Industries · Insurers
Marketing automation for insurers – with your agencies as the sender
An insurance customer rarely gets in touch of their own accord. That makes the few moments when you do reach them all the more important: start of contract, expiry, premium adjustment, claim, switching season. The PBM Campaign Platform turns each of these moments into a personal journey – by email, letter, landing page or SMS.
Occupational disability · premium payable rises on 1 January
‘Will he cancel – or will he understand?’
At a glance
What does the PBM Campaign Platform do for insurers?
The PBM Campaign Platform automates communication with policyholders along contract events. An event from your policy administration or claims system immediately starts the appropriate journey via an interface. The sender is the responsible agency or customer service. Before every send, the platform checks consent, contact frequency and content. Every insurer receives its own isolated installation.
- 7 channels email, letter, insert, SMS, landing page, portal, app
- Instant start via an event from your core system
- Four-eyes principle for content and campaign launch
- 1 installation per customer (single-tenant)
From practice
What questions do insurers face with their existing customers?
Sales & marketing
‘How do we explain a premium adjustment before the cancellation arrives?’
Explain rather than just notify.
The mandatory notification is followed by a personal explanation – with the customer’s own figures.
Sales & marketing
‘Our customers only hear from us about bills and claims. How do we change that?’
Use occasions.
Expiry, anniversary, life stage: always-on campaigns respond to every event in the portfolio.
Sales organisation & agency
‘How does the agency remain the sender without every agency building mail merges?’
Steer centrally, deliver locally.
Head office sets the framework, each agency speaks in its own brand.
Sales & data protection
‘How do we get in touch after a claim without it seeming like advertising?’
Service first.
The claims journey only informs – advertising is paused while the case is open.
Data protection & compliance
‘Who checks AI-generated copy before it goes to policyholders?’
The AI develops content. You decide.
Compliance check and four-eyes approval before every use.
IT security & outsourcing
‘Is this a manageable ICT third-party service under DORA?’
Your own installation.
No data pool shared with other companies, hosting in Germany, export at any time.
Five journeys for insurers
Which journeys do insurers automate first?
Five moments often decide whether a customer stays or leaves – the first comes right after signing. Each journey is an example – you configure steps, deadlines and channels yourself.
Profile 1 · Onboarding after the contract is signed
EmailLetterLanding pageHow does an insurer support new customers after signing?
With an onboarding journey that starts when the policy is issued: a welcome from the agency, a personal start page with contract, app and customer portal – and help only where the customer has not yet arrived.
- Trigger / occasion
Event ‘policy issued’ from the policy administration system → handover via interface → the journey starts the same day (always-on campaign).
- Target group / segment
New customers whose contract started in the last 7 days; variants per line of business and for customers who already hold another contract.
- Channels & steps
- Day 0: welcome from the agency by email, if consent has been given. Fallback: letter with a personal access code.
- Personal onboarding page: contract overview, agency with photo, short explainer video, links to the app and customer portal. This is also where the customer chooses the channels through which they want to receive information in future.
- Wait for event ‘customer portal registered’: 14 days; otherwise one reminder with step-by-step help. Letter customers do not receive a second letter.
- Quiet period: 14 days without contact; the contact frequency rules apply across all campaigns.
- Day 45 · start check on the landing page: “Has everything arrived?” – answer “no” → task for the agency, no further advertising in this journey.
- Exit: converted (portal registered) or completed; a withdrawal stops everything immediately.
- Personalisation levers
Line of business, tariff and modules, agency as sender, channel per consent, help only with what is still missing.
- Compliance specifics
Contract information and advertising stay separate: references to further products only with consent for the channel. The platform documents any consent given on the onboarding page. Whether an onboarding message counts as advertising is something to clarify with your data protection team.
- Goal
Micro: onboarding page visited, consent given, app downloaded · Macro (primary): customer portal registered.
- What to measure
Registration rate per agency and channel, consents per channel, answers in the start check, exit reasons.
Profile 2 · Life insurance maturity
EmailLetterLanding pageHow does a life insurer keep the maturity benefit in-house?
With a periodic journey that starts six months before maturity and presents the options – payout, annuitisation, reinvestment, consultation – clearly and personally.
- Trigger / occasion
Contract maturity in ≤ 6 months; monthly handover from the policy administration system. New maturities start automatically.
- Target group / segment
Endowment and unit-linked life and pension insurance policies maturing in ≤ 6 months; variant per contract type.
- Channels & steps
- Month −6: announcement from the agency by email, if consent has been given. Fallback: letter with a personal access code.
