Multi-Channel Insurance Sales Outreach: Increasing Deliverability Across Platforms

The insurance industry is constantly evolving, with communication channels and regulations undergoing rapid transformations even as we speak. 

Adding to this complexity, customers increasingly expect seamless service and communication regardless of whether they’re scrolling through social media, talking on the phone with an insurance sales agent, or checking email on the go. 

For insurance agents, this means they need to embrace a multi-channel sales outreach strategy to stay competitive. 

But simply blasting out messages across every platform no longer works. 

The trick is to ensure those messages are actually being delivered and seen. In this post we’ll  cover the most important communication channels, and discuss some deliverability rules and best practices. 

Email Deliverability 

While social media and other digital channels have their place, email remains an important communication platform for insurance. 

It allows for personalized interactions, detailed information sharing, and ongoing engagement with clients and prospects. 

However, with crowded inboxes, getting your emails noticed requires a strategic approach. It’s no longer enough to simply hit “send” and hope for the best. But even before your audience has a chance to see your carefully crafted message, there’s a critical factor that can make or break your email campaign: deliverability. 

Ensuring your emails actually reach the inbox is the first step towards achieving your communication goals.

What is email deliverability, and why does it matter?

Email deliverability refers to the number of your emails that successfully land in recipients’ inboxes, rather than being diverted to the spam folder or blocked entirely. For insurance professionals, high deliverability is essential for:

• Maintaining client relationships. Regularly delivering valuable content to your clients’ inboxes positions you as a trusted advisor and helps strengthen relationships. Email bounces can lead to missed opportunities for engagement and, potentially, to lost clients.
• Providing essential information. From policy updates and renewal reminders to educational resources and personalized advice, email allows you to educate your prospects and keep them in the loop. Ensuring these critical messages reach their intended destination is vital for client satisfaction and retention.

Driving business growth. Targeted email campaigns can be highly effective in generating leads, nurturing prospects, and, ultimately, driving sales. Poor deliverability directly impacts your ability to reach potential clients and grow your business.

The changing landscape of email deliverability

Email providers like Gmail and Yahoo are constantly updating their algorithms and security measures to prevent spam and improve user experience. 

Significant changes to their email deliverability rules were introduced in April 2024. These changes included stricter authentication requirements, lower tolerance for spam complaints, and an emphasis on user engagement. All this means that if you’re not careful, you can damage your sender reputation and get blacklisted by email service providers. 

In order to achieve high email deliverability, it is crucial to take a proactive approach that encompasses various aspects of your email strategy. 

There are a number of  key areas to focus on in order to comply with the latest rules:

1. Enhanced authentication:

• SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. Implementing these authentication protocols is no longer optional. They are now essential for verifying your email identity and preventing spoofing – a tactic used by spammers to disguise their origins.
• Brand indicators for message identification (BIMI). While not yet mandatory, BIMI is gaining traction as a way to enhance email authentication and brand recognition. It allows you to display your company logo in the recipient’s inbox, a step credited with further building trust and credibility.

 2. Content quality and relevance:

• Avoid spam triggers. While you don’t need to eliminate them entirely, words and phrases often associated with spam (e.g., “free”, “guarantee”, “limited time offer”) should be used only sparingly and strategically. If you aren’t sure what words fall in this category, use a spam checker to spot and minimize spam in your email copy and subject lines. 
• Prioritize value and relevance. Send messages that your audience finds valuable and engaging. This could include articles on insurance trends, risk management tips, policy explanations, or personalized advice based on their needs. And try to find the right balance between sending promotional and educational emails — you don’t want to come across as pushy and salesy. 
• Craft compelling subject lines. Avoid misleading or overly sensational subject lines — clickbait is out of the question. Keep them clear and concise, and make sure they reflect relevant email content.

3. Improved list hygiene:

• Permission-based marketing. Only send emails to people who have explicitly opted in to receive them. Respecting subscriber preferences is crucial for maintaining a good sender reputation and complying with data privacy regulations. New regulations also require adding an unsubscribe link so recipients can easily withdraw their consent. 
• Regular list cleaning. Remove inactive or invalid email addresses to maintain a healthy list and improve your sender reputation.
• Segmentation. Divide your email list into segments based on demographics, interests, or insurance needs to send more targeted and relevant messages. Such a granular approach will increase the likelihood of engagement and subsequently signal to email service providers that your emails are valuable, thus improving your deliverability.

