March 2022

Is your insurance agency / brokerage offering the right payment methods?

Australians are changing the way they pay, with new payment methods emerging, enabled by mobile and digital technological advances. They want a seamless buying experience, where all the information is available, it is secure, auto-filled, quick, and the right payment method is available. They want this too when buying insurance online.

When was the last time you looked at the payment methods you are offering your insurance customers?  

According to the Reserve Bank of Australia, cheques are almost non-existent, cash use has fallen, Bpay and debit cards remained steady as a payment method, and credit cards have fallen significantly.  

Digital wallets, Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) and consumer finance are fast becoming the new norm.

So, do your insurance payment methods reflect these changing times?

Let’s say your insurance policyholder doesn’t have the money to pay their premium upfront and doesn't have access to credit. With credit card issuances expected to fall 21.2% in 2020-21 this may be a likely scenario.

The youngest respondents of a 2020 Comarch survey found their biggest barrier to buying insurance is cost.  How can you help them afford to pay for their insurance premiums, when Australian Millennials are 37% less likely than older Australians to own a credit card?

Reserve Bank of Australia research found that 55% of BNPL users were under the age of 40. Offering a familiar payment solution like premium funding, without them having to reach into their savings, may be the answer.

Insurance broker

When fintech meets insurance premium funding

Forget what you already know about insurance financing.

As a fintech company, etika has revolutionised premium funding.  We design APIs that link directly with your quote and bind platform. 

The result? 

A fully integrated and automated premium funding gateway that flexes and adapts throughout your customer’s insurance lifecycle.

And it’s not one size fits all, here at etika. We know every insurance company has different needs. Our premium funding solution is created especially for your insurance business and quote and bind system, to provide full automation to ease the load and reduce the handling.

Insurer's portal

What does this really mean for your brokerage / agency?

Follow the steps how etika can reduce your process burden -

Step 1 - Fully integrating your customers finance journey through your quote and bind process, no manual intervention is needed.

Step 2 – Receive the yearly premium next day for healthy cash-flow and quick reconciliations.

Step 3 – Finance automation of policy changes during its lifecycle.  This includes mid-term endorsement premium adjustments, activations and cancellations. No need to send emails or raise extra paperwork, it’s all done automatically.

How many hours and money will this save your business?

CASE STUDY: etika streamlines a marine agency’s premium funding process

The best way to describe how etika’s premium funding can help your brokerage is showcasing an etika client story.

One of our partners specialises in providing recreational marine, commercial marine and logistics industry insurance products. They use an automated online underwriting platform to bring instant boat insurance quotations and coverage to Australian boat owners.

Choosing etika

Already using premium funders, the agency was looking for a better solution to offer clients, one that was quick and seamless. They didn’t want another finance option to add to the already complex insurance processes.

etika’s premium funding solution ticked all the boxes - literally. In fact, they soon realised by changing their premium finance partner, they were able to reduce some of the previously cumbersome processes involved in clients arranging premium finance – and the agency received next day settlement!

The experience

The agency found the set-up of the premium funding APIs fast and easy with the supportive Australian tech support and customer service team.  etika’s team were quick to respond to any concerns or requests for changes and had an impressive ability to adapt and customise the solution.

Once implemented, the capability of etika’s premium funding technology proved its worth. 

  • Connects completely with their automated quoting and binding platform so all transactions along the insurance policy lifecycle are fully automated.
  • Mid-term endorsement premium reductions are automated through the etika APIs.  It means a new efficiency with no emails or paperwork needing to be raised.  
  • Next day settlement of yearly premiums with a payment process that is effortless and allows their accounts team to quickly reconcile. 
  • Treats customers with respect with a transparent customer journey through the etika premium finance. Clear instructions and easy to understand documentation ensure clients know exactly what they are signing up for.

“Having worked with multiple premium funders, I have finally found one that delivers a fully automated and integrated process. I am very impressed with their systems. Working with etika has significantly reduced our team’s daily operational burden.“ said the agency’s director.

Watch the demo here or beat your competitors to our premium funding by calling our team now on 1300 FAIRER (324 737).

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