8 Best Insurance Referral Programs Examples

Insurance isn’t the most frequently talked about subject within social circles. Being a preventive measure to worst-case scenarios, insurance is rarely discussed on coffee tables unless someone asks for it. People need insurance more than ever, whether it’s to entrust their physical well-being or safeguard their hard-earned assets.

But with today’s fragile social fabric, trust is the hardest to earn. With only 27% of consumers deeming insurers trustworthy, making your spot as a credible insurance franchise can be challenging.

For an average Joe on the street, telling one insurance broker apart from another is impossible. Around 92% of people trust friendly recommendations before buying something, and insurance agencies leverage them perfectly.

With distrust of sponsored and celebrity endorsements, insurance companies employ referral marketing programs to win over new customers. While the strategy has worked flawlessly for top fintech brands, it may need tweaks and upgrades to suit insurance brands. Review these 8 successful insurance referral program examples to sharpen your referral strategy.

Significance of Referral Marketing in the Insurance Industry

With the ever-increasing cost of sponsored marketing and consumers’ distrust of social media ads and celebrity endorsements, most marketers fail to mold the audience’s purchase behaviors in their favor. Fintech companies are gradually cutting their social media marketing budgets, with some reporting no noticeable decline in their marketing performance.

When it comes to marketing, insurance agent pose pretty much similar reservations with their advertising campaigns as other financial institutions. Here are a few reasons why modern marketing strategies are unfavorable to new and pre-established insurance institutions:

• As the competition between insurance providers gets more intense, the marketing costs in paid searches and affiliate programs have also inflated. Wordstreams reports the average cost per click in paid search marketing at $54.91 in 2022.
• Institutions with huge above-the-line marketing budgets and in-house SEO specialists import free traffic as paid leads, making it difficult for new businesses to acquire leads at a lower premium.
• As an industry highly regulated by health, assets, and pension laws, insurance companies must adopt a more cautious approach to customer acquisition than unregulated sectors.
• Unlike fashion, automobiles, or interior design, insurance is the last thing on people’s minds. Generating organic word-of-mouth recommendations on a subject that’s barely discussed unless led by a scrappy situation.

While referral marketing isn’t entirely off the charts for insurance companies, it’s the least leveraged strategy. With people’s lives and hard-earned assets at stake, endorsing an insurance company to friends and family will have dire consequences in case of a wrong choice.

In a market that’s widely based on trust and social standing, employing the right referral program can help you improve brand awareness, develop credibility, and acquire new customers. Here's everything you need to know about insurance referral programs for effective results:

• Lowering customer acquisition costs. Referral marketing leverages existing customers to propel positive word of mouth and refer high-quality leads to your platform.
• Customers that are otherwise less inclined to share your products and services can be incentivized to become valuable brand advocates.
• Leads acquired through referral programs have a higher chance of becoming actual customers. People are four times more likely to purchase from a brand referred to by their peers.
• Once you configure the underlying mechanics, insurance referral programs can be applied to any form, e.g., home, auto, business, and real estate insurance.

8 Successful Insurance Referral Program Examples

Be unique to stand out. Whether you’re selling tangible products, SaaS subscriptions, and insurance packages, let your audience know what you stand for. Highlight unique propositions that set you apart in the league, hopefully driving organic word-of-mouth recommendations.

While positive referrals can bring you quality leads, turning them into customers, keeping them on board, and motivating them to be your advocates requires top-notch services and exceptional customer support.

While learning top referral program ideas set you up for possible success in your pre-launch campaign, there’s no one-stop-shop solution to your insurance business. Whether you aim to build your marketing campaign from scratch or effectively manage your referral program, review these eight successful insurance referral program examples to keep the leads coming.

Square One

Square One stands out as the leading home insurance agency in the North American region, offering the highest level of property protection. Based out of Vancouver, Canada, the company has received an A+ rating from Better Business Bureau.

Whether you are the landlord, homeowner, or tenant, Square One keeps your properties insured on personalized terms that suit your financial plans. In simpler terms, customers can determine the property they want to insure, subscribe to the insurance package, and configure their monthly deductibles. The agency provides comprehensive coverage against theft, fire, water damage, and liability claims on your property.

Referral Strategy

Square One acknowledges the power of referrals and adopts an ingenious referral strategy to incentivize existing policyholders to generate newer leads. The program rewards existing customers $25 account credit if their referred-in leads subscribe to the policy. New users can also win a $10 Amazon gift card for requesting a quote.

