Modernizing Insurance Communications: How Companies Can Leverage a Digital-First Strategy

For your insureds, not having to contact you is often perceived as a good thing. It likely means their premiums are the amount expected and, more importantly, they either haven’t needed to file a claim or, if they have, you settled it to their satisfaction. In reality, most policyholders rarely hear from their insurers after purchase. Infrequent communications in the form of policy updates, billing notices, and statements are often the only touchpoints customers receive for years. But is that a good thing? 

Probably not, given 66% of customers say they’d switch insurers over poor communication. Here’s a tip: proactive communication is a mostly untapped goldmine for improving customer experience and loyalty. Once known for its heavy reliance on paper, forward-thinking insurers are going digital, recognizing that communication preferences vary, especially across generations. If you aren’t among them, read on to see why it’s time to jump on the digital communications train.

Why It’s Time To Go Digital

When we talk about digital communications for insurance, we mean connecting with policyholders through online channels like websites, social media, email, and mobile apps, in other words, where most people expect to be able to connect these days. You know better than anyone that insurance is a highly regulated industry. And you’ve perfected the art of getting compliance documents into the hands of your customers. But if you want to increase insurance customer engagement, compliance delivery is just the beginning. 

There’s an opportunity to maintain meaningful contact through proactive conversations. For instance, you can make new customers feel appreciated with an onboarding welcome journey that includes key information and access to your mobile app or portal. Billing and payments don’t have to be purely transactional. Use these moments to send reminders of the available payment options or nudge them to take advantage of AutoPay or paperless billing. And don’t underestimate the value of educational touchpoints like monthly protection tips, personalized risk reduction checklists, or seasonal check-ins, like how to winter-proof your home or a hurricane prep list. 

Customers now expect more than just coverage; they expect connection. Personalized, fast, mobile-friendly interactions are essential at every step. A policy document in the mail once a year isn’t enough. To earn trust and build long-term loyalty, you need to show up in the right channels, with the right message, at the right time. Digital engagement isn’t just a nice-to-have anymore; it’s how modern insurance relationships are built, nurtured, and retained.

The Modern Policyholder’s Mindset

Getting a dense, jargon-filled policy document in the mail doesn’t win points with today’s policyholders. Who even wants things sent to them in the mail these days? Our research says—not many. Only 26% of consumers prefer paper communications, while 34% prefer a mobile app for policy claims, payments, and disbursements. 

Digital has moved way beyond just websites. Most of us spend more time than we’d like to admit glued to our phones, which is exactly why a mobile-first communication strategy is so important. Your policyholders want clarity, convenience, and control. They also want relevant communications that prove you see them, hear them, and value their time.

Better communication drives higher satisfaction, increased retention, and a greater share of wallet. In short, it’s not just good service, it’s good strategy.

Four Digital Moves Insurance Companies Must Make

1. Personalization at Scale

Delivering insurance communications in your policyholders’ preferred channel(s) is a good first step toward personalization. Let your customers choose how they want to be contacted, and then be sure to do it. Nothing kills personalization faster than asking for someone’s preferences and ignoring them. Use geography to provide tailored information about local weather alerts or seasonal safety reminders, like hurricane tips for customers in Florida and winter driving advice for drivers in Vermont. 

Tapping into your customer data offers a deep dive into their behavior that lets you provide coverage insights and recommendations. For instance, if a customer changes their address, it could trigger a message that says, “You recently moved—are you still getting the best rate on home insurance?” Or provide comparative data on their utility usage based on their household size and zip code. If someone is a serial late payer, sending information about AutoPay or the availability of payment reminder alerts helps you and your customers.

2. Meet Them Where They Are: Omni-Channel Communication

Your policyholders expect seamless experiences across digital channels like SMS, email, app notifications, and chat. If they’re mobile-first customers, they don’t want to receive your communications in PDF. They want bite-sized, easy-to-digest updates optimized for the devices they use daily. So you have to design communications for readability and action, whether tapping a button to pay a bill or responding to a claim update in real time. 

Consistency across channels is key, too. Policyholders who start a conversation in chat should be able to continue it in the app or via email without repeating themselves. That’s what modern convenience looks like.

3. Engage in Real Time With AI and Live Chat

Instead of sending one-way communications, open your channels to two-way digital conversations. Policyholders want to be able to respond, ask questions, and get answers fast. That responsiveness builds trust and shows that you’re not just sending messages but listening, too.

You don’t need a human on standby 24/7. With AI-powered chatbots, natural language processing, and interactive FAQs, you can offer personalized, on-demand support anytime. AI can handle routine questions like billing, policy details, or claims status instead, while routing more complex inquiries to live agents when needed. 

4. Modernize the Core: From Legacy Systems to Smart Communications

Many insurers still operate on a patchwork of platforms for claims, billing, underwriting, and customer service, each with its own data silo. Policyholders get very different experiences depending on which department they interact with, and internal teams often struggle to get a full view of the customer. Centralizing communication control will reduce inconsistency and errors.

Leading carriers are breaking down the silos with omni-channel communication platforms, like KUBRA Notifi® and KUBRA EZ-PAY+™, pairing real-time communications with flexible payment options to unify customer interactions. To truly modernize insurance communications, they must be designed for digital right off the hop, not be retrofitted from outdated platforms. 

The Strategic Payoff

On top of being a highly regulated industry, insurance is also intensely competitive. Consumers can, and absolutely will, change providers if they think there’s a better experience elsewhere. Customer experience is quickly becoming just as important as price or coverage when it comes to loyalty.

The good news is that better communication is one of the most powerful (and underused) tools for boosting retention. The absence of timely and relevant outreach has been found to lead to frustration, confusion, and potentially lost renewals.