- Wait for event ‘landing page login’: 10 days after email, 14 days after letter.
- Personal landing page: expected maturity benefit according to the policy administration system, options compared, appointment with the agency. Access via a lock page with two factors.
- Without login: at most two reminders or a second letter.
- Condition ‘annuity or reinvestment option viewed’ → task for the agency.
- Month −2: the formal maturity notice with payout documents still comes from the policy administration system – the journey has provided orientation beforehand.
- Exit: converted (follow-on contract) or left segment (paid out).
- Personalisation levers
Maturity benefit and date, contract type, tax flag from the policy data as a rule for the matching text block, agency with photo.
- Compliance specifics
Projected values only with an approved mandatory notice (global content block). The compliance check blocks promises of returns. Advice and documentation on the follow-on product remain part of the consultation.
- Goal
Micro: login, option viewed, appointment · Macro (primary): follow-on contract with Muster Leben AG.
- What to measure
Share of reinvested maturity benefits per agency and channel, exit reasons.
-
Entry
Segment: maturity ≤ 6 months
-
Gate
Consent per channel
-
Channel branch
Email
Announcement
Letter
Announcement
-
Wait for event
LP login (10 / 14 days)
-
Landing page
Your options at maturity
-
Task
Notify Agentur Kaya
-
Goal · Macro, primary
Follow-up contract
Profile 3 · Explaining a premium adjustment clearly
EmailLetterLanding pageHow does an insurer explain a premium adjustment so that customers stay?
By following the mandatory notification with a personal explanation: what changes, why, what stays the same – and who can help with questions.
- Trigger / occasion
Event ‘premium payable adjustment’ from the policy administration system, as soon as the mandatory notification has been generated. Example occupational disability: the profit participation falls, the premium payable rises – at most up to the agreed gross premium. The insured disability pension stays the same.
- Target group / segment
All policyholders with an adjustment; variants by size of change and contract term.
- Channels & steps
- Day 3 after the mandatory notification: email or letter from the agency: ‘Why your premium is changing – explained in two minutes.’
- Personal landing page: old and new premium payable, gross premium, unchanged benefit, short explainer video, contact with the agency.
- Wait for event ‘landing page visited’: 10 days; without a visit, one reminder by email. Letter customers do not receive a second letter.
- Condition ‘question to agency’ or visit to the ‘change contract’ page → task for Agentur Kaya with context.
- Exit: completed; converted if the contract continues unchanged after taking effect.
- Personalisation levers
Amounts, contract term, reason for the adjustment as an approved text block, agency, factual tone.
- Compliance specifics
The mandatory notification remains unchanged and comes first. The journey supplements it; it replaces nothing and obscures no rights. The tone check blocks appeasement and artificial urgency. If the explanation contains offers, it is advertising – and then the consent check per channel applies.
- Goal
Micro: explanation read, question asked · Macro (primary): contract continues after taking effect.
- What to measure
Cancellation rate after adjustment compared with a group without the explainer journey (A/B split), questions per agency.
- Day 0 Mandatory notification · unchanged (completed)
- Day 3 Personal explanation (current)
AI suggestion · not yet accepted
Don’t worry – your premium only goes up a little, and everything else stays as it is.
Compliance & tone check
- Mandatory notice present
- No benefit promises
Tone ‘too appeasing’
Suggestion: “Don’t worry – … only a little” → “Your premium goes up because the profit participation goes down. Your insured benefit stays the same.”
Created by: J. Neumann · Approval by: Life department (four-eyes)
Example Thomas Brandt reads the explanation for two minutes and asks a question. Agentur Kaya calls him back – he has consented to this.
Profile 4 · Claims service as an always-on campaign
EmailSMSLetterHow does an insurer automatically support customers after a claim is reported?
With an event-driven always-on campaign: the claim report immediately starts a service journey via an interface, which informs, sends reminders about documents and hands over to people in the case of complaints.
- Trigger / occasion
Claim report in the claims system (e.g. comprehensive motor, household contents, buildings) → handover via interface → journey starts immediately.
- Target group / segment
Private customers with property damage. Personal injury claims are deliberately not automated.
- Channels & steps
- Minute 0: acknowledgement of receipt by email, alternatively SMS to the number provided for the claim: contact person, next steps, link to the document upload.
- Wait for event ‘documents complete’: 5 days; otherwise a reminder with a checklist, by letter if there is no email address.
- Wait for event ‘settlement decided’: status message as soon as the claims system reports it.