While you can bring in every new lead digitally through your unique referral link, Square One also caters to old-school customers by enabling actual word-of-mouth recommendations. Ask your friends or family to mention your name when speaking to a licensed agent.

Besides communicating value propositions with a clear tagline, Square One instates an advanced dashboard to streamline the referral process. The headline, “Get an online home insurance quote in 5 minutes,” effectively points out the key proposition, educating customers on what they are signing up for.

Ethos Life

Life insurance couldn’t be made simpler and easier than Etho’s Life. Founded in 2016, the agency aims to streamline insurance policies and fulfillment processes by leveraging technology and data-driven underwriting.

While mainstream insurance agencies are stuck in stringent policy guidelines, Ethos Life enrolls participants based on a basic health inquiry. No medical exams or blood test reports, simply answer a series of questions online and get yourself eligible for the monetary coverage you need to protect your loved ones. People can receive up to $1 million in insurance claims by paying $1 monthly.

The Referral Strategy

Not all referral programs are the same. While startups introduce double-sided referral incentives to boost customer acquisition, most companies still value loyalty over leads - and Ethos Life has a similar mission statement.

According to Ethos’ referral strategy, referring customers can earn a $10 Amazon gift card for every successful lead generated. New visitors that channel through your referral code must create an Ethos account and get approved for an AAA life policy to set you up for reward. Customers can refer up to five friends on the platform, earning a total of $50.

Transparency and simplicity kept the Ethos Life referral program afloat since its inception. The brand originally offered $50 per referral but later reduced the reward to $10 once the word spread around. The referral landing page features an FAQs section, guiding visitors on who to refer to and to refer them.

Spivey Insurance Group

With 20 years of experience in the industry, Spivey Insurance Group takes pride in serving individuals, families, and businesses to protect what matters. The family-owned enterprise has built a reputation for its exceptional customer service, extensive industry expertise, and comprehensive coverage.

Spivey Insurance Group values its customers like a community, with one looking out for another. While the company fosters customer trust with exceptional services on one end, current clients channel in new leads through positive word-of-mouth referrals.

The Referral Strategy

What better monetary incentive would compel customers to go the extra mile and refer new leads to your business than the possibility of winning a $1000 cash reward? While every referral gets you a guaranteed $10 in rewards, it also adds your name to a $1000 prize pool that’s slated for the end of the year.

On the outlook, there’s no limit to the number of referrals. The program is open to everyone, not just existing clients. All users need to do is fill out the “refer-a-friend” form on Spivey’s referral landing page with contact information to generate their unique referral link.

Vitality Health and Life

The private healthcare industry is notorious for instating the most complicated policies when it comes to insurance. Despite subscribing to an insurance package, people are generally unaware of their healthcare needs safeguarded under insurance. Not knowing how referrals work with health insurance often deals heavy damage to their finances.

Fortunately, Vitality Health and Life streamline the insurance process with better support tools, customer service, and referral rewards. The brand currently stands as the world’s largest incentive-based health promotion program. In 2019 alone, the vitality program participants saved over £103m via rewards, cashback, and discounts.

The Referral Strategy

As a vitality policyholder, you can invite your loved ones to the platform and reap similar health benefits. Every friend that joins Vitality through your unique referral links sets you up for a £100 gift card. What’s more, by introducing friends to Vitality’s 5-star Defaqto-rated health or life cover, you and your referred-in friend will receive a £100 Amazon or John Lewis card.

Referrals are more motivated by providing state-of-the-art services and continuous customer support than referral incentives. Without a reliable insurance policy to back up your claims, your referral marketing efforts will eventually die out - and Vitality knows this best.

By giving policyholders access to the best possible private healthcare, Vitality generates quality leads that are bound to stay and spend more.

AXA Health

With a rich history spanning several decades, AXA stands out as one of the most primitive private insurance enterprises active to date. While AXA currently runs as a conglomerate holding independently run businesses in the car, health, travel, businesses, and property sectors.

While it's originally based out of Europe, AXA extends its services to North America, the Indian Pacific region, and the Middle East. AXA's health insurance plans cover medical consultations, hospitalization, diagnostic tests, medications, and specialized treatments.

The Referral Strategy

Despite such widespread reach across continents and diverse niches, AXA always seeks new, quality leads. In December 2022, AXA Health launched its refer-a-friend program offering £100 as cash rewards to referrers and referred-in customers. The reward is only eligible if the referred customer subscribes to an insurance policy and does not discredit during the cool-off period.

