The client is one of the largest personal lines insurance agencies in the U.S. and consistently ranks among the Top 10 property/casualty agencies nationally. Described as the country's leading independent insurance provider for personal lines, it serves both the non-standard and standard markets and delivers coverage through national and regional carrier partnerships. Its products include auto, motorcycle, homeowners, renters, life and health insurance.

The insurer's biggest pain point was collection inefficiency. Customers were expected to pay through an outdated online platform with digital portals and IVRs, but most found it hard to navigate and many did not understand which channels were available to them. The company wanted to move to SMS communications, yet it lacked the tools to do so cost-effectively, and the options it evaluated were neither budget-friendly nor efficient to distribute.

Industry pressures made the problem worse. Rate increases, loss ratios and carriers pulling out of markets were straining agents. Representative availability was already low, and the workforce was spending too much time, resources and energy on repetitive, service-related transactions that customers could handle themselves. Those tasks were essential but created no revenue, and every hour spent on them was an hour agents were not selling.

The company's priorities were to increase customer engagement and retention and to reduce direct calls to agents and customer service staff by diverting monthly transaction calls to self-service. After weighing SMS against other channels, chiefly for its higher open rates, the insurer worked with IntelePeer to implement automated SMS workflows.

The workflows encourage policyholders to make premium payments through the insurer's online self-service portal. The new channel reaches customers where they want to be reached, which raised engagement and retention while lowering inbound calls to agents and customer service. SMS also proved an effective way to introduce customers to alternative options such as self-service payments.

IntelePeer's Managed Solutions team supported the program, including payment reminders that improved the insurer's cash flow. With routine transaction calls moving to self-service, agents regained time for value-added tasks and selling opportunities, and the company now has a pipeline of further automation opportunities to pursue with IntelePeer.

• 22% decrease in phone payments, giving agents more time for value-added customer interactions
• 2.3 million in additional self-service payments
• Payment reminders supported by IntelePeer's Managed Solutions team increased cash flow
• Higher customer engagement and retention through SMS communications
• A scalable pipeline of new automation opportunities