- Global event ‘complaint’: immediate exit, task for the claims team and agency.
- 14 days after settlement: satisfaction survey – only with advertising consent for the channel.
- Exit: completed.
- Personalisation levers
Type of claim, responsible claims handler or agency, required documents, channel.
- Compliance specifics
Service is not advertising – so there is no cross-selling in the claims journey. The claims journey has the highest priority; advertising campaigns are paused while it is running. The BGH has classified a satisfaction survey by email as advertising (judgment of 10 July 2018, VI ZR 225/17).
- Goal
Micro: documents uploaded, status read · Macro (primary): claim settled without complaint.
- What to measure
Time until documents are complete, queries per type of claim, complaint rate.
Profile 5 · Churn prevention in the motor switching season
EmailLetterLanding pageHow does an insurer reduce cancellations in the motor switching season?
By explaining premium changes before the customer compares, and offering options for adjusting the premium – up to the cancellation deadline and without constant bombardment.
- Trigger / occasion
Annually, with the premium invoice for the new insurance year. For contracts running on the calendar year, ordinary notice of cancellation must be received by 30 November.
- Target group / segment
Motor customers with a premium change due to vehicle type class, regional class or no-claims class; separate variants for single-contract and multi-contract customers.
- Channels & steps
- Mid-October: email or letter: ‘What is changing in your premium – and why.’ With the personal class changes.
- Wait for event ‘landing page visited’: 7 days. Landing page with premium overview and options: excess, approved repairer, named drivers, annual mileage.
- Condition ‘option selected’ → task for the agency: calculate a quote.
- By 20 November: one reminder by email. Newsletters and other campaigns are paused.
- Global event ‘cancellation received’: exit; task for the agency. Contact only within the scope of existing consents.
- Exit on 30 November: completed.
- Personalisation levers
Vehicle, class change, premium difference, suitable options, agency.
- Compliance specifics
If the insurer increases the premium on the basis of an adjustment clause, the notification must point out the right to cancel (Section 40 VVG). The journey supplements this notification and does not hide the right. Contact limits apply across all channels.
- Goal
Micro: landing page visited, option calculated · Macro (primary): contract continues beyond the deadline.
- What to measure
Switching season cancellation rate per agency and region compared with the previous year, share of adjusted contracts.
Campaign prioritisation
- 1 Claims servicehigh
- 2 Motor switching season
- 3 Autumn newsletter
Rule4 in 30 days (all channels) · minimum interval 3 days
Sample customer · example
October / November
- Motor switching seasonPremium explanation
- Motor switching seasonReminder by 20 Nov
- Newsletterpostponed to 1 December
Every stage from quote to win-back, using health insurance as the example: Personalisation across the customer lifecycle
Thomas Brandt
Campaign participations
Premium adjustment OD 2027Step: landing page visited
ActiveActivities
- Mandatory notification delivered (time-based)
- Explanation read (2:05 min)
- ‘Question to agency’ sent
Actions
Agencies & sales network
How do agencies and intermediaries remain the face of the campaign?
In the PBM Campaign Platform, every agency is a brand in its own right. It carries its name, logo, legal notice and sender details. Head office sets the framework, each location speaks in its own brand.
Agency as sender: name, photo and contact details of the agency in email, letter and landing page.
Mandatory details locked: head office maintains the legal notice and intermediary information; the agency cannot overwrite them.
Strict visibility boundary: an agency sees only its own customers.
Intervention possible: the agency removes individual customers from a campaign – for example during an ongoing consultation.
Customer card: the agency sees what its customer has read and receives notifications when there is interest.
Differentiation
What do insurers need that conventional marketing automation does not offer?
Insurers communicate at a few, often sensitive moments. That requires events from the core system, the letter and clear boundaries between service and advertising.
| Requirement | PBM Campaign Platform mechanism |
|---|---|
| Events from policies and claims | Event via interface → the journey starts immediately. |
| Many customers can only be reached by post | The letter is a channel: one PDF per customer, handover via SFTP to the lettershop. |
| Separate service and advertising | Prioritisation: the claims journey wins, advertising waits. |
| Sensitive copy on premiums and benefits | Compliance and tone check blocks before approval; four-eyes principle. |
| Agency network with its own identity | Agencies as brands, mandatory details locked centrally, strict visibility boundary. |
| Evidence for supervisory and data protection authorities | Audit log: who approved, sent or viewed what and when. |
Mr
Thomas Brandt
Beispielallee 7
12345 Musterstadt
Muster Leben AG · Agentur Kaya
Your premium from 1 January – clearly explained
Dear Mr Brandt,
Your premium changes because the profit participation goes down. Your insured disability pension stays the same. We explain what this means for you in two minutes.