4. Technical excellence:

• IP address reputation. The reputation of your IP address can affect deliverability. If you are  using a shared IP address (common with email marketing platforms), ensure your provider has a good reputation and strong deliverability practices.
• Email infrastructure. Use a reliable email marketing platform with a robust infrastructure and a commitment to maintaining high deliverability standards.

5. User engagement:

• Encourage interaction. Include clear calls to action in your emails to encourage recipients to engage with your content – whether it’s clicking on a link, replying to your message, or downloading a resource.
• Monitor engagement metrics. Track key metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and replies to gauge how your audience is interacting with your emails. This data can help you identify areas for improvement and optimize your email strategy for better engagement.

Phone

Although digital channels dominate much of today’s communication, the phone is still considered a core channel in the insurance sector. 

A phone call allows for real-time conversations, personalized interactions, and the ability to address customers’ complex questions or concerns immediately. 

In a way, it adds a human touch to the equation. 

However, like email, phone communication operates within a highly regulated landscape. To ensure your calls are delivered and answered, you must understand these standards and adapt your approach accordingly.

What is call deliverability?

Call deliverability, in essence, means ensuring your calls get through and successfully connect with your recipient’s phone. Low call deliverability translates to wasted time and resources, missed opportunities to connect with clients, and potentially, lost revenue.

Challenges to call deliverability in insurance

Several factors contribute to the challenges of call deliverability in the insurance industry:

• Rise of robocalls and spam. The prevalence of unwanted calls has made people increasingly wary of answering unknown numbers. As a result, it has become difficult to actually get calls through to your recipient. Plus, in an attempt to prevent robocalls from disturbing end users, carriers have introduced a number of call-blocking and labeling technologies that can inadvertently flag legitimate business calls as spam.
• Caller ID spoofing. Scammers often spoof caller IDs to make it appear as if they’re calling from a local or trusted number. This further erodes trust in incoming calls while also raising red flags with carriers. 
• Mobile phone usage. With the majority of people relying on mobile phones, reaching clients at the right time and place becomes more challenging.

Strategies to increase call deliverability

Here are some ways you can help improve call deliverability:

1. Stay compliant:

• TCPA compliance. Familiarize yourself with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) guidelines to ensure your calling practices are compliant. This includes obtaining proper consent before making calls, respecting do-not-call lists, and providing opt-out options.
• State and federal regulations. Stay up-to-date on any state-specific regulations that may apply to your calling practices.

2. Optimize your caller ID:

• Clear and recognizable. Use a clear and recognizable caller ID that displays your business name or a local number. Avoid using generic or toll-free numbers that may trigger suspicion.
• Register your number. To improve your reputation and minimize the chances of having your numbers flagged as spam, it’s important to register your business phone number with carrier service.

3. Personalization and value:

• Pre-call research. Before making a call, research the client or prospect to understand their needs and tailor your conversation accordingly. This will help you to avoid spam complaints. 
• Value-driven conversations. Make sure to add value to your prospects during the call – whether it’s answering questions, offering helpful advice, or discussing relevant insurance solutions.
• Respectful communication. Be mindful of the time and place when making calls. Avoid calling during inconvenient hours or pressuring clients to make immediate decisions.

4. Leverage technology:

• Call tracking and analytics. Use call tracking software to monitor call metrics, identify trends, and optimize your calling strategies. This way, you’ll be able to pinpoint how your campaigns are performing and make necessary adjustments.  
• Local presence dialing. Consider using local presence dialing, which displays a local number to the recipient, increasing the likelihood of them answering the call.
• Implement STIR/SHAKEN. This acronym stands for Secure Telephony Identity Revisited/Signature-based Handling of Asserted Information Using toKENs, and refers to a framework of standards designed to combat caller ID spoofing. It acts as a digital signature for your calls, verifying your identity to phone carriers and ensuring that your number isn’t being used fraudulently by scammers.

