Best CRM for insurers

As an insurer, managing client policies, tracking renewals, and handling claims efficiently are key to providing great service and growing your business. A dedicated Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system can help you streamline these processes by organizing client data, automating policy renewals, tracking claims, and ensuring timely follow-ups. The right CRM will enhance your ability to serve clients, improve internal workflows, and drive growth.
In this blog post, we’ll explore the best CRM options for insurers like you, focusing on tools that will help you manage client relationships and business operations more effectively.

Why you need a CRM

A CRM system is essential for managing insurers efficiently and effectively. It streamlines operations and supports collaborative efforts.

Challenges without a CRM

If you're an insurance company without a CRM, you might already be facing these challenges without realising how much time it eats up from your busy day.

• Disorganization: Manual processes lead to scattered data and inefficiencies.
• Missed opportunities: Lack of timely follow-ups can result in lost business.
• Inefficient processes: Redundant tasks consume valuable time and resources.
• Lack of insight: Inadequate data analysis hampers strategic decision-making.
• Inconsistent communication: Poor coordination with insurers and clients affects relationships.

Benefits of a CRM

Having the right CRM in your tech stack can have direct benefits to your team.

• Centralized information: All data is stored in one place, making it easily accessible.
• Enhanced efficiency: Automation of repetitive tasks saves time and reduces errors.
• Improved customer relationships: Better tracking of interactions leads to higher satisfaction.
• Better decision-making: Data analytics provide insights for strategic planning.
• Increased sales: Effective follow-ups and lead management boost conversions.
• Consistent communication: Streamlined communication ensures everyone is on the same page.
  

How to evaluate and choose a CRM platform

Whether you're considering a CRM for the first time, or looking to replace an existing platform – below are some useful pointers for you to consider as part of your decision making process.

1. Define your requirements

What do you want your new CRM platform to focus on? Sales? Building relationships? Marketing? Being clear on the goal behind why you want to invest in one will help you align your search with better options. Consider starting with understanding the key features of a CRM and reviewing which one is a higher priority on your list.

Key features of a CRM for insurers

• Automated processes: Streamlines tasks by automating repetitive workflows.
• Contact enrichment: Automatically finds Leads, Customers email addresses and contact information, enhancing efficiency.
• Structured pipeline: Tracks Leads, Customers through defined stages, ensuring process clarity and effectiveness.
• Email sequences: Increases communication efficiency with follow-up templates and automated sequences.
• LinkedIn connection: Seamlessly imports leads and customers from LinkedIn and tracks conversations within the CRM to leverage your network.
• Reporting & forecasting: Provides essential data analysis and predictive insights for better planning.

2. Budget considerations

When selecting a CRM for your insurance business, it's important to balance cost with the potential return on investment. While some CRM platforms may have higher upfront costs, they could offer significant long-term savings through improved efficiency and customer retention. Evaluate the total cost of ownership, including subscription fees, training, and support.

3. Selection process

Start by researching CRM vendors that specialize in insurance solutions. Look for those with a proven track record in the industry and positive customer reviews. Request demos and gather information on their support services, data security measures, and customization options. A structured approach will help you shortlist the most suitable vendors.

4. Get a demo

Once you have a shortlist of CRM platforms, arrange for trials or pilot programs. This allows you to compare their functionalities in real-world scenarios. Engage key stakeholders in the evaluation process to ensure the chosen CRM aligns with your business needs. Consider factors such as ease of use, scalability, and the quality of customer support before making a final decision. To get started, schedule a demo with folk and see how it can transform your customer relationship management.

3 tips for implementing a CRM

It's always exciting introducing a new platform to your tech stack. Below are our top tips to make the most of the implementation of your new CRM so your team can feel supported at every step of the way.

1. Import your data in your new CRM

Transitioning to a new CRM is seamless if you start by importing your existing data. Most CRMs support CSV file imports, making it easy to migrate your data. Proper data migration ensures that your team can hit the ground running with the new CRM.

2. Create your first pipeline

Creating a pipeline tailored to your insurance business is a critical step. Define the stages that reflect your sales process, such as lead generation, quoting, underwriting, and follow-up. Customizing these stages to fit your workflow will help you manage and track customer interactions more effectively, ultimately leading to higher conversion rates and better customer satisfaction.

