(The Hanover’s headquarters in Worcester, Mass. Photo credit: Bob Bernier.)
Seeking to support its independent agent partners by helping them to provide better service to their clients, The Hanover Insurance Group has created Hanover EZPay, a pay-as-you-go solution that lets workers’ compensation policyholders pay premium in real time. The solution offers businesses the option of paying their premiums as part of their payroll process, either by self-reporting payroll at the end of each pay period, or by linking Hanover EZPay with their payroll company.
Increased Flexibility and Peace of Mind
John C. Roche, President, Commercial Lines, The Hanover.
“Hanover EZPay allows agents to provide their clients with increased flexibility and peace of mind by offering a payment option that fits with the flow of their business,” comments John C. Roche, president, commercial lines, The Hanover. “For many agencies, this also helps increase customer satisfaction and retention, making it beneficial for both the agent and customer.”
During 2015 The Hanover researched workers’ compensation pay-as-you-go capabilities and discussed their finds with their agent partners. The company then created a business case with industry data on trends in utilization of payroll providers in commercial insurance, and use of pay-as-you-go billing, with a focus on small business. Once the business case was created, the insurer assembled a cross-functional project team in late 2015, working toward an August 2016 countrywide go-live date.
“We created a relatively small cross-functional project team of stakeholders and subject matter experts, including IT, operations, billing, accounting, marketing, premium audit, agency automation, sales and underwriting,” Roche relates. “We also engaged a number of key agent partners and field sales people to validate and enhance our vision for our unique pay-as-you-go experience.”
The capabilities envisioned required integrating Hanover EZPay with The Hanover’s agency quote platform, its policy administration platforms, its billing platform, and premium audit platform.
Aligned with Agency Distribution Model and Customer Service Excellence Goals
The capabilities are available on a web platform co-branded as Hanover EZPay. Customers access the Hanover EZPay website to enroll, set up electronic funds transfer (EFT), and report/upload their payroll data, if they choose to. “The Hanover team created detailed workflows for every customer interaction and policy lifecycle milestone,” Roche says. “From enrollment to policy expiration, the project team aligned the Hanover EZPay experience with our agency distribution model and customer service excellence goals.”
The Hanover went live across the United States in August 2016, after piloting the capabilities. The service is available exclusively through the carrier’s elite agent partners and cannot be obtained directly through the company.
Hanover Insurance Rapidly Implements Platinum Experience Service with Pega