By referring repeatedly and bringing new customers to the platform, existing customers can rack up a fair amount of rewards for their advocacy. Although AXA facilitates a seamless reward redemption process, ensuring that participants can easily claim and enjoy their incentives, there’s a catch! The referral rewards are only distributed 70 days after the initial sign-up or transaction is carried out.

Trupanion

Owning a pet is more than morning jogs or weekly bathing sessions. Pets are sensitive beings requiring as much care and medical attention as normal humans. To keep pet parents wary of unexpected veterinary expenses, Trupanion comes as the leading North American pet insurance agency that covers 90% of illnesses and injuries your pet might suffer.

Whether it's accidents, illnesses, or routine wellness care, Trupanion offers policies that provide your canine friend the right level of protection. As the fastest-growing pet insurance company, Trupanion has spread across the US, Canada, Australia, and Puerto Rico.

The Referral Strategy

Trupanion drives its strength in numbers through a community of avid pet parents who are always ready to spread the word in their social circles. While the company drives most of its referrals organically - thanks to impressive insurance policies - the referral program boost lead acquisition.

People advocating Trupanion to their peers can earn $25 for every positive lead, up to $100 per year. Trupanion develops trust with its customers at every step of the referral process. Once you click the referral link, the company website greets you with a “Trust & Recommend” tagline. Instead of making vague quality promises, the referral page features the average review rating on Trustpilot, letting people know they are making the right choice.

Hiscox

Hiscox Insurance Company is a leading international specialist insurer with a rich history spanning over a century. Founded in 1901, Hiscox has grown to become a trusted name in the insurance industry, offering a wide range of insurance products and services to businesses and individuals worldwide.

The insurance brand specializes in providing tailored insurance solutions to individuals and businesses from varying industries. With a global footprint, Hiscox offers insurance policies to sectors like art, cyber technology, marine, and high-value personal assets. Knowing the potential risk their clients face, insurers devise policies tailor-made to their needs.

The Referral Strategy

Laying out the benefits of your referral program upfront captures customers’ attention at first sight and compels them to participate - and Hiscox's referral strategy serves as a touchstone example.

Hiscox’s referral landing page starts with an inviting statement, “Refer a friend to Hiscox, and you could win one of ten $50 Amazon gift cards,” and visitors follow suit immediately. To keep visitors interested in the offering, the platform briefly explains how the program works.

Unlike typical insurance referral programs, Hiscox doesn’t guarantee rewards for generating qualifying leads. The platform keeps them hooked with the possibility of winning an even better reward at every monthly prize draw. As more people share the personalized referral message with their peers, Hiscox receives wider brand exposure without spending on targeted social media ads.

Noblr

Paying exorbitant car repair costs for a road accident, you yourself were a victim of can jumble up your savings. For tech-savvy drivers that practice safe driving and usually travel inter-city, buying an auto insurance program is often the only refuge.

Noblr, one of the most innovative automotive insurance companies, employs modern technology and smart mechanics to offer personalized insurance rates based on customers’ driving patterns, habits, and miles driven. Safe and responsible drivers are rewarded with lower premiums, creating a fairer and more equitable insurance system.

People can actively monitor their driving behavior with Noblr’s mobile app. Knowing the faults in their driving, customers can improve their driving habits and style to receive a better insurance premium.

The Referral Strategy

Like their advanced telematics, Nobler has implemented a centralized design structure to raise awareness about their referral program and drive people to participate.

Marketers at Noblr attempt to break into the psychology of their existing customer base. The referral landing page starts with a compelling hook “Refer smart drivers, earn rewards.” Displayed as the main header, it catches visitors' attention at first glance and lets them know what qualifies them for the reward.

Thanks to Noblr’s customer-centric referral process, program participants can generate new referral links to share with friends. Once your referred friend signs up on the platform and gets a quote, referring customers will receive a $25 Amazon gift card. By bringing consecutive referrals, people can earn up to $1000 in gift cards.

Best Practices to Boost Insurance Referral Programs

On the surface, no marketing strategy looks quite straightforward as referral programs. Motivating people to endorse your product in their friendly circles only fares seamlessly on paper, but the reality is cold-served.

Before you start imitating effective insurance referral programs, know your target audience. Figure out their prime motivation, which compels them to refer their friends. Assess your marketing budget, and devise attractive incentives to compel customers to spread the word about your brand.