3. Onboard your team

Once your CRM is set up, it's essential to onboard your team effectively. Provide comprehensive training sessions to ensure that everyone understands how to use the new system. Focus on key functionalities like managing customer data, tracking sales pipelines, and generating reports. Regularly gather feedback and offer ongoing support to address any challenges your team might face. Proper onboarding will maximize the CRM's benefits and drive your insurance business towards greater efficiency and success.

The 5 best CRMs for insurers

1. folk

folk is a modern CRM platform for managing contacts, workflows, and relationships, offering customizable pipelines, AI-driven tools, and integrations to enhance deal management and prospecting.

Key features

• Contact enrichment: Automatically enriches contact details by finding emails and LinkedIn URLs, enabling efficient outreach without manual data entry or additional costs for email services.
• LinkedIn integration: Seamlessly import contacts from LinkedIn, track conversations within folk, and use templates for quicker, streamlined communication.
• Mail merge and email sequences: Full email sync, templates, and tracking features, enabling users to manage all communications directly from the CRM.
• AI-powered features: AI tools assist in managing contacts and relationships, automating routine tasks, and suggesting actions to improve productivity.
• Integrations: folk integrates seamlessly with over 6,000 apps, including Gmail, Zapier, and Make, allowing users to centralize their workflow and reduce manual data entry.

Pros

• Ease of use: folk is praised for its intuitive interface, making it accessible even to non-technical users with quick onboarding and a minimal learning curve.
• All-in-one: folk streamlines your workflow by allowing you to import contacts from LinkedIn, automatically find their emails, reach out through customizable email sequences, and track interactions in a pipeline, eliminating the need for multiple tools and saving time and money.
• Social media integration: Seamlessly import contacts from multiple social media channels including LinkedIn, Instagram, X and more to track all your contact information within folk, and use templates for quicker, streamlined communication.
• Customizability: Custom fields, pipelines, and workflows.
• Integrations: folk integrates seamlessly with over 6,000 apps, including Gmail, Zapier, and Make, allowing users to centralize their workflow and reduce manual data entry.

Cons

• Reporting: Currently lacks reporting features, but there are plans for future implementation.
  
  

Price and plans

You can try folk for free with a 14-day free trial. After that, a monthly or annual subscription plan is as follows.

• Standard: $20 per user, per month.
• Premium: $40 per user, per month.
• Custom: Starts from $60 per user, per month.

2. HubSpot

Hubspot CRM is a user-friendly, scalable platform offering integrated tools for managing sales, marketing, customer service, and operations efficiently.

Key features

• Marketing Hub: Includes email marketing, ad tracking, landing pages, and lead generation tools, essential for insurers to attract and nurture leads.
• Sales Hub: Provides deal tracking, pipeline management, sales automation, and reporting, helping insurance agents manage customer relationships and close deals efficiently.
• Service Hub: Offers customer service tools like ticketing, live chat, and knowledge bases, ensuring insurers can provide excellent post-sale support.
• Operations Hub: Syncs and automates business processes across different systems, streamlining operations for insurance companies.
• Lead scoring: Prioritize leads with predictive scoring to improve sales efficiency, crucial for insurance agents to focus on high-potential prospects.

Pros

• User-friendly interface: The intuitive interface makes it easy for insurance agents to navigate and utilize the CRM effectively.
• Comprehensive free plan: The free version includes essential CRM features, making it accessible for small insurance startups.
• Seamless integration with marketing tools: Integrates smoothly with marketing, sales, and service hubs, creating a unified platform for managing customer relationships.
• Automation capabilities: Offers powerful automation tools for tasks like lead nurturing and sales workflows, saving time and improving efficiency for insurers.
• Customizable dashboard and reports: Allows insurance companies to create customized dashboards and reports to track metrics and gain insights into business performance.

Cons

• High cost at higher tiers: Pricing can become expensive at higher tiers, which may be prohibitive for small insurance businesses as they scale.
• Limited customization in free plan: The free plan has limited customization options, which can restrict flexibility for growing insurance companies.
• Complexity in advanced features: Some advanced features have a steep learning curve and may require additional training for insurance agents.
• Email marketing limits: Email marketing functionality in the free plan is restricted, which can be a drawback for insurers with larger contact lists.
• Additional costs for add-ons: Many useful features come as paid add-ons, increasing the overall cost for insurance companies.
  

Price and plans

Prices and plans on the CRM suite for an annual subscription are as follows.

• Starter: $15 per user, per month.
• Professional: $450 per user, per month.
• Enterprise: $1,500 per user, per month.

