The following article has been provided by ePayPolicy.
Three premium finance companies have partnered with ePayPolicy as part of the ongoing rollout of ePay’s newest feature, Finance Connect. US Premium Finance, AFCO Direct and People’s Premium Finance announced connections to the platform, in order to enable easier access to premium financing for the insurance industry.
“Insurance organizations of all kinds are thinking about ways they can improve the customer experience,” said ePayPolicy CEO Mark Engels. “This was such an obvious win-win for our customers and their PFC partners. Access to financing is vital, and we knew we could work together to improve both the access and the experience.”
Over the last several years, e-commerce customers have grown increasingly familiar with “Buy Now, Pay Later” (BNPL) options at checkout – the retail equivalent of installment plans. Companies like Affirm and Klarna have become globally recognized brands, as a surge in online shopping helped the top five lenders in that space grow 970% from 2019 to 2021 (source – CFPB).
A recent AMEX / PYMNTS study indicated that half of Gen Z and Millennials prefer the convenience of online payments when shopping for insurance. With Finance Connect, premium finance companies can now offer this level of payment flexibility to insureds.
“Central to the creation of Finance Connect was our intent to preserve existing partnerships with PFCs,” said Engels. “We didn’t want to try and take business from them, or create a marketplace. We want to help both sides work together faster, for the convenience of the insured.”
By utilizing ePayPolicy’s new feature, insureds can now enroll in financing – complete with e-signed PFAs and automatic payments – in a single online session, utilizing secure connections to the PFC’s systems and popular industry management systems.
“Many insurance customers pay their premiums just once a year,” said Nish Modi, CTO at ePayPolicy. “If you only get one or a few interactions per year, you want to make the most of that experience.”
Traditional BNPL options have been estimated to increase conversion rates by 20-30%, as well as increasing cart value by 30-50% (source). Modi believes, based on early product feedback, that the feature will increase the number of customers who opt to finance in the same way.
“Right away, we had agencies approaching us at trade shows and other events asking when they could get started, because they believed it removes a certain awkwardness they might feel at times with the insured,” said Modi. “They felt that by offering it, you’d be suggesting they need to finance. And vice-versa, maybe the insured feels too sheepish to ask. This removes that entirely and puts the power in the insured's hands.”
Finance Connect is live on ePayPolicy’s payment pages, and has already begun facilitating new financing agreements. Engels indicated that more PFCs are expected to join in the coming weeks and months.
“Companies say this all the time, but we really are just getting started,” said Engels. “We see this as the next evolution of customer-centric flexibility, and we’ll keep working with our PFC and agency customers to build the tools that make payments the easiest thing they do.”
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About ePayPolicy
ePayPolicy offers easier payment tools, built just for insurance. ePayPolicy’s products bring insurance payments up to speed for agencies, carriers, MGAs and PFCs, with secure online payment pages, automated check processing, payables reconciliation and more. 8,000+ insurance companies trust ePayPolicy and their expert, live support team to handle their payments every day. Learn more: ePayPolicy.com
