Vendor Spotlight

ePayPolicy The Simplest Way to Collect Insurance Payments

Have you thought about which technology investments you want to make at your agency this year? Here is a simple start: digital payment processing. A basic but essential feature for your clients. Our endorsed digital payment processor, ePayPolicy, provides your agency:

• Ability to collect credit card and ACH payments (for only $20 per month) • Digital, branded payment portal that your clients will love • No contract or setup fees! Get signed up in 5 minutes

Built by insurance professionals for the insurance industry, ePayPolicy is on a mission to replace paper checks for all agency billing. By offering a convenient, secure solution for independent agencies, brokers, MGAs and premium finance companies, ePayPolicy is transforming the way the independent insurance industry collects payments and sends funds.

ePayPolicy is also fully-integrated with Vertafore’s AMS360, QQCatalyst, FinancePro, AIM and Sagitta, as well as Applied CSR24 and a handful of other popular management systems across the industry.

In addition, another great feautre of ePayPolicy is that they allow you to pass on all processing fees to the payer, keeping your bottom line intact. Plus, because you never see those fees touch your account you can do all of this while staying in compliance. In turn, you'll avoid the hassle of collecting credit card fees yourself on platforms like PayPal.

Get Started with ePayPolicy

If you’re ready to speed up you receivables, bind business faster, and offer a seamless payment experience to your clients it’s time to reach out to ePayPolicy.

Visit https://epaypolicy.com/endorsements/insurorstn/ for more information on the features and how to get started. And if you sign up now, use promo code insurorsTN to get two months free! u

More than an account. A relationship.

Partnering with people in business.

At FCCI, we’ve been working with businesses for more than 60 years, now in 20 states and D.C. Our financial strength, expertise and claim handling help businesses thrive and face the future with confidence.

Company Briefs

Denney Retiring; Weber Joins Arlington/Roe

Arlington/Roe has announced that Scott Denney is retiring from his role as Tennessee Marketing Manager and that Nick Weber has joined the company to assume the role.

Denney began his insurance career in 1977, working in commercial insurance as an underwriter and claims representative. He later moved into insurance company management and marketing. He joined Arlington/Roe in January of 2017. In 2020, he was awarded the Presidential Citation at the Insurors of Tennessee's 127th annual convention for outstanding service.

Weber began his insurance career in 2016 with Farmers as a claims adjuster, and after nearly two years, he took a job within the company as an agency recruiter in Nashville. During his employment with Farmers, he won their Excellence in Customer Service award twice.

In 2019, Nicholas moved over to the independent insurance industry side and began working for the Insurors of Tennessee as their member engagement specialist. Originally from the Kansas City area, he attended Kansas State University and graduated with a degree in Business Management.

The Hanover Names Lee as EVP and CIO

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has announced Willard T. Lee has been appointed executive vice president, chief information and innovation officer, effective immediately. In this role, Lee is responsible for advancing the company's information technology roadmap and delivering technology solutions that support the company's business operations, its agent partners and its customers.

Lee joined The Hanover in 2003, supporting the company's commercial lines business within information technology. During his tenure, he has managed the company's innovation efforts, led the integration of acquisitions within corporate development, and managed the core commercial product group. He has served in various roles, including chief operating officer of specialty lines at The Hanover and most recently was appointed senior vice president, deputy chief information officer and a member of our senior executive team in 2020. Prior to The Hanover, Lee spent more than 10 years as a consultant in both startups and Fortune 500 companies, covering a broad set of industries including manufacturing, telecom, financial services and pharmaceuticals. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in information systems from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

West Bend Named a Top Industry Workplace

West Bend Mutual Insurance recently took the numberone spot in the Best Place to Work in Insurance for the large employer category. This is the eleventh consecutive year West Bend has been recognized on this prestigious list of companies by Business Insurance magazine and the Best Companies Group.

The Best Place to Work in Insurance national awards program is designed to identify, recognize, and honor the best places of employment in the commercial insurance industry, benefiting the industry's economy, its workforce, and businesses. It recognizes West Bend’s commitment to attracting, developing, and retaining great talent through a combination of culture, benefits, and other programs associates value. Companies participating in the program include property/casualty insurers, group life/health insurers, reinsurers, third-party administrators, and agents/brokers.

Partner Platform Integrates with Lightspeed

Partner Platform agency management system has announced that they now offer seamless integration with Lightspeed Voice which offers a complete VoIP phone solution, including: live switchboard, ability to listen in on calls, record calls, realtime performance metrics, and a screen pop-up on inbound calls, so Partner Platform will automatically pull up the prospect or contact's information.

Coterie Adds Dogan as VP of Product

Coterie has announced that the company has added Will Dogan as Vice President of Product. Dogan has an extensive background building and leading product and design teams in the InsureTech world, at both startups and mature companies. As a proud insurance geek, Will loves the critical and creative role that product and design can play in helping the industry to advance and evolve.

INSBANK Parent Reports Profit Increase

InsCorp, parent company to Insurors banking partner INSBANK, recently reported first quarter earnings of $1,290,000, or $0.44 per common share. This represents an increase of $482,000, or 60%, over the previous quarter, and a

Factors contributing to the results included core loan growth; PPP loan fee income; decreased funding costs; and income recognized from interest rate hedges. "Our team members have been purposeful throughout the pandemic, allocating resources to pandemic-driven matters such as industryspecific credit challenges, PPP loans, and the Fed's zero interest rate policy, while concurrently executing innovation strategies in a rapidly-changing, technology-driven economy," said Jim Rieniets, President & CEO of INSBANK.

Acuity Promotes Nitsch and Molkenthine

Acuity Insurance has announced the promotions of Randy Nitsch and Michelle Molkenthine to more senior positions within the company.

