How do I pick the perfect CRM for my insurance agency?
When it comes to selecting the best Insurance CRM, there are many options available for insurance agents to choose from. We’re often asked, “How Does Better Agency compare to AgencyZoom?” Or “Can Better Agency do everything Infusionsoft does?”
This article will help you compare and contrast the differences between Insurance CRMs so that you can make the best decision possible for your agency.
⚠️DISCLAIMER ⚠️
We feel it’s right to point out that this article is not meant to put any company down. Each company listed will have certain pros and cons that we want to mention. Our goal is to highlight the major differences between each company while also pointing out some of the features within the software that agents find helpful.
We understand that after reading this article, some may choose to go with a competitor. We’re OK with that if it’s the best choice for your agency.
We have compiled a list of these features from multiple sources, including users, articles, and other review sites like Capterra and G2.
Make sure whatever CRM you choose is built specifically for insurance agents. You will want to have an Insurance CRM vs. a general-use CRM. Also, it is important to suggest that you select a custom CRM and not a system that was built or “white-labeled” on another system. This will allow you to receive the support you need to have the most success.
What is an insurance CRM?
CRM software, or Customer Relationship Management software, is a technology that works to make life easier for insurance agents, sub-agents, brokers, CSRs, and many others. It’s a type of technology that combines many different system features to assist in all sales and marketing processes related to an insurance agent’s work. It helps agents build and maintain client relationships while simultaneously increasing their business’ overall revenue.
These systems usually feature solid customer service, automated sales engagement, and marketing, management features for tasks, contacts, knowledge, mobile applications, etc.
Advantages of using insurance CRM software
CRM is the largest software market in the world, and is one of the fastest-growing as well. It’s easily accessible and simplifies company strategies, marketing, and customer service through personalized solutions to individual businesses. In fact, it’s so popular that 91% of companies in the world with more than eleven employees use CRM software.
Agents across the country and around the world face many challenges with their businesses — from finding and retaining clients to keeping up with daily paperwork and employees. CRM software is the one solution that helps agents deal with the majority of tech-related problems they face.
Too many leads? CRM software will sort and prioritize them.
Can’t find that one spreadsheet that’s desperately needed ASAP? A CRM software keeps careful track of all documents, organizing them in an easily accessible, centrally-located system.
Losing customers because your customer service is lacking? CRM can automate and send emails, text messages, and even voicemails to clients to help them when agents are too busy.
Wasting time manually entering mountains of data? CRM systems log and keep all company data available internally, freeing employees up to do what they do best — sell insurance and grow their companies!
Further, studies have shown that using CRM software can boost conversion rates by 300%, improve team productivity by 50%, and increase customer retention, thereby increasing agency profits by 27%. What’s more, every single dollar that a company spends on its CRM software has an average ROI of $8.71. With benefits like that, it’s almost a no-brainer to sign up with a CRM service provider today.
We even wrote a complete CRM guide to help you once you select the CRM that works best for you.
How do other CRMs compare to Better Agency?
With CRM being such a valuable tool, it’s no wonder that agents are clamoring to make use of it with their businesses. But with so many options out there, how can agents find the best one for themselves? Simple. By knowing what they need and who offers it.
To assist in that process, we’ve compared the cost, features, disadvantages, and real customer reviews of following CRMs below:
Keap vs. Better Agency
Keap is a general-use CRM that was designed for small and medium-sized businesses. It is the younger sibling to its older brother Infusionsoft. It was created to help business owners who were left feeling confused by the complexities of using Infusionsoft. Think of Keap as Infusionsoft “light”
| Keap | Better Agency |
|---|---|
| Price: $149/month – 500 contacts + Consultant costs | Price: $299/month – unlimited contacts |
| Key Features: Mobile app, Campaign builder, Sales Pipeline | Key Features: Sales, Service, Renewal, Claims Pipelines, “Done-for-you” insurance automation campaigns. |
| The Cons: Steep learning curve, No document storage, The cost of adding more than 500 contacts. | The Cons: Does not provide a direct integration with AMS360 |
| Is It An Insurance CRM? 🚫 | Is It An Insurance CRM? ✅ |
| The Reviews: (Courtesy of Capterra)
👍 “It has been pretty good. I have used other products in the past, but like anything, I think you get used to what you use now.” 👎 “VERY EXPENSIVE! also, there is no way I can use this myself so in addition to the outrageous cost for the monthly fees, I have to pay others to do everything for me.” |
The Reviews: (Courtesy of Facebook reviews)
👍 “Better Agency has been a game-changer for us. It has allowed us to better streamline some processes as well as improve our cross-selling ability. Nice to be working with people that understand the life cycle of an insurance prospect to client and beyond. Top-notch customer service as well. Will pay for itself in the first few weeks.” |
The Verdict: Keap is an improvement from its older brother Infusionsoft when it comes to simplicity. It has an improved dashboard that makes navigation more clear. A major concern many users claim it still has a steep learning curve that requires most users to pay more money and hire specialists who can create their campaigns.
