How insurance agents get more Google reviews.
Without breaking carrier rules.

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This one is for insurance agents, captive and independent. It covers who owns your reviews, when to ask, how to ask, and what I'd fix first as a brand new agent or one taking over a book.

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Your carrier handles the brand. Why do your Google reviews still matter?

Agents often say their carrier handles their marketing. And it does handle the brand. But your Google reviews and your replies to them are about you. You earned them, and they're what a family sees when they look you up.

When a family picks an agent, they don't just pick a carrier. A lot of folks figure insurance is insurance. They pick the agent they trust.

One thing worth knowing: the reviews live on your Google Business Profile listing, so find out who owns and manages that listing, you, your agency or your carrier.

Do Google reviews matter if your clients are older?

Yes. Maybe your clients don't use Google much. Their kids do, and guess who's helping them sort out their coverage? That's who needs to trust you.

The same goes for referrals. When a client sends a friend your way, that friend looks you up before they call. I don't care who referred them. They're going to Google you, and what they find decides whether they pick up the phone.

Are insurance agents allowed to ask for Google reviews?

It depends on your carrier, so don't just assume you can't. Ask your carrier what its rules are for reviews and marketing, and get the answer in writing. Once you have it in writing, work inside those rules.

Either way, there's usually a lot you can fix inside your carrier's rules: a complete Google Business Profile, hours that match when you actually answer, and the same name, address and phone number everywhere. Check that profile edits and review replies are covered by your rules too. That's most of what our Agent X-Ray looks at.

When should an insurance agent ask for a review?

The day the policy binds. You get signed, the policy's active, you send the message. That's it. It's one text on one day.

Think about where that client's head is. They just trusted you with the future of their family's financial security. They're glad they picked you. That's the reason they did business with you in the first place, and it's the easiest day there is to ask.

Renewal season is the other good time. A lot of agents want to wait until after renewals are done. I'd flip that. Every renewal is a happy client you're already talking to, who already trusts you. Don't take that for granted. Be proud of the work and ask them to share their experience.

How should an agent ask for a Google review?

Text the link. People have their phone in their hand all day and they dread their email. A text pops up, they tap the link, and it takes them about 30 seconds.

To get the link, open your Google Business Profile, look for Get more reviews or Ask for reviews (the name depends on where you open it), and copy the link it gives you. Save the whole text as a shortcut so it's one tap every time, and send it from whatever texting tool your carrier approves. Have your carrier's compliance folks look at the wording first if their rules call for it.

And ask everybody the same way. Don't pick and choose the clients you think are happiest. Google says a business shouldn't selectively ask for positive reviews, and it strictly prohibits offering anything in exchange for a review, like a gift card or a discount. Its prohibited and restricted content policy spells it out. Our free Review Kit has more texts you can adapt.

Should you reply to every Google review?

Yes, and especially the good ones. Say thank you and let them know you're grateful they trusted you. Leave out the policy, the claim and anything you sold them. When a family reads your reviews later, the replies show them an agent who pays attention.

If a bad one comes in, keep the reply calm, short and helpful, offer to talk it through by phone, and leave policy details out of it.

Why does trust decide who gets the call?

If you're captive, you might think none of this matters because every agent with your carrier sells the same thing. It's the opposite. The agent down the road with the exact same carrier is who you're being compared to.

So pull up their profile next to yours. Is yours more trustworthy? Does it give a family more to go on: reviews, real photos, hours, answers to the questions they're asking before they make a decision this big? Same carrier, same rates, same town. The family still picks one of you.

Taking over a book of business? Fix this first.

When the agent before you retires or moves on, those clients want to know you'll take care of them as well as or better than the last person did. And before you even call them, a lot of them are going to look you up.

If they find three different names, a few different addresses, and a phone number that doesn't work, that book can go stale fast. So fix the simple stuff first: the same name, address and phone number across your Google Business Profile, your Facebook page and your website, and a number that actually reaches you by call and text.

Then send an introduction email, give it a few days, and call every active client. Thank them, and tell them how grateful you are for the chance to take care of their family. That warm introduction, plus a profile that checks out when they look you up, is how you hold onto a book that was handed to you.

New agent? Where should you start?

Start with your personal network. Call the people you know, see who isn't covered, and explain why you care about helping their family be ready. Then ask them a simple question: do you know three people who might not be prepared if something happened tomorrow?

At the same time, get a clean Google Business Profile set up and verified, with the right service area and hours you actually work. If you work a few hours on Saturday, list it, and then be there. Skip the fancy, expensive website for now. As you sign policies, ask for the review the day each one binds. Once your carrier's compliance team signs off, share what clients say across the social pages you've set up.

Your ads already work? Check the math.

Great. Do you know what each new policy costs you? Take what you spent to bring in a client and set it next to what that client brings in. If you don't know that number, you don't really know whether the ads work.

Here's the part most agents miss. The better your profile looks, on Google, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or anywhere else a family might find you, the more of those clicks turn into calls and the more of those calls turn into policies. Fixing your reviews makes every ad dollar work harder. 12 Checks Before You Spend on Ads is a good place to start.

Free tools that go with this

Questions agents ask about Google reviews