Randy Nitsch is promoted to Manager – Commercial Underwriting at Acuity to oversee a newly created New Mexico/ Colorado underwriting team. Randy started his career with Acuity in 2012 as Commercial Underwriter and was promoted to Senior Commercial Underwriter in 2017. Randy graduated from Silver Lake College with a management degree and obtained his MBA from Concordia University. administration. Michelle Molkenthine is promoted to Senior Staff Accountant – Payroll & Budget at Acuity. Michelle joined Acuity in 1990 as an Accounting Clerk. She was promoted to Staff Accountant in 1995 and Senior Staff Accountant in 2002. Michelle is a 2005 graduate of Lakeland University with a double major in accounting and business

Gainey Named President of Farmers Mutual

Farmers Mutual of Tennessee has announced that Wes Gainey has been named as President of the Knoxville-based company. Gainey formerly served as Vice President of Business Development for the the company, which writes home, farm and church insurance across the state.

Genesee General Now Jencap Ins. Services

Genesee General has announced that the company will now be known as Jencap Insurance Services Inc. The change comes after the 2018 acquisition of Genesee by JenCap Holdings LLC (JCH), a specialty insurance business. Jencap Insurance Services will continue as a a managing general agency, program administrator and wholesale insurance broker based in Alpharetta, Georgia. The company was founded in 1982 and has been led by Roger Ware since 1998.

At Stonetrust, we know a little something about showing up when it matters most, and we strive to

always be there for the independent insurance agents and policyholders that trust us with their business.

Along with offering workers’ compensation and employers’ liability insurance, Stonetrust works to help companies prevent accidents and remain

Stonetrust Safe - an entire system of in-house processes and services designed to achieve safety goals and keep premiums and claim costs down.

800.311.0997

STONETRUSTINSURANCE.COM

Their finance company, Insurance Payment Company (IPC), will not have a name change.

AmWins Purchasing Worldwide Facilities

Wholesale broker AmWins has announced that they plan to purchase the fifth largest U.S. wholesaler, Worldwide Facilities LLC. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed. In 2019, Charlotte-based AmWins had wholesale premium volume of $14.67 billion and gross revenue of $1.37 billion. Los Angelesbased Worldwide Facilities reported $1.81 billion in premium volume and $165 million in gross revenue in 2019.

The deal will continue AmWins acquisition streak, which has made them the largest wholesaler in the U.S. It will also expand their casualty and professional lines businesses, particularly around construction, workers' compensation, directors and officers liability, and errors and omissions insurance.

Harford's Thames Elected to FDC Counsel

Harford Mutual Insurance Group announces Assistant Vice President, General Counsel, & Secretary Geneau M. Thames, Esq. has been elected to join the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel (FDCC).

The FDCC is an international, professional trade association composed of leaders in the legal community who have achieved professional distinction in the civil defense, corporate legal, and insurance industries. FDCC membership is limited and selective. A peer must nominate a new member. An independent admissions committee then reviews each nominee’s qualifications before being elected by the board of directors.

Liberty Mutual and Safeco Report on Digital

Customer expectations around digital are changing rapidly. To explore how independent insurance agencies (IAs) are evolving to meet new expectations, recently, Liberty Mutual and Safeco Insurance released the Rise of the Digital Insurance Agency report.

Based on a survey of nearly 600 US-based independent agents and brokers, the research examined the connection between revenue and digital adoption and found that digitally savvy agencies grow faster – 60% more on average – than their less digital counterparts. The report also introduces the Agent for the Future™ Index, which measures the state of digital transformation in the IA channel, and uncovered seven revenue-driving digital capabilities.

Explore the research findings at www.AgentForTheFuture. com/DigitalAgencyReport. The Index broke respondents out into three groups – low, medium and high digital adoption – to account for variance in adoption and gauge which capabilities offer the greatest lift to revenue growth.

Overall, agencies within the low adoption group scored an average of 2.76 while high adopters scored an average of 6.76 on the 10-point scale, highlighting a significant opportunity for all agencies to become more deeply digital. Year-overyear, agencies within the low digital adoption group grew an average of 7.4%, while high adopters grew an average of 12% – equating to a more than 60% greater lift in revenue growth for highly digital agencies.

Arlington/Roe Staff Earn Cyber Designations

Arlington/Roe has announced that Allison Arnold, Melissa Hilgendorf and Sonyia Townsend have earned the new Cyber Professional Liability Practitioner (CPLP) designation. They are among the first 10 individuals to receive this designation.

The CPLP designation provides foundational knowledge of key cyber liability concepts as they relate to professional liability as well as ongoing continuing education in the latest trends and changes to cyber liability in the professional liability space.

Utica National Adds Crisis Response

The member companies of the Utica National Insurance Group have partnered with Empathia, Inc. to provide crisis counseling services, and The Castle Group to provide crisis public relations services to its school policyholders. According to Brian Saville, Utica National Educational Institutions resident senior vice president, the services can be available for policyholders after the occurrence of a traumatic event.

Saville said agents and policyholders have wanted crisis management services to respond to crisis events. Utica National also offers coverage for expenses due to violent and man-made events like food poisoning that require intervention by authorities.

Berkshire Hathaway Adds Robb in Cyber

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (BHSI) has appointed Brian Robb as senior vice president, head of Cyber/MPL/Tech, in the U.S.

Robb comes to BHSI after nearly 11 years at CNA Insurance, where his experience spanned both the underwriting and claims sides of the business. He was most recently Product Leader, Cyber/Media/ MPL/Tech E&O. Prior to that role, he held the positions of Cyber Industry Leader and Senior Claim Counsel, Global Cyber and Technology Claims, at CNA. He will be based in BHSI’s New York office. u