It was not created with insurance agents in mind. As a general-use CRM, it can perform the basic tasks of email and text.
Unable to store more than 500 contacts make this a non-viable option for insurance agents at this price point. Add in the fact that there is no document storage, and it easily becomes an E&O liability for agencies.
Insurance agents who choose Keap will likely need to hire a 3rd party consultant to help set up their system. These extra costs range between $1500 – $3000. This extra cost places Keap on the “more expensive” side of choices.
ActiveCampaign vs. Better Agency
ActiveCampaign is a general-use CRM. It is best suited for small businesses with smaller customer databases that are looking for inexpensive solutions.
| ActiveCampaign | Better Agency |
|---|---|
| Price: $70/month – 500 contacts | Price: $299/month – unlimited contacts |
| Key Features: Pipeline builder, Custom Campaign Builder, Lead scoring | Key Features: Robust agency and producer reporting, Automated task management. |
| The Cons: No document storage, No task management, Expensive after 500 contacts | The Cons: Does not function well on Internet Explorer browsers. |
| Is It An Insurance CRM? 🚫 | Is It An Insurance CRM? ✅ |
| The Reviews: (Courtesy of Capterra)
👍 “ActiveCampaign is a solid platform. The CRM has nice communication options and the tagging system for contacts and in-the-moment segmentation are nice touches.” 👎 “You’ll easily get lost in the number of options and settings. The fact that when creating an email you get redirected for simple steps just to edit email headers also hurts the flow.” |
The Reviews: (Courtesy of Facebook reviews)
👍 “In 7 days, we were able to completely overhaul multiple sophisticated CRM tools into one, easy to use platform with Better Agency. As an agency, we write about $3M in New business per year. |
The Verdict: Active Campaign is a solid product for those people who want a simple, “general-use” system. It was not built with insurance agents in mind. You will find texting on the platform to be difficult.
ActiveCampaign requires you to purchase additional credits for text messaging. If you have any campaigns that rely on text SMS, this can quickly add up.
Like other general-use CRMs, the inability to store documents makes this a difficult option for insurance agents. ActiveCampaign does not provide a “done for you” option when it comes to building your insurance automation campaigns.
AgencyZoom vs. Better Agency
We took the time to write a lengthy article here as well comparing the two. From the outside, AgencyZoom features an attractive dashboard. You can track sales and view your goals using the dashboard. Unlike Keap and ActiveCampaign, AgencyZoom is an insurance product.
| AgencyZoom | Better Agency |
|---|---|
| Price: $79/month | Price: $299/month – unlimited contacts |
| Key Features: Reporting dashboard, New lead pipelines, Easy UI/UX | Key Features: Fully developed personal and commercial lines automation campaigns for new business and current clients. Full Zapier access with AMS integrations. |
| The Cons: No built-in SMS texting (must use 3rd party), Steep learning curve, Limited automation campaigns, No service or renewal workflows, or automation campaigns. Lacks any sort of claims handling workflows. | The Cons: Does not have a direct integration with Applied Epic |
| Is It An Insurance CRM? 🚫 | Is It An Insurance CRM? ✅ |
| The Reviews: (Courtesy of Capterra)
👍 “I am confident that the couple things I feel are lacking will be added soon, they have been great to work with.” 👎 “There is no place to manually edit workflows, and the long term retention automation is not built out yet.” |
The Reviews: (Courtesy of Facebook reviews)
👍 “So glad I chose to get my agency onboard Better Agency! The simplicity of the systems, the built-in copy, and the ever-growing list of features are all worth a lot more than I’m paying for them. I researched and tested 10 CRMS before choosing BA. Few reasons why: It was by far the easiest to implement-2weeks. Saving 6-8 hours per month for each producer. One of the best decisions I made in 2020.” |
The Verdict: With their background as captive insurance agents, the founders of AgencyZoom have created a respected reporting tool.