Your personal access code: 7K4-M2Q
Handover · Batch 4821
- Letters
- 2.604
- PDF generated per contact
- done
- SFTP destination
- Lettershop (example)
- Manifest is transferred last
- done
- Handover
- 06:00
Security & regulation · As of: September 2026
Which rules apply to campaign software for insurers?
Insurers communicate under special obligations. The PBM Campaign Platform implements mechanisms for this – the legal assessment remains with you.
DORA
Since 17 January 2025, Regulation (EU) 2022/2554 has applied to insurance undertakings. They maintain a register of information on ICT third-party service providers (Art. 28(3)) and govern contract content in accordance with Art. 30. Insurance intermediaries that are micro, small or medium-sized enterprises are exempt (Art. 2(3)).
What the platform contributes: its own isolated installation; hosting in Germany or in an environment of your choice; optionally your own object storage; complete export; SSO; audit log.
VVG
In distribution, the insurer acts ‘honestly, fairly and professionally’ in the best interests of policyholders (Section 1a VVG). For premium increases on the basis of an adjustment clause, the notification must point out the right to cancel (Section 40 VVG).
What the platform contributes: blocking compliance and tone check, mandatory texts as centrally locked blocks, approval for each language version.
UWG and GDPR
Advertising emails and SMS generally require prior express consent (Section 7(2) UWG); the existing customer exception under Section 7(3) UWG is narrow. Customers can object to direct marketing at any time (Art. 21 GDPR).
What the platform contributes: consent check per channel, letter fallback, immediate stop on withdrawal.
Intermediary information
Intermediaries provide information about their status at the first business contact (Section 15 VersVermV).
What the platform contributes: mandatory details per agency brand, maintained and locked centrally.
AI
The EU AI Act classifies AI for risk assessment and pricing in life and health insurance as high-risk (Annex III point 5(c)). The AI functions of the PBM Campaign Platform draft copy and analyse campaigns; risk assessment and pricing are not among them. No language model makes decisions in the sending path.
This overview does not replace legal advice. As of: September 2026.
- Human
- Service account
- AI agent
| Time | Actor | Type | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10:42 | Life department | Human | Content approved (four-eyes) · Premium adjustment/DE |
| 10:40 | ‘Compliance check’ | AI agent | Tone notice generated |
| 10:31 | ‘Claims system’ | Service account | 38 claim reports imported |
| 09:12 | System | Service account | Withdrawal processed · journey stopped |
Where to next?
Frequently asked questions from insurers
What does onboarding look like for new insurance customers?
An onboarding journey starts when the policy is issued. The customer receives a welcome from their agency by email or letter and access to a personal start page with contract, app and customer portal. If they do not register, a reminder with help follows. After a few weeks, a start check asks whether everything has arrived.
Can the PBM Campaign Platform process events from the policy administration or claims system?
Yes. Events such as a claim report, a contract maturity or a premium adjustment reach the platform via an interface. The appropriate journey starts immediately for exactly that customer. Periodic handovers, such as monthly maturities, are also possible.
Can agencies and intermediaries act as the sender?
Yes. Every agency is a brand in its own right, with its own name, logo, legal notice and sender details. Head office maintains the mandatory details and locks them against changes. An agency sees only its own customers and can remove individual customers from a campaign.
Does the platform replace the legally required notifications?
No. Mandatory notifications such as the announcement of a premium adjustment still come from your policy administration system or are sent as a separate, approved step. The journey supplements them with explanation, options and contact – it does not curtail or obscure any rights.
Is a satisfaction survey after a claim advertising?
According to BGH case law, a customer satisfaction survey by email can be advertising (judgment of 10 July 2018, VI ZR 225/17). The PBM Campaign Platform therefore only sends it if advertising consent has been given for the channel. As of: September 2026, not legal advice.
How does the platform prevent customers from being overwhelmed during the switching season?
Through contact frequency management. It limits contacts per customer and time period across all channels and campaigns. The more important campaign wins, others are paused. A withdrawal immediately stops all running journeys.
Does DORA also apply to insurance intermediaries?
Insurance intermediaries generally fall under DORA. Intermediaries that are micro, small or medium-sized enterprises are exempt (Art. 2(3) of Regulation (EU) 2022/2554). Insurance undertakings themselves are covered. As of: September 2026, not legal advice.