3. Salesforce

Salesforce is a robust CRM platform for large enterprises, offering tools for sales, marketing, service, and analytics, with extensive scalability.

Key features

• Customization and scalability: Salesforce is highly customizable and scalable, allowing insurers to tailor the platform to complex workflows and manage significant growth.
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) integration: Salesforce Einstein offers AI-driven analytics and automation, providing insights that help insurers optimize their strategies.
• Extensive i‍ntegration capabilities: With Salesforce's AppExchange, insurers can integrate the platform with a wide range of third-party applications, ensuring seamless operation across different business systems.

• Enterprise-grade security and compliance: Salesforce provides robust security measures and compliance features, critical for insurers handling sensitive customer data.
• Comprehensive ecosystem: A unified platform offering CRM, marketing automation, customer service, and custom app development, suitable for the varied needs of insurance companies.

Pros

• Comprehensive feature set: Salesforce offers an extensive range of features covering sales, service, marketing, and more, making it a powerful tool for managing all aspects of customer relationships in the insurance industry.
• Highly customizable: Salesforce is highly customizable, allowing insurers to tailor the platform to their specific needs with custom fields, objects, and workflows.
• Extensive integration capabilities: Salesforce integrates with a vast array of third-party applications, as well as its own ecosystem of tools, enabling seamless data flow across platforms.
• Scalability: Salesforce is highly scalable, making it suitable for insurance companies of all sizes, from small startups to large enterprises, with the ability to grow with your business.
• Advanced analytics and reporting: Salesforce provides powerful analytics and reporting tools, allowing insurers to gain deep insights into their data and make informed decisions.

Cons

• High cost: Salesforce can be expensive, especially for small to medium-sized insurance businesses, with high licensing fees and additional costs for add-ons and customization.
• Steep learning curve: Due to its extensive feature set and complexity, Salesforce often requires significant time and training for users to become proficient.
• Complex setup and customization: Initial setup and customization can be challenging and often require expert help or certified consultants, which adds to the overall cost.
• Overwhelming for small teams: Salesforce’s robust features may be overkill for smaller insurance teams, leading to underutilization of the platform’s capabilities.
• Expensive custom development: Custom development within Salesforce can be costly, as it often requires specialized skills and resources, which can be prohibitive for some insurance businesses.
  

Price and plans

• Starter Suite: $25/user/month provides basic CRM features for small businesses.
• Pro Suite: $100/user/month includes advanced tools for growing businesses.
• Enterprise Plan: $165/user/month offers extensive customization and automation for large companies.
• Unlimited Plan: $330/user/month provides comprehensive features for large enterprises.
• Einstein 1 Sales: $500/user/month provides AI-driven insights and advanced features for large enterprises.

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4. Zoho

Zoho is a CRM system with a strong sales focus. Its got features such as journey orchestration, sales process management and workflow automation. There's also something for marketing teams, including lead hurting, event management and customer segmentation.

Key features

• Sales automation: Automates sales tasks like lead management, deal tracking, and follow-up actions, crucial for managing the insurance sales process efficiently.
• Lead and contact management: Manages customer information, tracks interactions, and segments contacts, allowing insurers to target specific customer needs and improve client relationships.
• Customizable dashboards and reports: Allows users to create and customize dashboards and reports for in-depth analytics, helping insurers track performance metrics and optimize sales strategies.
• Workflow automation: Automates routine tasks and processes, reducing manual effort and improving efficiency in handling insurance claims and policy renewals.
• Multi-channel communication: Integrates with email, phone, social media, and live chat to manage customer interactions, providing a seamless experience for policyholders and prospects.

Pros

• Affordability: Zoho CRM offers competitive pricing with various tiers, making it accessible to small and medium-sized insurance businesses as well as larger enterprises.
• Customization: Extensive customization options allow insurance companies to tailor the CRM to their specific needs, including custom fields, modules, and workflows.
• Integration with Zoho Suite: Seamless integration with other Zoho products (like Zoho Books and Zoho Campaigns) creates a comprehensive ecosystem for managing different business functions.
• Multi-channel communication: Supports email, phone, social media, and live chat, enabling insurers to manage all customer interactions from a single platform.
• AI-powered features: Zia, the AI assistant, provides intelligent insights, predictive analytics, and task automation, helping to improve sales and marketing efficiency for insurers.

