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.”

Mavon Makes Switch To Insurance Centric Digital Payment Processor

by Client Spotlight Series

Mavon Insurance is a managing general agent (MGA) based in Hinsdale, a suburb of Chicago. Mavon serves agents across the country, offering an eclectic mix of standard and specialty lines and insurance programs through esteemed carrier partners. 

Accounting Manager Jennifer Riter talked candidly about the firm’s technology journey. She says that Mavon likes to stay up-to-date on technology, but finding solutions that accommodate their needs has been a challenge because most InsurTech solutions cater to agencies rather than MGAs.

For example, Mavon had been using Applied TAM® for some time, but briefly switched to another system that offered a specific MGA customization they wanted. Ultimately, they went back to Applied, using Epic® since 2017. Since returning, she’s found the system has evolved and is increasingly accommodating of insurers and MGAs.

Paper Checks Became a Burden

A pressing InsurTech issue for Jennifer was digital payment processing. She says, “We need to cater to our policyholders and agents. They wanted it.” She also notes that mail was getting slower and slower, affecting both accounts receivable and accounts payable. Plus, as the payables processor for Mavon, Jennifer gets frustrated with payees who only take checks. She reasons, “If paying by check is a hurdle for me, it’s a hurdle for the people paying us.”

Mavon and Digital Payment Processing

The road to ePayPolicy started with a suggestion from Mavon’s office manager. Jennifer discovered that ePayPolicy is IIA of IL’s Payment Processor of Choice and an Applied Solution Partner. She attended Applied Net, met ePayPolicy representatives in person, and the rest is digital payment history.

ePayPolicy’s pay-as-you-go monthly pricing and ease of use definitely sold Mavon. Go-live was simple and straightforward. Another huge benefit has been expense reduction. Mavon had been absorbing credit card fees and maintenance fees on a few of their programs. With ePayPolicy, credit card fees are passed on to the payer, and the savings for the MGA have been substantial.

They customized their payment landing page with the Mavon logo, putting in customized fields they want the brokers to enter. Mavon’s brokers are happy that they can now pay online. Mavon also set up ePayPolicy for their in-house finance company, GAMCO Premium Finance. Currently, ePayPolicy integrates with the system used by GAMCO, and brokers can now have their insureds who choose to finance pay directly online as well. Once payment information is in the ePay system, it integrates with the finance system. Jennifer looks forward to using ePayPolicy as they further their Applied Epic integration.

She’s also a big fan of ePayPolicy’s “super-fast” response time. She mentions their help pinning down specifics on rejected payments. In all instances, CSRs diagnosed the problem and found the cause to be user, not system error.

Overall, the biggest plus for Mavon is being able to offer more payment options. Jennifer is also happy to now be able to pay their carriers faster.

Advice to Other MGAs and Independent Insurance Agencies

Jennifer suggests anyone considering digital payments through ePayPolicy should “Just do it, like we did. There’s no long-term contract. You can try it and see how it works. ePay fees start at only $20 per month, $50 per month for customization—not much out of pocket to make these enhancements.” She concludes: “We were happy right from the start. After a couple of months, I bet you will be, too.

Tech-savvy Alpha Direct Agency Gets Digital Payment Processing Right

by Client Spotlight Series

Alpha Direct Agency doesn’t just embrace InsurTech. Technology is one of their core values: “Driven to Win with Technology”.

The 17-year-old agency even offers (among other specialty lines) technology services insurance and drone liability. Licensed in 17 states, Alpha Direct Agency has offices in New York City, Raleigh and Miami, plus international presence in the Dominican Republic and soon in Ecuador. Clearly, technology is critical to the agency’s revenue, as well as connecting its producers to each other and to the flagship office in upper Manhattan.

Asked about his agency’s use of InsurTech solutions, Principal Emmanuel Osuyah chuckles. “We are the earliest of adopters! People look to me before they buy new software. They know if I’ve used it and recommend it, it’s going to work.” 

It’s not surprising, then, that Alpha Direct Agency started offering digital payment processing way back in 2006. Notwithstanding his agency’s international footprint, Emmanuel describes his agency as locally focused. “Customers would literally take the elevator up with baby carriage in tow to find our suite.” Most paid in cash or by money order. But carrying large amounts of cash around is a hassle. And, says Emmanuel, “the cashless world has forced change on all of us.” About the decision to offer online payment, he notes: “There was a time when if you could process ACH (check) payments, you were king. We had to go there.” As for credit cards, Alpha Direct Agency is “all plastic all day long.”

He tried out a series of payment processors over the years before becoming an early adopter of ePayPolicy (which he fondly refers to as “ePay3”). As one of ePayPolicy’s first clients, Emmanuel is clear about why he made the move: batching and fees.

None of his previous vendors had the capability to separate transaction fees as ePayPolicy does. He had to reconcile their fees monthly, decidedly “batch unfriendly.”

