6 Strategies to Improve Retention and Keep CAC Down

• August 1, 2025

By Peter van Aartrijk

With more competition and less opportunity for face-to-face contact with customers, how can you stay top of mind and shore up your retention numbers?

Depending on the type of insurance product you’re marketing, your customer acquisition cost (CAC) varies from an estimated low of $24 for disability insurance to a high of $550 for health insurance, according to analysis by Focus Digital.

To calculate your agency’s CAC, divide the total amount spent on marketing by the number of new customers you’ve acquired. However, even without an exact CAC, you already know that keeping an existing client is far more cost-effective than chasing down a new one.

So, here are six steps to retain more clients and keep costs down:

1) Know your starting point. It’s tough to measure results if you don’t know your current retention levels. Review your records and look for patterns. Some questions to ask that will help you discover those patterns include:

• How many clients do you have?
• How long have you serviced each one?
• Who are your longest-standing clients? What industries are they in and what policies do they carry?
• How many customers have you lost in the last two years and why did they leave?

2) Emphasize risk management. Let customers know you’re not just there to sell coverage; you’re also a great resource to help them avoid claims. Share safety tips and provide resources for developing a strong risk management plan. When you take a proactive approach, it may help your customers lower claim frequency, minimize claim severity and decrease premiums over the long term, which are all great ways to build a partnership.

3) Reach out. Offer an annual, personalized review of your customer’s insurance program. Conduct the review in person when possible. You should also periodically check in with them to make sure there are no new factors that might impact coverage, such as property upgrades, new purchases or life events.

4) Humanize your content. Online communication is arguably more convenient, but it can make it harder to build relationships. Don’t be afraid to be authentic and relatable in your online posts and emails. Share real stories about recent claims—with the insured’s permission—or the reasons you joined the insurance industry. Keep your tone conversational and friendly so your personality comes through.

5) Meet customers where they are. You may need to use more than one digital platform or amplify your message via email or old-school methods like direct mail.

Your website is your storefront. Make the site easy to use and focus on the visibility of frequently used customer tools, such as contact information or claim-filing buttons. It is also important to make your site mobile-friendly.

Also, reply to emails quickly. It’s fine to send an automated message to let the customer know their email was received but follow it with a personal email within a promised timeframe as well.

6) Thank customers for their business—and ask for referrals. Let your customers know you appreciate and value their business. Some agencies give customers a small token of appreciation during the holidays or at renewal times. Don’t be shy about asking for referrals, either. If you decide to develop a formal referral program, offer an incentive that motivates customer participation, create a referral link or code to make it quick and easy, and track results so you can adjust the program as needed.

Peter van Aartrijk is executive vice president of Aartrijk This article was originally published on the Trusted Choice® blog.