Cons

• Steep learning curve: The extensive customization options can be overwhelming for new users, requiring a significant time investment to master the platform.
• Complex setup: Initial setup and configuration can be complex, particularly for insurance businesses without technical expertise or dedicated IT resources.
• User interface: Some users find the interface to be outdated or cluttered compared to other modern CRM platforms, which can affect usability.
• Performance issues: Occasional reports of slow performance, especially with large datasets or complex operations, can hinder productivity.
• Limited third-party integrations: While Zoho integrates well with its own suite of products, integration with third-party applications can be limited or require additional effort.
  

Price and plans

Zoho's free plan is limited to three users. After that, an annual subscription plan is as follows.

• Standard: $20 per user, per month.
• Professional: $35 per user, per month.
• Enterprise: $50 per user, per month.

5. Capsule CRM

Capsule CRM is a user-friendly customer relationship management platform designed for small and medium-sized businesses. It offers a clean, intuitive interface that helps users manage customer relationships, track sales pipelines, and organize tasks and communications efficiently.

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Key features

• 30,000 contacts: Easily manage a large database of leads and customers, crucial for insurers dealing with numerous clients.
• Activity reporting: Track and analyze customer interactions and sales activities to improve decision-making.
• Customer milestone tracking: Monitor key events in the customer lifecycle, such as policy renewals and claims, to enhance customer service.
• Workflow automation: Automate repetitive tasks, allowing insurance agents to focus on more strategic activities.
• Key integrations: Seamlessly integrate with essential tools like G Suite, Microsoft 365, and Mailchimp to streamline operations.

Pros

• User-friendly interface: Capsule CRM offers a clean and intuitive design, making it easy for insurance agents to navigate and quickly access important features.
• Contact and sales management: Robust tools for managing leads and customers, organizing client information, and tracking sales opportunities.
• Customization options: Allows insurers to tailor fields, tags, and pipelines to fit their specific business needs, offering flexibility in data management.
• Integration capabilities: Integrates with popular third-party applications, creating a seamless workflow across essential business tools.
• Affordability: Competitive pricing with a free plan for basic needs and affordable premium options, making it accessible for insurance startups.

Cons

• Limited advanced features: Lacks more advanced features such as in-depth analytics and complex reporting, which might be necessary for larger insurance firms.
• Basic email marketing capabilities: Built-in email marketing features are relatively basic, requiring third-party tools for more advanced needs.
• Limited customer support: Primarily offers support through email and an online help center, which might be insufficient for users needing immediate assistance.
• No built-in phone or SMS integration: Lacks built-in phone or SMS functionality, a potential drawback for insurers relying on direct communication with clients.
• Scalability concerns: While suitable for small to medium-sized insurance businesses, rapidly growing companies might find the platform less scalable.
  

Price and plans

• Starter plan: Starts from $21 per user, per month.
• Growth plan: Starts from $38 per user, per month.
• Advanced plan: Starts from $60 per user, per month.
• Ultimate plan: Starts from $75 per user, per month.

Conclusion

Choosing the best CRM for insurers is a critical decision that can significantly impact your business's efficiency and customer satisfaction. Each CRM platform discussed—folk, Hubspot, Salesforce, Zoho, and Capsule—offers unique features and benefits tailored to different business needs and sizes. Folk stands out for its ease of use and LinkedIn integration, making it ideal for insurance startups and small businesses. Hubspot and Salesforce offer comprehensive solutions with powerful automation and analytics, suitable for larger enterprises. Zoho provides a cost-effective and customizable option, while Capsule excels in user-friendliness and affordability for smaller teams. Evaluate your specific requirements, budget, and scalability needs to select the CRM that best aligns with your insurance business goals. Try folk for free here.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do insurance companies use as a CRM?

Insurance companies often use CRMs like folk, Hubspot, Salesforce, Zoho, and Capsule CRM to manage their operations, streamline workflows, and enhance customer relationships.

Do I need a CRM?

Yes, depending on the complexity of your process. A CRM can significantly improve efficiency, organization, and customer relationship management, making it an essential tool for growing insurance companies.

How much does a CRM cost?

CRM costs can vary widely, ranging from $15 to $500 per user per month, depending on the features, scalability, and customization options required by your insurance business.

Does folk’s CRM respond to insurers needs?

Yes, folk’s CRM is highly responsive to insurers' needs. It offers ease of use, LinkedIn integration, customizable workflows, and seamless integration with over 6,000 apps. These features streamline operations, enhance communication, and improve overall efficiency, making it an excellent choice for insurance companies.