10 Customer Insurance Review Best Practices Every Insurance Agent Should Use
- Jami Berrett
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
For more than 18 years, we've worked alongside thousands of insurance agents across the country.
Throughout that time, we've had the opportunity to interview many of the industry's most successful agents to learn how they use customer insurance reviews to strengthen relationships, improve retention, and grow their agencies.
From those conversations, we've compiled 10 proven best practices that consistently lead to more productive customer insurance review programs.
Whether you're just getting started or looking to refine your process, these strategies can help you get more value from every customer review.
1. Don’t Sell During the Customer Insurance Review
For your program to be successful, customers need to feel comfortable returning year after year
Setting the expectation that the meeting is not a sales pitch encourages participation and creates a more relaxed conversation.
Instead, use the review to gather information and identify opportunities where additional products or services may benefit your customer.
Following up on those opportunities is a critical part of the sales process.
By evaluating your customer's risks and identifying ways to better protect them—or even save them money—you'll build trust and position yourself as a trusted advisor rather than just another insurance salesperson.
2. Don't Focus on Price
Helping customers identify ways to save money is important—but making sure they're properly protected is even more valuable.
Focus on educating customers about their risks and explaining how your products help protect what matters most.
If your conversations revolve primarily around price, customers will always be tempted by someone willing to offer a lower premium.
There is always someone that can be cheaper.
Instead, emphasize value, education, and long-term protection. Doing so builds stronger relationships and creates more opportunities to introduce additional products and services over time.
Building lasting value is a marathon, not a sprint.
3. Avoid Scheduling Reviews at Renewal Time
Premiums often change at renewal.
If your review meeting is scheduled around that time, much of the conversation can end up focused on explaining rate increases instead of discussing your customer's coverage and needs.
Many successful agencies schedule reviews alphabetically rather than by policy renewal date.
*While some agencies have found success conducting reviews at renewal, we recommend being aware of the potential challenges and planning accordingly.
4. Call 3 Days Prior to Your Appointment
In this call, give your customers a preview of what to expect. This helps them come prepared for a more meaningful conversation.
A quick call three days before the appointment can reduce cancellations and no-shows while giving customers enough notice to reschedule if needed.
Calling 3 days ahead will allow your customer enough time to reschedule if a conflict does arise.
In addition to the three-day call, send a reminder text or make a brief reminder call the day before.
5. Set a Daily Goal for Customer Review Appointments
The success of a customer insurance review program comes from consistency.
Setting a minimum daily goal helps ensure your agency has the staffing and processes in place to keep reviews on track.
*Many high-performing agencies aim for 2–4 customer insurance review appointments each day.
*The ideal number will vary depending on the size of your book of business. Use our Free Custom Insurance Review Plan to see how many you should be holding depending on your book of business.
6. Have the Customer Complete a Needs Assessment Form
A needs assessment helps guide productive conversations and ensures your recommendations are based on your customer's unique situation.
It helps you:
Understand their current risk profile
Identify upcoming life changes that could affect their coverage
Learn about future goals, such as retirement or college planning
Ideally, customers complete the assessment before the meeting.
If they haven't, simply use it as the starting point for your discussion.
Read more about the Needs Assessment Form here:
7. Have Ready-to-Send Information About Your Products
Remember—the goal of the review isn't to sell. It's to educate and uncover opportunities.
When you identify products that may help your customer reach their goals, send them educational information after the meeting.
Then schedule a follow-up conversation to answer questions and discuss next steps.
This follow-up is where many sales opportunities naturally occur. Learn how to create educational content that sells policies in this blog post.
8. Train Your Licensed Team to Conduct Reviews
Empowering licensed team members to conduct customer reviews increases your agency's capacity and allows you to meet with more customers each year.
It will have a multiplying effect.
It also strengthens relationships between customers and your office staff, not just the agent.
This improves the overall service experience and customer retention.
To ensure consistency, provide standardized training for everyone involved in the review process.
9. Create a Consistent Follow-Up Process
A customer review isn't complete without follow-up.
If you conduct a review but you don’t follow up with the customer, you are only doing half of the review. The sales opportunities will happen through your follow-up efforts.
Your process should include:
Documenting any account updates or coverage changes
Sending educational resources based on customer interests
Scheduling follow-up calls to discuss additional products when appropriate
10. Meet with Every Customer Yearly
Your most engaged customers tend to stay longer, purchase more products, and refer others to your agency.
Meeting with customers annually helps position you as their trusted advisor while keeping you informed of important life changes that may impact their insurance needs.
The more consistently you stay connected, the more value customers will see in your agency.
The Wrap-up
There are many factors that contribute to a successful customer insurance review program, but these 10 best practices provide a strong foundation for long-term growth.
Have you implemented any of these strategies in your agency?
Do you have another best practice that's made a difference?
Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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