An insurance carrier's ability to incent and preserve agent loyalty is a critical factor in generating more customer referrals, and ultimately, more revenue-generating policies. Insurance companies must be increasingly concerned with the cost of doing business for their agents, and online technology tools such as Bottomline's solutions for agent commission review and payment are leading the way.
Bottomline's Electronic Commissions Payment solution, leveraging the WebSeries® platform, eliminates many of the paper and phone-based processes that insurance companies typically rely on to communicate with and pay their agents. The solution is comprised of two complementary capabilities that streamline commission payment processing, including the capability to post pending commissions payments online for review and approval and a self-administered payment enrollment capability for agents who elect to receive payments via electronic direct deposit.
Online Commission Review and Approval
With online review capabilities, commission payment data is loaded from an enterprise's internal commissions calculation system into a consolidated database. Authorized Claims Administrators can review commission statement information via the Web, using pre-authorized user IDs and passwords. Transactions requiring adjustment can be corrected and submitted online, then routed electronically for second- or third level review and approval within your organization.
Online Agent Enrollment
The Electronic Commissions Payment solution extends access to commission data to your sales channel. This extensive online portal includes secure, Web-based self-service agent enrollment, including the ability to record commission payment preferences, either electronically or via paper check. A menu-driven interface simplifies the agents' experience and provides control over their banking and account information. Commission summary and detail reports are available online as well.
Electronic or Paper Payment Capabilities
Once commissions have been properly adjusted, reviewed and approved, WebSeries processes the transaction, according to the agent's preferences, to produce a paper check or an electronic direct deposit (ACH). When agents enroll in the electronic payment program, the system securely gathers and stores all bank routing information. To further streamline the process and eliminate paper-based delays and expenses, remittance advices for electronic payments can be delivered immediately to the recipient via email in PDF format.
For agents who elect to receive paper check payments, the Commissions Payment solution streamlines print production and adds security features by replacing pre-printed check stock with laser-printed variable forms. These paper checks can be generated according to user-defined sorting rules, for example zip code or agent ID, to facilitate mailing and eliminate manual sorting. Commission statements can also be printed for enclosure with the check.
Fraud Prevention Reduces Losses from Unauthorized Checks
Organizations must work aggressively to protect themselves from the growing problem of check fraud or run the risk of incurring considerable financial losses. All checks created within the Commissions Payment solution are protected against check fraud via Positive Pay functionality that captures issued check data from the WebSeries payment file and reformats it to meet the requirements of your bank(s). As checks are presented for payment, they are automatically matched to the information in the Positive Pay file, identifying suspect checks before funds are released.