5. Voicemail best practices:

• Concise and compelling. Keep your voicemail messages short, clear, and to the point. State your name, company, and reason for calling, and provide a call-back number.
• Personalization. If possible, personalize your voicemail message to show you’ve done your homework and understand the recipient’s needs.
• Call to action. End your voicemail with a clear call to action, such as “Please call me back at your convenience to discuss your insurance needs.”

SMS

The situation with SMS is a bit more complicated since you have to pay for each message you send. At the same time, regulations are more intricate than those for email and phone, which is why you need to understand the various factors affecting the deliverability of your campaigns. 

What is SMS deliverability?

SMS deliverability measures the percentage of text messages that are successfully delivered to recipients. 

A high deliverability rate is essential for effective SMS campaigns, and ensures your messages are not lost in the digital ether. To calculate your SMS deliverability rate, divide the number of successfully delivered messages by the total number of messages sent, and multiply by 100 to express it as a percentage.

Factors affecting SMS deliverability

Here are some of the most common issues that could keep your messages from  reaching their  intended recipients: 

• Incorrect phone numbers. Outdated, inaccurate, or invalid phone numbers are a common culprit. Typos, disconnected numbers, and landlines can all hinder message delivery.
• Carrier spam regulations. Mobile carriers employ spam filters to block unwanted messages. These filters may flag messages containing prohibited content, sent in bulk without permission, or originating from unapproved sender numbers.
• Network issues. Connectivity problems on either the sender’s or recipient’s end can interfere with message delivery.
• Using gray routes. Sending messages through unauthorized channels (gray routes) can lead to delivery failures and security risks.
• Failure to comply with A2P 10DLC regulations. Businesses sending Application-to-Person (A2P) messages using 10-digit long codes (10DLC) must register with The Campaign Registry (TCR) to comply with industry guidelines and avoid carrier filtering.

Best practices for ensuring SMS deliverability

To maximize your SMS deliverability, consider these best practices:

• Register for A2P 10DLC. Registering for A2P 10DLC messaging establishes your business as a legitimate sender in the eyes of mobile carriers. This registration process, managed through TCR, helps you avoid carrier filtering and potential blocking, ensuring your messages are more likely to be delivered.
• Scrub your list regularly. Just like you do with email addresses, remove inactive numbers, correct errors, and update contact details to maintain a clean contact list. This both improves deliverability and shows respect for your recipients’ time and preferences.
• Implement a double opt-in. Before sending any SMS messages, confirm that your recipients genuinely want to receive them. Implement a double opt-in mechanism, where individuals confirm their subscription via a second confirmation message. This ensures compliance with regulations and helps you build a list of truly engaged recipients who are interested in your insurance offers.
• Disclose your company name early on. Transparency builds trust. In your initial SMS message, clearly disclose your company name. This helps recipients immediately identify the sender and understand the context of the message, reducing the chances of your message being mistaken for spam or fraudulent communication.
• Include opt-out instructions. Always provide a clear and easy way for recipients to opt out of receiving future messages. This demonstrates respect for their preferences and helps you maintain a positive sender reputation. A simple “Reply STOP to unsubscribe” instruction is usually sufficient.
• Avoid spam triggers. To avoid being flagged by carrier spam filters, craft your messages carefully. Refrain from resorting to tactics that trigger spam filters such as excessive capitalization and URL shorteners, as well as including spam-associated words such as “free consultation”, “trusted”, “reliable”, or “guarantee” in your messages. Instead, aim for a natural and professional tone that prioritizes clear communication and valuable information. 
• Personalize your messages. Whenever possible, tailor your copy to individual preferences and needs and avoid sending generic, bulk messages. Segmentation and personalization will improve the recipient experience and also help you bypass spam filters that often flag identical messages sent to large groups.
• Keep up with regulatory changes. Regulations for each channel keep on changing, so it’s essential to stay informed about all the new restrictions and requirements. Compliance is critical for maintaining high deliverability rates. 

In Conclusion 

To succeed in this dynamic environment, insurance professionals need to master the art of multi-channel communication while prioritizing deliverability across all platforms. Whether it’s email, phone, or SMS, ensuring your messages reach your intended audience requires a proactive and strategic approach. This can be achieved by understanding the nuances of each channel, adhering to best practices, and staying up-to-date with the latest regulations.