2026 is almost here. In the last few years, we’ve experienced significant technological advances that have truly transformed the way we think, work, and act. Take Generative AI, for example. Tools such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini are now an integral part of our lives. It’s our search engine, therapist, research assistant, and whatnot. On the other side of the spectrum, there has been unprecedented economic and geopolitical volatility worldwide, as well as an increased severity of catastrophic events. In 2024 alone, 27 events in the United States each caused more than $1 billion in damage. These are some of the factors altering insurance business models. Layered onto this are rapidly evolving consumer expectations, who demand comfort, convenience, and 24/7 personalized support, truly redefining what value and trust mean in the context of insurance.
Paper-driven insurance models are no longer fit for purpose. But if you’re still spending more time on endless manual admin tasks or selling policy using traditional CRMs that offer no real-time insights, then it’s time to reevaluate your approach. As an insurance agent, you’re already juggling complex policies, market uncertainties, chasing leads, and keeping customers satisfied. Manually entering data on disorganized systems only adds to the chaos. It’s time-consuming, prone to error, and keeps you from more complex tasks that demand human intelligence and experience. Health insurers report an average claims-processing error rate of 19.3%, meaning nearly one in five claims contains mistakes. Also, legacy systems are costly to maintain.
A right modern insurance CRM platform can turn this around in 2026. It can help simplify your day-to-day operations, allowing you time to focus on what you do best: selling policies and building client relationships. In this article, we explore factors insurers should consider before adopting a CRM and why it matters now more than ever.
What is Insurance CRM?
A modern insurance customer relationship management (CRM) software is a specialized system. It’s designed to help agents, brokers, and MGAs manage client relationships and policies, and drive revenue. Instead of manually sifting through paperwork, maintaining multiple spreadsheets, and legacy on-prem systems to locate information, agents can leverage an insurance CRM. It organizes client data, automates renewal reminders, and tracks claims in real time.
Due to such potential, the global CRM market size is expected to reach USD 163.16 billion by 2030.
These solutions give insurers a 360-degree view of customer data. It means:
- Insurance agencies and companies can track client claims and provide status instantly.
- Real-time automated reminders can be sent to clients to improve retention rates.
- Using data such as behavioral patterns, past interactions, and purchasing decisions, insurers can tailor services and also prioritize leads.
- Teams can manage customer support requests via live chat (now powered by AI conversational chatbots), email, or phone.
For example, if one of your insurance clients asks a question on Instagram. The CRM can update that in real time, so communications can be prioritized to nurture this lead, offer relevant insights, or help them pick up where they left off when they reach out at a different touchpoint (phone or email). These are some of the possibilities an insurance business can unlock by adopting a modern insurance CRM solution into its processes.
Why Haven’t Insurers Upgraded Yet?
Sure, these reasons can incite or trigger an action. But many insurance businesses continue to use legacy systems or old ways of working. A report from Clearwater Analytics reveals that as much as 74% of insurance companies still rely on outdated technology to perform core functions. Besides high upfront costs and the fear of disrupting existing workflows, another reason for resistance to upgrading is the inability to extract insights from tech investments.
But that’s not the case. Integrating technology improves outcomes. Look at Insurance aggregator platforms like Insurify, Policygenius, and GoHealth. They’ve all seen tremendous growth in the last few years because they offer customers more personalized choices—freedom to make decisions and get complete visibility into their transactions. To compete with these new-age insurance business models and digital-first competitors, and to meet rising customer expectations, insurers must not delay CRM modernization. Discover more about the benefits of insurance CRM.
What to Evaluate When Choosing an Insurance CRM in 2026
Here is a checklist of what insurers and brokers should evaluate before selecting a CRM solution for 2026 and beyond.
Assess Specific Business Needs:
Consider the size of your business, the complexity of your operations, and your revenue targets. This can help you finalize a budget or pricing that is most suitable for your business. For instance, many CRMs are standardized, pre-packaged, and are designed to serve a broad market. A purpose-built solution, tailored to your unique business needs, can offer you the flexibility and features you need to manage complex core operations.
Ease of Use and Adoption:
You might finalize and onboard the best CRM tool in the market. But what good is it if the agents refuse to use it? Often, due to complex dashboards and a lack of training, staff can have difficulty making the best use of it. Thus, the CRM should be built with your staff in mind. An insurance CRM must have an intuitive UI, automated repetitive tasks, and clear value for users. The tech partner must also schedule easy-to-understand training and onboarding sessions for a smoother transition.
Scalability and Future-readiness:
As your business grows and evolves, you want a CRM that can adapt to your changing needs. It should allow you to add more users, features, and storage space. For example, many insurers today are already leveraging AI and analytics for customer segmentation and automating underwriting and claims. So, onboarding an AI-first CRM can offer more value for years to come. It can help you remain competitive while allowing space to be more innovative and customer-first.
Cost, ROI, and Value:
Did you know that a good CRM application can increase sales by up to 29% and boost sales productivity by up to 34%? But investing in a CRM solution often involves upfront costs such as license fees, implementation, training, and maintenance. That’s why some insurers have also avoided it.
However, long-term returns significantly outweigh the initial expenses. A good CRM also delivers measurable ROI: better cross-sell opportunities, improved conversion rates, higher retention, and better customer satisfaction, all enabled by time saved on iterative work and automated, real-time 360-degree customer-view dashboards.
Conclusion
Legacy systems are more complicated and more expensive to maintain, costing nearly $40,000 each year. That’s why modernization is one of the most pressing challenges facing industries, particularly the insurance industry, which has been more cautious in embracing modern technologies. However, increasing operational inefficiencies, rising IT maintenance costs, and growing pressure to meet customer expectations for real-time responsiveness call for a modern CRM system.
And we get that there’s a lot to consider. Lead management, policy tracking, sales automation, and integration. It almost feels like an endless list. This is where purpose-built insurance CRM software – InsureCRM, comes in. It can centralize policy, claims, and customer lifecycle management, allowing you to build everlasting customer relationships and close more deals.
