What CRM Software Do Insurance Agents Use?

Insurance agents work in a fast-paced environment where they have to manage multiple tasks and keep track of ever changing information. They also face considerable competition when it comes to securing and retaining loyal customers. As an insurance agent, you know how important it is to stay on top of your game and nurture every prospect while keeping your existing customers happy. Growing and maintaining a successful business in the insurance industry requires a variety of tools to help you manage your work process and the sensitive data that goes along with the job.

For many insurance agents, a customer relationship management (CRM) system is an essential tool for streamlining workflows, maintaining effective customer communication, and protecting sensitive data. Insurance CRMs are specifically designed to serve both insurance agents and insurance companies. By utilizing tools designed for the industry, agents can gain more prospects and convert those prospects into clients. Whether you choose a CRM designed for the insurance agency or a customizable CRM used in a variety of industries, it's important to determine what you hope to accomplish with the system and ensure it will assist the way you work. 

This guide will help you better understand CRM software, why it's important for insurance agents, and how to choose the right CRM for your unique business needs.

What is CRM Software and Why is it Important for Insurance Agents?

CRM software is a system that helps business owners build and nurture successful relationships with their customers. When a CRM platform is properly tuned to your workflows, it can successfully manage all your company's relationships and interactions with leads and existing customers with astounding results. 74% of companies say that CRM technology gives them better access to customer data and 92% of companies believe CRM is crucial to achieving goals. 47% of users say CRM improves satisfaction and the software can improve sales by up to 29%.

A CRM tool creates a way for you to store customer and prospect contact information, recognize sales opportunities, record customer service issues, and manage marketing campaigns in one central location. A CRM also assists with organization, efficiency, and even time management by automating manual tasks to allow you to focus more clearly on interactive communication with clients. When CRM capabilities are aligned with insurance workflows, the platform can be used to capture leads, manage your workflow, track activities, and prioritize tasks.

To understand why a CRM is important for insurance agents, it's helpful to examine the unique challenges within the industry. Insurance is a fast-paced business with a significant amount of competition. It's also a heavily regulated industry with extensive data storage requirements. These obstacles alone can create a demanding atmosphere that makes it difficult to generate successful leads and maintain an efficient workflow. A CRM customized to your insurance business offers these benefits for insurance agents.

• Increased customer satisfaction through better relationships with clients and prospects
• Improved data protection
• Faster and more effective communication
• Automated services and communication during off-hours to boost conversion rates and customer relationships
• Identification of cross-selling opportunities
• Automated policy management
• Centralized workflows

Types of CRM Software for Insurance Agents

Since different industries have varying needs, not every CRM software is created equal. Once you’ve identified the need for a CRM system, the next step is finding the right software that can address your requirements. You should learn about the different types of CRMs and their features to find the best one for your insurance business. While the different types of CRMs have functions that overlap, there are three main CRM types. 

Operational

An operational CRM system streamlines and simplifies an organization's main business processes. By utilizing automation for customer relationship management, marketing, and services, businesses gain more efficiency in all processes. For instance, marketing automation can create automatic communication and tailored content recommendations to create a more personalized customer experience. Sales automation features work to simplify the lead management process by prioritizing customers and assigning tasks to specific employees.

Analytical

Analytical CRMs rely on types of data gathering and analysis to help companies provide improved customer service. They are best for businesses trying to leverage data to get a big picture of how their customers operate. Data analysis uses customer information to answer specific questions to generate more leads and successful conversations. By utilizing data to answer questions, you can identify weaknesses in your current approach and utilize strategies that yield the best results. 

Collaborative

A collaborative CRM is designed to bring together different types of data to offer improved collaboration across departments. The CRM typically unites marketing, sales, and service data in a way that gives each department a clearer understanding of their customers' wants, needs, and interests. This is accomplished by getting up-to-date information gathered on a single platform that makes it accessible across departments and locations. The main features found in collaborative CRMs are usually interaction management, channel management, and document management. Businesses spread across multiple locations or those with many teams are most likely to benefit from a collaborative CRM.

The Top 5 Best CRMs for Insurance Agents

Many insurance agents choosing a CRM are also working with other tools that help streamline processes and produce effective lead generation and conversion methods. This means the best CRMs for insurance agents will utilize features designed for the industry and integrate with existing systems. 

There are a variety of different CRMs that could be customized and utilized for use in the insurance industry. However, specific systems have been used by insurance agents and may be more likely to provide effective results for insurance agents.

• Vertafore: Vertafore is a leading provider of insurance software for agencies and carriers. It offers a suite of software products that allow you to write new business, process policies and payments, manage customer relationships, and more.
• Partner Platform: An ARM that allows for simplicity when managing the entire relationship between the agent and the client. Integrate this ARM across different third party tools and partners within the industry.
• ZyWave: A next-generation, cloud-based agency management system that helps insurance agencies drive growth by streamlining and automating agency processes. ZyWave offers an agency management system with a configurable workflow engine.
• Better Agency: A combination of sales-driven AMS and CRM that lets you automate the entire client lifecycle, from sales to service to renewals and claims. They offer 100+ pre-built automation campaigns, so you don't have to write one on your own.
• Radiusbob: A customizable CRM system with an integrated VOIP and call center, Radiusbob works to provide sales and marketing automation across a variety of industries.