Carrier Emails Are Not Your Marketing

• Carrier emails build the carrier's brand, not yours
• Clients need to connect you with you
• Your own list reaches real people, and the math adds up

No, carrier emails do not count as your marketing. They carry the carrier's name, speak in the carrier's voice, and build the carrier's relationship with your client. Your client needs to hear from you, the person and the agency, on your own schedule.

Whose name is on it

When a carrier emails your client, who does the client think sent it? The carrier. That is the sender, the logo, and the signature.

Even if the email mentions "your independent agent," your face is not on it. Your name is not the subject line. At best, you get a footnote.

You might think a carrier email helps you indirectly. Clients are being reminded that they have insurance, so that is good. But reminders about the carrier build loyalty to the carrier. If that carrier raises rates next year, the client's loyalty goes with the rate hike, not with you.

My honest view of carrier email

I was an agent for 10 years, and I have spent the last 2.5 years in newsletters. This is my opinion, not a study: carrier emails are embarrassingly bad.

They are written to be safe. They are written by committee, and they read like it. Policy notices, product pushes, and generic tips. Most clients delete them without a second glance, and I do not blame them.

I will not name anyone, and I am not attacking any company. "Carrier emails" as a category are built to serve the carrier. That is fine for them. It just means they cannot do your job.

You need to be associated with you

Your value as an agent is not the carrier's product. Clients can get that product elsewhere. Your value is that you are the person who knows them, answers the phone, and fights for them at claim time.

If clients only ever connect insurance with a carrier, you are replaceable. A cheaper carrier is a click away.

Not sending your own communication is a massive disservice to yourself. You are leaving the relationship to a company that does not know your client's name the way you do. We explain how familiarity works in staying top of mind, even passively.

The math on your own list

Let us do a worked example. We need a real open rate first.

Mailchimp publishes average open rates by industry. It does not list insurance on its own. The closest category is Business + Finance, at 31.35% as of December 2023. The all-users average on the same page is 35.63%. Mailchimp also notes that Apple's Mail Privacy Protection can affect open rate accuracy, so treat these as rough.

Now use it. Say you have 5,000 clients on your list.

• 5,000 clients x 31.35% = about 1,570 clients who open an issue.
• You send twice a month. That is roughly 1,570 clients seeing your name and face every other week.

Now the question. Is that how many clients you reach by phone proactively? Not on a quiet day, and not on a busy one. Calling 1,570 people in two weeks, not to sell but just to say hello, is not realistic for most agencies.

Suppose we use a lower benchmark. Campaign Monitor's guide lists 27.1% for financial services, based on 2021 data. On 5,000 clients, that is about 1,355. Still far more than most agents call.

What we expect from ours

This is our expectation, and not a guarantee. We expect an entertaining issue to be opened at well above the normal rate, 50% more or better. That is because the issue is built to be fun first, not a stack of policy notices.

Here is the math on that expectation. 31.35% x 1.5 = about 47%. On 5,000 clients, 47% is about 2,350 clients per issue.

Again, that is a target and not a promise. Open rates depend on your list, your subject lines, and how long you keep sending. We would rather you know our goal than have us hide it.

It also fits the retention data

A Liberty Mutual study reported by IA Magazine found the average independent agency retention rate is about 84%. Among agencies with improved retention, 32% proactively reach out to clients at least monthly, compared with 24% for agencies with flat or declining retention.

It is a link, not proof. But it fits the logic of this whole piece. The agencies that talk to their clients are more likely to keep them.

What to do

Keep the carrier emails coming. They are fine for what they are. Just do not mistake them for your marketing.

Send your own. Put your name, photo and links on it. Make it something clients enjoy. That is what retentionletter does for you, twice a month, for $300 a month plus a one-time $200 setup. You can see the full offer on the pricing section. For more on why your own list matters, see owned audience vs rented audience.

Sources

• Mailchimp: Email Marketing Benchmarks
• Campaign Monitor: Email Marketing Benchmarks
• IA Magazine: Retention success happens beyond renewal, says Liberty Mutual study

Common questions