When it comes to insurance, customer service is not just concerned with answering their questions, but it is also about being there for people when they need it most. Whether it is guiding someone through a complex policy or helping them file a claim during a stressful time, great service can make all the difference.
In fact, a ZIPDO Education Report 2025 reported that 75% of customers are more likely to buy insurance from a company that offers personalized experiences. Also, 58% of insurance buyers would switch providers after a poor customer service experience.
That’s why customer service in insurance today must go beyond the basics. By focusing on empathy, speed, and smart use of technology, insurers can earn trust, increase policy renewals, and build a strong brand reputation.
In this blog, you can explore the 7 best practices to improve customer service in insurance and create experiences that keep your customers coming back. Ready to transform how customers feel about your insurance brand? Let’s dive in.
Table of contents
Why is Good Customer Service & CX Important?
In insurance, policies often look the same no matter which company you choose. What truly makes a difference is how you treat your customers. When customers are dealing with an accident, a health scare, or property damage, they are not just looking for answers; they are looking for fast responses, clear answers, and a human touch.
Why is customer service in insurance important?
- 74% of customers switched to a rival because of inadequate service. This involves issues like long wait times, a lack of voice/phone customer service, limited 24/7 support, and insufficient self-service options.
- Losing customers costs 5–7 times more to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing one.
- By focusing on customer experience (CX), you show people that they can trust you when it matters most. Simple things like clear communication, quick claims support, and proactive updates go a long way in building confidence. This will drive customer loyalty.
- Customers want a smooth digital experience along with access to real agents for complex queries.
- Satisfaction is highest when clients can move easily between channels, like web, app, phone, or in-person, without repeating their information, as reported by the 2025 U.S. Insurance Digital Experience Study.
- Service failures drive dissatisfaction, with nearly 4 in 10 customers looking for a different provider when experiences fall short.
See How a Fintech Unicorn Transformed Customer Service
7 Best Practices to Improve Customer Service in Insurance
Great customer service isn’t about doing one big thing right; rather, it’s about turning each and every interaction that occurs on a daily basis into lasting relationships. When insurers mix technology, skilled agents, and a bit of human empathy, ordinary interactions turn into lasting relationships.
Here are seven best practices that can help your insurance business stand out in 2025:
1. Integrate Advanced Technologies
You must have noticed that customers want to feel known and understood. They want experiences that feel personal. In fact, 78% of customers are more likely to make repeat purchases from companies that customize their communication.
With tools like data analytics and AI, you can predict customer needs and send timely messages of renewal reminders, claim updates, or even risk alerts to them. This not only makes your service more relevant but also shows customers you truly understand them.
2. Enhance Agent Training and Engagement
Your frontline agents are the voice of your company. Equip them with the right training and tools so they can deliver fast, accurate, and empathetic service. If they’re stressed or unsure, customers will feel it right away. Regular training on empathy, clear communication, and digital tools helps them shine.
One agent once said during training, “Having quick access to the right answers makes me feel like I can actually help instead of just guessing.” That’s where knowledge management platforms like Knowmax come in, giving agents instant, accurate information to reduce frustration for both sides.
Empower Your Agents with the Right Knowledge Tools
3. Make Policies and Claims Simple
Insurance’s best customer practices involve providing customers with quick, frictionless access to information and services. For this, use plain English, cut down the jargon, and enable customers to file claims online or through an app.
Think about how comforting it is when, after a stressful accident, the customers themselves can upload photos and start a claim from their phone in minutes instead of waiting on endless paperwork. This can be done through digital self-service platforms.
4. Keep Customers in the Loop
Don’t wait for your customers to chase you for updates. Keep them in the loop with timely alerts about claim status, renewals, or policy changes, preferably through multiple channels like SMS, email, or app notifications. Clear, jargon-free communication minimizes frustration and shows your customers you are on top of things, which is essential. A simple, “Your claim is being processed; we’ll update you tomorrow,” can ease a lot of anxiety.
5. Gather and Act on Customer Feedback
Your customers know best what works and what does not, and can inform you about that if you ask. Feedback systems surveys, Net Promoter Score (NPS), and real-time reviews can be highly helpful in this regard. It can help insurance companies to identify their pain points and areas for improvement. But here’s the trick: don’t just collect feedback, act on it. And when you do, let your customers know. “You asked for quicker online claim filing; we’ve added it.” That builds trust and credibility.
6. Deliver Omnichannel Customer Support
Insurance customer service means meeting customers where they are on the web, mobile, chat, phone, or in-person, without losing context between channels. Unified CRM and data sharing empower agents to deliver smooth transitions, personalized interactions, and avoid redundant questions.
