The Text Message Template Used By One Of The Top Insurance Agents In The US [+ Free Text And Email Templates]

For most Americans, using a smartphone to send text messages is just another part of daily life. So it probably comes as no surprise that some of the most successful insurance agents have already made SMS/text messaging an indispensable part of their sales process¹. This takes on a whole new relevance when you consider how statistics show that 97 percent of Americans who own a smartphone send at least one text message a day and that 98 percent of text messages sent are read at least once. The problem is that while consumers’ preference for texting has steadily increased, many businesses—not just in the insurance industry—have been relatively slow to react. So while 78 percent of U.S. consumers say that receiving a text message is the fastest way to reach them for important service updates and purchases, only 30 percent of consumers report actually receiving texts from the companies they patronize (despite stating that they would be open to receiving them!).

This is a major area for potential improvement for most agents – consumers want to be engaged through text. Consumers who have a positive communication experience with a company are 71% more likely to recommend that business to a friend and 67% more likely to purchase from the company again. But many agents are missing the mark. In fact, according to the same research, 41% of consumers report they have stopped doing business with a company after a poor communication experience. The good news is that this presents an area of great potential that can have a serious impact on customer perception.

When it comes to sending text messages for insurance agents, two things seem clear:

1. For the most part consumers are receptive to texts from businesses. They text regularly in their daily lives and like businesses to connect with them through a familiar channel.
2. Text messaging presents a powerful opportunity for agents and producers to create a "positive communications experience" for the consumer.

It’s with this messaging that EverQuote can help.

We’ve teamed up with one of the country’s top P&C agents -Perry Olson- to share one of the text message templates that his team sends to virtually every new insurance lead they receive. If you find this text message template useful, we've collected some of Perry's other consumer-facing text messages and email templates, which you can find in our eBook (available as a free download below). Perry is a perfect example of an incredibly successful agent who leverages text messaging to drive results during his sales process. We’ve dissected one of Perry’s text messages and shared it for you to use here. If you’d like to see more of Perry’s text message templates, you can download the full eBook below – The Ultimate Insurance Text + Email Playbook With Top Agent Perry Olson. Learn the key text and email messages that you should be sending to your prospects and customers and leverage Perry’s ready-to-use text + email templates so your team can use them to engage both leads and customers at every step—from cold prospect, to warm lead, to customer with a policy up for renewal.

Initial Text Message:

When Perry Olson’s team receives an inbound lead/request for a quote, they have a fairly straightforward process. As Perry puts it, "Our steps to establish contact are to call, then text, then email, and finally mail the prospect information." After creating a preliminary quote for the new lead, they have one goal: establish contact with that prospect. According to Perry, "That is the only goal. We are trying to get them to call back, email back, text back, come into the office, etc."

Once Perry’s team receives a lead or quote request, they immediately try calling the prospect. If they don’t get in touch after a second phone call, Perry’s producers send the prospect their first series of text messages. If they do get in touch with the lead, Perry and his team will send these same text messages while on the phone with the prospect.

Text #1: Initial Quote:

As Perry describes: "The first thing I do is text a printed picture of the quote. I then text a couple of sentences [see Text  below] immediately afterward. Texting the picture of the quote is very beneficial, because it allows the customers to see a picture of the actual quote and it makes the text feel more official. I write our office phone number really big on the quote I printed out so the customer can see our number and hopefully call us back." Perry also provides all his team members iPhones, so they can quickly and easily text out quotes and call and email prospects.

Use your existing quote template (or follow this standard one below) to fill out and print a copy of each lead’s quote before snapping a picture of it with your smartphone. Write your direct number on the quote to make it easy to respond and add a more personalized touch.

Send this immediately after you send the initial quote (or photo of the quote printout):

Want more insurance text and email templates?

We have seven more text and email templates that you can download for free! Just click the link below to get them, and then start putting them to use today. These templates can help save you time and money, promote consistent messaging, and, most importantly, help you use text and email marketing to its full potential so you can bind more policies. Just click the image below to get started.

¹ There are both federal and state laws that address the emailing and texting of consumers for marketing purposes. It is important that SMS / text messages and emails you send are made in compliance with these laws and that you properly honor opt-out or do not contact requests and include accurate information about your identity, physical location and means of contacting you. Failure to follow these laws can result in claims seeking significant monetary damages.