating to CWHL, check out this quick video for a walk-through tutorial!

Finding The Perfect Payment Processor For Your Agency

by Digital Payment Processing
“It’s not us, it’s you.” Several insurance agents that use large payment processors (operate in multiple verticals) have reported being kicked off their payment processor, with no other explanation than “our product is not a good fit for your industry.” Well, their loss is potentially your gain. We can’t tell you exactly why these companies are rejecting business from the insurance industry. But we have some educated guesses. Even better, we have a solution! First and foremost, the insurance industry is highly regulated and involves a lot of tracking funds for compliance purposes. Some payment processors are designed for straight sales transactions. They simply can’t handle the additional levels of accounting and code compliance the insurance industry demands, in other words, they don’t speak insurance. “Not a good fit” is their way of admitting they’re not set up for a complex, regulation-driven industry like insurance. Here are some likely reasons why they might be rejecting business from insurance agencies:

Insurance Code Mandates and Trust Account Management

Most vendors who use a large multi-vertical payment processor have a simple business model: receive payment in exchange for goods or services provided. It’s straightforward. No fancy accounting required. Think coffee shops, digital storefronts, hotdog guy at the block party. But not the insurance industry. As you know, premium payments in some states are subject to insurance code regulations. When you receive premiums you are operating in a “fiduciary” capacity. You are not the “owner” of the premiums paid but are acting as a fiduciary of those funds.  As such, you must keep premiums in separate trust accounts that are segregated from the agency’s business operating funds. This is to protect premium funds from agency creditors. And you can’t take them out of the trust account without proper documentation of the commission earned and an audit trail, either. Truth be told, general payment processors are not set up for this level of sophistication. Volume, yes. Sophisticated accounting, no. Trust account (TA) management is a huge responsibility with potentially heavy consequences. You need a payment processor that understands the “ins and outs” — which, for insurance agents, involves more than simply depositing money from the client into your agency account, or even passing it directly through to the carrier! Terms like net funding and premium funds should sound familiar. 

State Compliance and Regulations 

Each state has its own set of regulations for selling insurance. The requirements in Ohio may be different from those in New York, California or Florida. That’s one reason why the trusted choice / BIG I associations are so valuable. They keep you on track to maintain compliance with any and all state-specific mandates. Needless to say, the big global payment processing companies are not operating at this micro (state regulations) level.  But you are. And so are we at ePayPolicy. We maintain close relationships with the Big I / Trusted Choice state insurance associations nationwide and are in the process of getting all 50 states endorsements. Their stamp of approval is their way of saying, “This vendor gets it. We trust them. You should, too.”

An insurance Industry-Specific Solution

I’ve kind of hinted at the solution in the “issues/problems with general payment processors” sections above. Yes.  I am talking about ePayPolicy — the insurance payment processing platform built specifically for independent insurance agents. We are not a general-purpose payment processor. We are a payment processor that was built by insurance professionals for insurance. We work exclusively with and for the insurance industry. By focusing on your business needs, as well as the highly regulated nature of insurance, we have created an ecosystem that streamlines your operations while ensuring compliance across the board. Check out ePayPolicy. We make collecting credit card and ACH payments as easy as possible and to get started takes only 5 minutes.