Riskguard Insurance used to have two digital payment solutions: one for ACH payments and another for credit card payments. Not ideal, to say the least. Last year, they switched to ePayPolicy. Check out our newest blog where CEO Irene Herman explains what a game-changer ePay has been to the company and their clients.
eBook: How Technology is Changing Insurance in 2023 [Free Download]
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:
- Digital Transformation
- Organizational efficiencies
- 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
How Libke Insurance Stays Ahead of the Digital Curve
The agency had been using Simply Easier Payments for about 3 years when they switched over to ePayPolicy in 2017. ePayPolicy had a more professional look, especially because they were able to use their branding on their payment page.
4 Ways Insurance Companies Can Prepare for a Recession
The U.S. is now experiencing soaring inflation, supply chain disruptions and geopolitical crises — indicators that the economy is heading for a recession. What can insurance companies do to prepare?
Agency Bill or Direct Bill: It Pays to Prepare for Both
Are you launching a new agency? Are you a brokerage expanding into new lines? Or are you simply looking for ways to bind policies, get paid, and/or move funds across the industry faster? A key consideration is how your policies are billed. Let’s quickly review the basics:
Direct bill means the insurance carrier bills the policyholder and the policyholder pays the carrier directly. In agency bill, the agency bills the insured, collects the premium payment(s) and pays their MGA or the carrier.
According to Gabe Nix, Enterprise Sales Executive at ePayPolicy, the vast majority of personal lines today are direct bill. He says, “Anything that is highly transactional (i.e., personal lines) is usually direct billed by the insurance carrier.”
Outside of standard commercial lines, insurance is typically sold through MGAs and wholesalers and is almost always agency billed. The choice of billing is up to the carrier or the MGA, not the agency. If the insurance carrier isn’t going to do it, the MGA passes the collection responsibility downstream to the agency.
Gabe ran his own retail agency before joining ePayPolicy. He knows the work required to collect and correctly account for payments. He notes, “Sometimes agencies have to forward the full amount and have to wait for their commission. It’s an onerous task.”
Enter ePayPolicy
ePayPolicy set out to automate the agency bill process to support both agencies and their insureds. We made collecting payments convenient by enabling insureds to pay digitally by credit card or ACH. Processing payments through ePayPolicy is a breeze, from automated invoices and payment reminders to batch reports and balanced balance sheets.
Approaching nearly a decade in business, ePayPolicy has become a go-to player in the insurtech ecosystem. We’re the insurance payment processor of choice for agencies large and small across the country. We also serve MGAs, wholesalers, premium finance companies and, increasingly, insurance carriers.
Be Prepared for Changes
Serving entities across the industry spectrum means we can help clients solve their current problems and get prepared for changes to come. And that includes changes in policy billing.
According to Gabe, the billing piece is “kind of fluid” and a lot of policies that are now direct bill may ultimately become agency bill. Why? “We’re in a hard market right now. Insurers want to take less risk.” A previously placed policy might be considered too risky right now. You may have to find a new carrier or your current carrier may push billing down to the MGA/wholesaler and thus the agency.
“You need to have a solution in place for agency bill, because a carrier can change. I think it’s necessary to have an option for policyholders to be able to pay you instead. If things shift away from direct bill (and this is not as unlikely as it may sound), the retail side needs to be ready.”
Even with traditionally direct bill policies, agencies may want to have an option for High Net Worth or other niche divisions where types of billing can make or break the customer experience.
The time may come when carriers decide even their personal lines would be better off agency bill. Gabe cited an example of a provider of specialized commercial insurance and personal lines. “They accept credit cards. They hated the fact that they had to work with payment card processors. There was a push for the payment exposure to get onto the agency.”
Gabe says: “We’re available to help anybody in the insurance industry that has to process or receive payments. We don’t want anyone to be caught off guard.” ePayPolicy also has the ability to pass the fees, not just absorb.
Where to Start
With ePayPolicy, each relationship starts with a direct conversation. “How do you process payments now? What are your biggest payment headaches? What management system are you on? Are you dealing with merchant services accounts that aren’t built for our industry?”
Check out the benefits of ePayPolicy specific to your business. Learn what we offer Agencies, MGAs and Brokers, Premium Finance Companies and Insurance Companies on our website.
When you’re ready, schedule a demo and see the advantages for yourself.
CS&A Insurance Gets Paid Lightning Fast with ePayPolicy
Accounting Director Carrie Davis describes how her agency came to offer digital payments. Several CS&A clients had been asking about paying their premiums with a credit card. She looked into options through their AMS vendor. But it seemed complicated and expensive and “not something we wanted to deal with.”
Then, one of their agents got introduced to ePayPolicy at a conference and brought back some literature. Carrie was struck by the simplicity and low cost and called ePayPolicy to learn more.
The introduction of digital payments through ePayPolicy in March 2020 turned out to be both smart and timely. CS&A launched right before COVID hit, just as businesses started shutting down. From there, “it just took off.”
Primary Problem
Carrie says, “Our biggest collection headaches were slow payers and waiting on the mail to get here.” Enabling clients to pay with a credit card or via ACH has significantly sped up CS&A receivables. This was especially notable during the mail slowdown during the pandemic.
Client Acceptance
The agency’s clients were quick to jump on the digital payment option. All they have to do is click on a link. Carrie reports: “Our CSR account managers have payment links in their emails. We have a link on every invoice.” Plus, there’s a big, green “Pay Now” button right on the CS&A website.
She says most clients like earning points for their credit card payments, although some are paying with ACH.
Carrie doesn’t hesitate at all when asked what her favorite feature is – the ease of use. “It’s easy for us, and for the insureds as well.”
Biggest Benefit to CS&A
“It’s so much quicker to pay now. Sometimes we even get payment before the invoice goes out! We are just waiting for the money to get in once we get the batch report,” notes Carrie. “It’s really improved our collections.”
Advice to Other Agencies
If your agency is just beginning to explore offering digital payments or is actively researching providers, Carrie recommends ePayPolicy. She advises: “Sign up. Just do it. I don’t see any reason why you wouldn’t.”
About CS&A Insurance
Franklin-based Chappell, Smith & Associates (CS&A Insurance) offers a one-stop-shop for commercial, employee benefits and personal lines coverage. The agency’s specialty divisions serve the hospitality, construction and aviation industries and the unique risks of high net worth clients. Focused expertise, service and good old-fashioned courtesy have kept this esteemed agency growing since 1881 (as Chappell, Smith since 1981).