The lack of native SMS texting functionality is a major concern. Users will need to sign up and pay for more 3rd party software to send text messages. This presents a major challenge to agents looking for simple solutions.
An agent will be forced to either create their own campaigns or select from one-off templates that lack serious punch. It would appear to be a limited solution that will require more onboarding time to implement.
While priced very low, users may become disappointed if they are looking for a robust and simple automation solution. If all you need is a basic reporting tool, AgencyZoom provides that. If you are looking for a more robust sales and retention tool that drives agency revenue and retention up, you might find AgencyZoom lacking.
HubSpot vs. Better Agency
If you require an enterprise solution, then HubSpot might be a good fit for you. While you can sign up for a free membership, it is very limited in features. You will likely need to update your plan to take advantage of features like marketing automation (automated tasks and emails). HubSpot’s main competitor would be other enterprise solutions such as Salesforce.
| HubSpot | Better Agency |
|---|---|
| Price: $50/month | Price: $299/month – unlimited contacts |
| Key Features: Landing pages and online forms. | Key Features: Direct integrations with NowCerts, and Lightspeed Voice. |
| The Cons: No automation features unless you upgrade to their higher-priced plans. No distinct user-roles, Very costly at higher levels. | The Cons: Does not provide built-in landing pages. |
| Is It An Insurance CRM? 🚫 | Is It An Insurance CRM? ✅ |
| The Reviews: (Courtesy of Capterra)
👍 “It has many features for a small business. The salespeople promise you the world when you use it. You do need another person to manage it. How is it for small businesses?” 👎 “Stressful, depressing, and EXPENSIVE. The customer service is terrible. They will try to milk you for every dollar that you have” |
The Reviews: (Courtesy of Facebook reviews)
👍 “I’ve yet to find a software company in the insurance space that offers as much support as Better Agency does. Rather than some cookie-cutter, take it or leave it product, this is a product that has been designed with tons of input from actual insurance agents. I’ll be with them as long as I own an agency because I know they’ll continue to evolve and will always offer a quality product.” |
The Verdict: HubSpot is a powerful program. The question insurance agents need to ask is “what do I need?”
The starter plan is $50 a month. However, if you want to have any automated communications, you will need to sign up for their $890 a month plan. This makes HubSpot very cost-prohibitive for small businesses. We suggest HubSpot for agencies with over 50 employees.
Salesforce vs. Better Agency
Like HubSpot, Salesforce is built for large companies. It is powerful and you can build just about anything you want. However, you will need to pay a large sum of money to do so.
| Salesforce | Better Agency |
|---|---|
| Price: $25/month per user | Price: $299/month – unlimited contacts |
| Key Features: Task management, Contact storage, Mobile app |
Key Features: X-Date automation campaigns for personal and commercial clients. VOIP integrations. |
| The Cons: Automation is not included and is a separate cost to add. Difficult learning curve | The Cons: Live chat, email, and FB support only |
| Is It An Insurance CRM? 🚫 | Is It An Insurance CRM? ✅ |
| The Reviews: (Courtesy of Capterra)
👍 “Mostly positive except for the nagging reminder of how much you’re paying out of pocket to use it. It makes it difficult to justify a purchase.” 👎 “There was a bit of a learning curve as well as a lack of automation.” |
The Reviews: (Courtesy of Facebook reviews)
👍 “Better Agency truly understand the needs of insurance agencies. In the past, I needed a half dozen client management, marketing, and communication systems to effectively connect with clients, but Better Agency rolls all these tools into one easy to navigate interface that works. Any time I have questions or need assistance the Better Agency team responds quickly. I highly recommend Better Agency.” |
The Verdict: With Salesforce you can make just about everything work. The problem for insurance agents is the cost it will take to make everything you want. It is why Salesforce is used by large corporations and not many small businesses. While it’s a great tool, it is often an overkill for agencies with less than 50 employees.
The entry cost is low. However, if you ever need to add more features like “automation” it becomes very cost-prohibitive. Our suggestion is to use an insurance CRM that has these features and tools included.