Be Positive About Referrals

A common perception amongst new startups is that asking for referrals might make them sound desperate or obtrusive - that’s rarely the case. To survive and upscale in the hyper-competitive insurance market, businesses must develop a referral orientation or instate it as their primary product launch strategy.

If you’re delivering quality services and offering impressive customer experience, you shouldn’t be shy to ask for a referral. Instating an appropriate reward for every successful referral will help eliminate reluctance. When launching an effective rewards program, get the following things straight:

• Set up your business plan.
• Identify your marketing goals and objectives (e.g., activity, conversion, revenue, etc.)
• Target your referral program toward your target audience.
• Automate the program with advanced referral-tracking software.
• Leveraging the right marketing channels to promote your referral program.

Present Your A-Game

Whether you’re devising the right insurance policies or keeping in contact with your customers, always be at the top of your game. If you show even slight negligence in your services or compromise on your promises, your customers won’t hesitate to shift to your competitors.

For starters, keep your insurance referral program simple and transparent. Not only should your customers be able to navigate through the process, but also view their performance or referral score in real-time to stay involved.

Set up tracking software to automate sending out referral links, checking up on participants with follow-up email signatures, and presenting timely rewards and bonuses. Whether you purchase a referral system or build one in-house, make sure it's foolproof and operates like a machine.

Locate Your Net Promoters

Not every customer is enthusiastic about your brand enough to let their friends know about it - even if you load it up with exciting prizes to reward your customers. Always prefer clients that have spent extended time on your platform, shopped frequently, or left positive reviews on site. They are your ideal customer base that’s most likely to bring quality leads onboard.

The reason why insurance programs are the least talked about subject in casual gatherings is that many people fear embarrassment in case their referred agency doesn’t match their expectations. Adopt appropriate channels to build credibility and respect with your existing clients.

First, earn their trust to leverage their connections afterward. Locate clients with a credible social stature and the ability to influence people with their recommendations. Implement a Net Promoter Score survey to detect your level 1 client and devise incentives that keep them motivated.

Leverage Social Media

Social media harbors untamed potential that sets the way for unimaginable growth if leveraged properly. Whether you’re running a car insurance franchise or providing healthcare insurance to pets and animals, social media probably carries the biggest pool of prospects that can help boost your business. Here are some effective ways to use social media accounts for your benefit:

• Develop engaging content that highlights the referral program benefits and incentives of your insurance policies. Highlight it with attention-grabbing visuals and persuasive copy to communicate the program’s value.
• Whether it's Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, or YouTube, identify the social media platforms where your target audience is most active, and establish a strong presence.
• Tap into the power of user-generated content by encouraging your satisfied customers to share their positive experiences with your franchise.
• Partner with influencers that align with your niche and leverage their follower base to raise brand awareness, increase engagement, and establish credibility.

Share Success Stories

People trust people more than they trust marketing messages from companies they’ve never heard of. Ask your existing clients if you can share or publish their success stories on your website, setting a real-life example of how you helped clients safeguard their health and save money. Even though it’s not a direct referral, success stories serve as credible testimonials allowing prospects to visualize the benefits of signing up with your agency.

Closing Note

Companies thrive with consistent inflows of new clients and solidify at the hands of loyal ones - a perfectly set up referral program offers the best of both. When marketing your insurance franchise, focus on building your company referral-worthy and let your existing clients do the promotion for you.

Regardless of how complicated or multi-layered your insurance policies might be, keep your referral program straightforward for an average customer to navigate. Promote it on channels that your target audience uses and current customers have a visible standing. To prevent any discrepancies in the program, instate referral software to save time, and finances, and boost customer acquisition.

If you feel competent enough, follow the lead of successful insurance referral program examples or sign up with Prefinery.com to get it done professionally.

FAQs

What makes a successful insurance referral program?

The best referral program examples for insurance typically include clear incentives for both the referrer and the referred customer. It should be instated with attractive rewards and discounts for every quality lead generated, motivating customers to actively participate. A user-friendly referral process, personalized tracking, and transparent communication are essential factors that contribute to the success of the program.

Which insurance companies have prominent referral programs?

Some noteworthy examples include:

• Square One Insurance: Offers $25 account credits and $10 Amazon gift cards.
• Ethos Life Insurance: Provides referrers with $10 Amazon gift cards for new referrals.
• Spivey Insurance Group: Offers discounts on premiums. $25 gift cards and participation in a yearly prize pool of $1000.