Insurance contact center software

There are a few key factors to consider when choosing the right insurance contact center solution for your business. First, determine if you need an inbound, outbound, or blended contact center solution.

If you have a small life insurance business with a lean telesales team, for instance, you might focus more on outbound calling functionality. On the other hand, if you run a healthcare insurance contact center that receives inbound calls and questions about enrollment and insurance claims—in addition to doing lead generation activities—then you’ll want a solution that covers both inbound and outbound, in addition to good call center quality monitoring features.

Functionality is another important consideration. Most insurance companies will need a call center solution that offers features like automatic call distribution, call recording, and real-time reporting. Finally, there's the cost. Call center solutions can vary widely in price, but affordable solutions may not always be secure or reliable. It’s generally more cost-effective and more beneficial for IT teams to choose a robust contact center solution that can also provide internal communications functionality for team members. (Learn more about “UC + CC” platforms.)

There are a few factors to consider when deciding whether or not to outsource your insurance call center. One of these is budget. Possibly the biggest reason that most insurance brokerages and firms choose call center outsourcing or go through a BPO (business process outsourcing) call center is to save money. When you outsource, you can often get access to a lower-cost workforce, as well as lower costs for things like infrastructure and technology.

Outsourcing your call center can also give you more flexibility in terms of scaling up or down as needed. If you have a busy season, for example, you can easily ramp up your call volume by outsourcing. Alternatively, you might be exploring a new market and need some bilingual call center agents to do a trial run first.

If you’re finding that your in-house team is stretched and needs to focus on your core business, you might also decide to outsource your call center services to free up their time and energy that you can then reinvest in your core business. This allows you to focus on what you do best and leave the day-to-day operation of your call center to someone else.

On the flip side, some industries might also find it more difficult to outsource their contact center operations. Healthcare might come with a lot of regulatory technicalities and specific requirements that would be harder to outsource, whereas auto insurance sales might be easier.

Not always! There are a ton of businesses of different sizes and complexities in the insurance industry, and depending on the type and size of your company, an inbound call center may suffice.

There are several reasons for this. Firstly, contact centers can be expensive to get off the ground. They typically require a significant investment in hardware and/or software, personnel, and other ongoing costs. If an insurance agency is on a tight budget, it may not be able to justify the expense of a call center.

Another reason why some companies forego a call center is that they simply don’t need one. For example, a small insurance sales company with only a handful of employees may be able to handle all customer calls internally. Or, a company that does most of its business online may not need a call center (or contact phone number) at all, since customers can reach customer service representatives through email or chat.