InsuredMine vs. Better Agency
InsuredMine is a system designed to help agencies manage their systems more efficiently. However, they lack the ability to integrate information from some AMSs and lack features that many more established systems offer.
| InsuredMine | Better Agency |
|---|---|
| Price: $49/month flat rate | Price: $299/month – unlimited contacts |
| Key Features: Mobile app, Sales and Service Pipeline, Custom Forms, Marketing Automation | Key Features: Sales, Service, Renewal, Claims Pipelines, “Done-for-you” insurance automation campaigns. |
| The Cons: Limited text space in templates, Lacks features that many other CRMs already offer, Long set-up process, Not compatible with all AMS | The Cons: Does not provide a direct integration with AMS360 |
| Is It An Insurance CRM? ✅ | Is It An Insurance CRM? ✅ |
| The Reviews: (Courtesy of Capterra)
👍 “Features and Ease Of Use. Affordable Pricing. Customer Support is Outstanding. Constantly Rolling Out New and Exciting Features to the Software Seamlessly. In 6 Months of Using the Software, we have not had any system slow downs or down time.” 👎 “The only issue would be that the initial conversion process from our old AMS had a slight <10% error margin on the data and files that were brought over. However, these were corrected in a matter of days, not weeks. Other than that, there are no other issues.” |
The Reviews: (Courtesy of Facebook reviews)
👍 “Better Agency has been a game-changer for us. It has allowed us to better streamline some processes as well as improve our cross-selling ability. Nice to be working with people that understand the life cycle of an insurance prospect to client and beyond. Top-notch customer service as well. Will pay for itself in the first few weeks.” |
The Verdict: InsuredMine offers very cheap rates. This can be problematic for agencies seeking deeper levels of support. Their system isn’t compatible with all existing systems, so agents may struggle to import and use their content.
Our suggestion is to look for a more integration-friendly system with all the functions and features you require.
Agency Elephant vs. Better Agency
Agency Elephant features many key system functions to help insurance agents work from marketing assistance to booking calendars and customizable marketing campaigns. Still, they are pretty limited when compared to CRMs.
| Agency Elephant | Better Agency |
|---|---|
| Price: $249/month or $274/month with Zapier – Limited to 10,000 Credits and 10,000 Contacts | Price: $299/month – unlimited contacts |
| Voicemail, Email, and Text Automation, Full Customisable Contact Manager, Inbound Marketing Campaigns | Key Features: Sales, Service, Renewal, Claims Pipelines, “Done-for-you” insurance automation campaigns. |
| The Cons: Limited contacts, No refunds, Limited online company presence and customer reviews | The Cons: Does not provide a direct integration with AMS360 |
| Is It An Insurance CRM? 🚫 | Is It An Insurance CRM? ✅ |
| The Reviews: (Courtesy of Facebook)
👍 “I have seen and tried different strategies and methods even lost a lot of money while trying. Until I was introduced to this new strategy that got me back on track and I have been able to regain my lost money and still making consistent growth on all of my trade.” |
The Reviews: (Courtesy of Facebook reviews)
👍 “Better Agency has been a game-changer for us. It has allowed us to better streamline some processes as well as improve our cross-selling ability. Nice to be working with people that understand the life cycle of an insurance prospect to client and beyond. Top-notch customer service as well. Will pay for itself in the first few weeks.” |
The Verdict: Agency Elephant is a “white-labeled” CRM. This means it is a generic CRM product that someone purchased and put their logo on it. It wasn’t made for the insurance industry and if the company decides to do something different, Agency Elephant would likely have no control.
They have a weak online presence and do not feature many of the same offerings similar companies provide their clients with. Instead, they offer fewer services for the same–or a higher price–than many of their competitors offer. Our suggestion is to use a tried and tested insurance CRM that provides all of the system’s features you require to be most successful.
Choosing the Best CRM software for insurance agents
CRM software is an invaluable tool for any insurance agent or related professional working today. It simplifies daily management and sales functions, streamlining them through automated processes that relieve agents of vast amounts of stress and unnecessary work. By taking the time to investigate and choose the best CRM software for themselves, agents fast-track themselves for long-term success.
Better Agency: The #1 insurance CRM
If you are an insurance agent looking to grow your agency and streamline your processes with automation, then you need to use an Insurance CRM.
Better Agency was built by insurance agents and it’s the top choice for agents looking to grow their business. With Better Agency you can take advantage of all the top features included: automation campaigns built into the platform. This includes all of the emails and text messages, as well as reporting and task management.
Schedule a Discovery Call with Better Agency now.