Prior to Insurance, Emmanuel worked as a banker, where he had to triple count cash for verification (those were the days before the desktop teller machines). When he founded his agency, he was no stranger to triple counting cash late into the night; and that’s when he knew there had to be a better way. With other merchant services vendors, he would take a month-and-a-half to reconcile credit card payments. Some vendors have two separate portals for credit cards and ACH transactions; which necessitates two different logins. In contrast, with ePayPolicy, mid-month and at the end of the month, his bookkeeper would run the reports, and “the transactions are right there. Both credit cards and ACH in the same transaction summary. With another click you hop into the batches. It’s so smooth, with easily searchable fields, which gives us more time in the month to focus on other things.”

Agent Reaction to ePayPolicy

His agents like the payment portal also. He says, “I lean on my 15 employees for feedback. My people were complaining about the old platform.” The Agents particularly like that refunds to customers are easy with ePayPolicy. Confirmation of the refund can be sent to the customer from the platform within minutes of processing, saving them from having to take follow-up calls about the refund’s status.

The ePayPolicy Experience

The transition from the previous payment processor vendor was smooth. ePayPolicy integrated easily with Alpha Direct Agency’s website. Emmanuel shares that, “right off the bat, I was impressed with the seamlessness of it all. My logo was in the portal, access to reports was painless and payments were hitting my bank account in the expected time frames.”

Emmanuel also gives thumbs up for:

  • Ease of payment (a big plus in redirecting customers away from cash payments)
  • Speed of payment (frees up agents to spend more time on sales)
  •  Web 2.0 friendly (it offers a clean look without a lot of “gibberish” on the screen)

Alpha Direct Agency hasn’t had to lean on ePayPolicy’s Customer Service often, but they’ve been very responsive when called or emailed. He cites this example: “Our customers know immediately when a transaction fee shows up in their account. Disputes are rare. But one customer contested a fee, even though he knew he was in the wrong. ePayPolicy shut it right down once we provided supporting documents.”

The “fees” theme continued throughout the interview. Emmanuel finds ePayPolicy’s flat fees for ACH transactions ($3 per) a major benefit. He recently had another vendor pitch him, but they charge a percentage of the ACH transaction. Needless to say, that company will not be getting the Emmanuel Osuyah stamp of approval.

Next Steps for Alpha Direct

Alpha Direct does not currently use the invoicing function, but Emmanuel looks forward to implementing it. In addition, he’s excited to know that ePayPolicy’s platform has plans to integrate with his agency management system (Hawksoft).

Advice to Other Insurance Agencies

To any agencies out there researching digital payment processors or dissatisfied with their current vendor, Emmanuel Osuyah does not mince words:

“Sign up with ePayPolicy. Go straight to where the future’s at.” 

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.

Higginbotham Insurance Makes The Switch To Digital Payments

by Client Spotlight Series

ePayPolicy Case Study: Higginbotham Insurance

Executive Summary
Tony Haas, Controller at Higginbotham Insurance, noticed that customers were frequently asking for electronic payment options to pay their insurance policies. While Higginbotham did accept credit cards, it did not offer the choice to pay via ACH. Haas began searching for a more robust processor and finally stumbled upon ePayPolicy. Signing up, he said, was a must.

“We were getting requests from clients to pay electronically, and after seeing ePayPolicy’s demo, the ACH solution was a much better solution than a wire solution,” said Haas. “A client could either set up a wire account and send money to us, or they could just pull up ePayPolicy and pay us right there. It’s a much easier process,” he said.
“The simplicity of it made it a no-brainer.”

The Goals
Offer clients electronic payments
Integrate with management system, Sagitta
Speed up receivables
Bind policy faster
Streamline reconciliation process

The Results
ePayPolicy Co-Founder Todd Sorrel met Hass for the first time at NetVU 2017, and shortly after, the Higginbotham payment page was live.

After Higginbotham was up and running, it was immediately able to offer clients the option to make electronic payments. Now, the insurance company is able to accept both credit cards and ACH, with payments seamlessly integrating into its management system Sagitta (powered by Vertafore). The technology has allowed them to bind business much faster.

“As soon as customers make payments, we’re getting email notifications to let us know that a transaction is in process,” said Haas. “We can bind things immediately and move onto the next project, instead of waiting a few days.”

Haas said the processor has cut down the reconciliation process by two business days and that ePayPolicy & its ability to integrate with Sagitta has streamlined Higginbotham’s overall process.


“Anytime you can do electronic payments, versus sending an actual check, it makes the whole process easier,” said Hass. “Handling checks is old school.”

The Extras – Hig Helps Page
After Hurricane Harvey tore through Houston last year, Higginbotham reached out to ePayPolicy for help in setting up a donation page for those affected by the storm. Harvey had completely devastated the homes of several Higginbotham team members, and the organization wanted a way to help them through the rebuilding process.

“It was fantastic what ePayPolicy did to help us get that page up and running. We raised about $150,000,” said Haas. “It was a big help to get money and help out to our employees that were hurting.”


Higginbotham Insurance offers risk management and financial services, providing access to commercial and personal property/casualty coverage, employee benefits, retirement plans, life insurance, and executive compensation plans through more than 250 regional and national carriers. As of 2017, the company is ranked #18 on Insurance Journal’s annual list of Top 100 Property / Casualty Agencies. There are over 25 Higginbotham offices in the state of Texas.