Supporting clients with Payment Services

Premium finance Week: How can brokers use technology (specifically Payment Services) to help and support their clients?

The impact of the Covid-19 lockdown has been stark for many businesses. As such cashflow has become vital for many in terms of staying afloat, especially with so much uncertainty around the economy and how long the impact of the Coronavirus will be felt.

With this in mind insurance brokers have a key role to play in helping clients spread the cost of their insurance, whilst also recognising an opportunity, as Close Brothers Premium Finance (CBPF) commercial director Steve Wallis explains: “More businesses will be prudent in managing their cash flows and will be looking for opportunities to help them with that so our expectation is more people will look to finance. [And brokers] have the ability to earn as part of the finance the customer takes out to spread the cost of their insurance premiums, which is obviously a benefit.

“And there is a point around renewal retention too, in that if you put a payment method in place that makes it straight forward for the customer to be able to renew, then that is helpful.”

Transaction
To assist brokers in making these transactions easier, CBPF has launched Payment Services which has benefits for brokers and their clients. 

Payment Services’ functionality allows a commercial broker to set up a payment request for a customer and then email them with all the payment options, both in full and by finance. Brokers don’t have to do anything other than create the payment request. Administrative hassle is further removed by managing the process where a credit agreement and a direct debit mandate need differing signatures, with both actions being able to be completed online.

“What [Payment Services] does is help [brokers] not having to worry about reading a script to each and every customer,” comments Close Brothers Premium Finance sales director Paul Trail. “And if I was a commercial lines broker that would sell it on its own because I no longer need to be concerned whether my customer account manager has done the right thing. That’s all taken care of through the technology. Secondly, it gives customers a choice over whether they pay cash, credit card or premium finance.

 Choice
Wallis adds: “For insurance brokers it takes away the effort that is required to present a finance offering and complete the transaction. And from a client’s perspective it is presenting them with a set of choices on how to pay - including different instalment/payment options - so they can assess them and make a payment without any need for manual intervention through a single seamless online journey.”

And whilst it might be early days, Wallis points to signs that those commercial brokers that have bought into Payment Services are already seeing impressive results. “The rule of thumb for commercial insurance broking is they get about 20% of the customers paying by finance; which in our view is some way below what it should be,” he explains.

“And if I look across some of the stats around the performance of Payment Services, scanning down the numbers of all of the brokers that are using it with any sort of regularity are seeing finance penetration numbers above that number; typically, 30% and in some cases even higher. Which proves more people will take finance if it is offered to them online and in a manner that is easy to use and understand.”

 

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• Topics
• Management
• Close Brothers Premium Finance