Customers expect flexibility. Some prefer a quick phone call, others like live chat, email, or even WhatsApp. By offering omnichannel support, you let customers reach you where they are most comfortable. Even with a unified CRM and data sharing, you can empower agents to deliver smooth transitions, personalized interactions, and avoid redundant questions.
7. Leverage AI and Advanced Call Center Services
Upgrade from simple chatbots to an AI that completes tasks. With Agentic AI and agentflows, you can automate entire processes like policy updates. Generative AI makes the conversations feel natural, while a shared knowledge management tool ensures consistent, accurate answers. This lets your team focus on critical customer issues, not repetitive tasks.
Leveraging Existing Organizational Knowledge to Power AI for CX Success
Steps to Improve Customer Service in Insurance
Here’s how to elevate your service and become an indispensable partner for your business clients:
- Talk Like a Person: Drop the complex jargon. Use simple, clear words everyone understands.
- Listen with Empathy: Hear the feeling behind the words. Acknowledge their stress first.
- Be Easy to Reach: Make it simple for customers to contact you on their preferred channel.
- Respond Quickly: A fast reply shows you’re taking their problem seriously and reduces their anxiety.
- Make It Personal: Remember your customers. They aren’t just a policy number.
- Equip Your Team: Use a knowledge management tool to give your agents instant, correct answers. This lets them focus on the customer, not on hunting for information.
- Always Be Helpful: Even when you have to say “no,” find a way to offer guidance and a next step.
- Learn from Feedback: Treat customer comments as a gift to help you improve.
Empathy in Action: Scripts and Phrases for Better Customer Service
Knowledge Management Software for Insurance Agents
Giving your agents the right tools is the fastest way to improve customer service. A Knowledge Management (KM) platform is one of the most powerful tools you can provide.
Here’s a simple breakdown of what it is and why it matters:
- What is it? Think of a KM system as a single, trusted “brain” for your entire team. It’s one central place where agents can instantly find all up-to-date policies, claim procedures, FAQs, and scripts.
- Why is it essential? In insurance, complexity is your enemy. A good KM platform simplifies everything, ensuring:
- Fewer Errors: Agents always have the correct, approved information.
- Faster Calls: No more putting customers on hold to find answers.
- Consistent Service: Every customer gets the same clear information, whether they call, chat, or use your app.
The Ultimate Guide To Implementing a KM Platform
How a Tool Like Knowmax Delivers Results
To truly empower your team, you need a smart platform built for the job. A tool like Knowmax is designed specifically for this.
- AI-Powered Access: It gives your team instant access to clear, up-to-date information across all channels.
- Step-by-Step Guidance: Knowmax uses decision trees and visual guides that walk agents through complex processes, making it easy to resolve issues quickly and accurately.
- Improved Confidence: When agents have the right answers at their fingertips, they feel more confident and perform better.
- Happier Customers: This all leads to a better customer experience, reduced call waiting times, accurate resolutions, and higher overall satisfaction.
In short, if you want to know how to improve the customer experience in insurance, equipping your team with a powerful KM tool like Knowmax is the most direct path to success.
See Knowmax in Action
Transform Your CX in Insurance with Knowmax
The best practices in this article aren’t just business strategies; they are a roadmap to building trust. It’s about turning a stressful claim into a supportive experience and a complicated policy into a clear promise.
But you can’t just tell your team to be faster, more precise, and more empathetic. You have to give them the tools to make it happen. The difference between a frustrated agent and a confident problem-solver is having the right answer at their fingertips, every single time.
Ready to improve customer service in insurance? See how a powerful knowledge management platform can transform your agent and customer experience.
FAQs
The biggest challenge is often slow response times and complicated claims processes. Customers expect quick, transparent interactions, but legacy systems and siloed departments can cause delays and frustration. Clear communication and streamlined processes are key to overcoming this hurdle.
Technology simplifies insurance customer service and improves CX by integrating analytics, AI-driven chatbots, omnichannel platforms, and self-service options, leading to faster resolution, personalized journeys, and proactive support.
The best approach is combining technical training with soft skills like empathy and communication. Knowledge management platforms, such as Knowmax, ensure agents always have accurate information, boosting confidence and improving customer service in insurance.
Because insurance is a promise. It’s an intangible product. Your customers can’t see or touch it. The only thing they can experience is you and your service. In a moment of crisis, a great experience builds lifelong trust. A bad one breaks it forever.