Answering Service for Insurance Agents
New callers are asked who they are before your phone rings. Every call to your cell comes to VettedCalls first. We answer in your business name, put real callers through to you, and ring you right away when a caller says a priority word. On Receptionist, a call you don't pick up goes to an AI receptionist with instructions written for insurance agents, unless it's a priority call or a saved contact, which go to voicemail.
Get started with VettedCallsClaim calls and quote calls
Caller ID can't tell a policyholder standing next to a crumpled bumper from someone pricing homeowners coverage on their lunch break. What they say when we answer can. Here's how each one moves through VettedCalls.
A claim call
- We answer in your agency's name and ask who's calling and how we can help.
- The caller says they were just in a car accident. "Car accident" is one of the default priority words for insurance agents, so the call is marked as a priority call.
- There's no question about text messages. It rings your phone at once and keeps ringing for up to 40 seconds, at any hour and on any plan.
- You pick up and hear "Priority call," who it is and what it's about, then a beep, then the caller.
- If you miss it, the caller gets your voicemail, even on the plans with an AI receptionist.
A quote request
- Same greeting. The caller wants to price a new auto policy. No keyword, so it's an ordinary call.
- Before your phone rings, they pick how they want to connect: press 1 for a connection plus texts about their inquiry, or press 2 for no texts.
- Your phone rings, and when you answer you hear their name and reason first.
- Miss it on Pro and, after up to 25 seconds of ringing, the caller gets your voicemail. The transcript lands in your inbox.
- On Receptionist, during business hours, the AI receptionist answers after 12 seconds. It never gives a rate. It takes the caller's details (what it asks is listed further down this page) and tells the caller your office will reach out to set a time.
Binder deadlines and your own priority words
The default priority words for insurance agents are about claims: accidents, fire, flood and water damage, theft, hail. A buyer who needs a binder before tomorrow's closing may not say any of them.
Some of those calls are covered anyway. "Today" is one of the six priority words on every account, so a caller who says they need proof of coverage today is flagged as a priority call. For the rest, add your own: you can put up to 20 priority words of your own in the dashboard, and words like "binder" or "closing" will then ring you the way a claim does.
Be choosy about what you add. A missed priority call skips the AI receptionist and goes to voicemail, so a priority word that turns up in routine quote calls sends those to your voicemail too.
Clients already on your books
Save your policyholders as contacts, one at a time in the dashboard, by import, or from your call log, and they ring you around the clock without hearing the greeting. A caller who passed screening once is remembered for 60 days, and each call from them starts the 60 days over, so a claimant who calls back twice a week about an open claim comes straight through.
Nights and weekends follow your plan. On Pro, a call you miss after hours goes to voicemail like any other. After your business hours on Receptionist, anyone who clears screening talks to the AI receptionist, and your saved policyholders keep ringing your phone (you can send any one of them to the AI after hours instead). Our after-hours answering page walks through a weeknight, a weekend and a holiday.
Priority Passthrough
Priority Passthrough lets customers who say one of your selected priority words ring straight through to you, regardless of the time of day. Every account starts with six priority words: urgent, emergency, help, asap, right now, today.
An account set up for insurance agents also has these trade priority words, on by default:
- just had an accident
- car accident
- house fire
- flood damage
- water damage
- tree on car
- medical claim
- theft
- stolen vehicle
- hail damage
You can add up to 20 of your own in the dashboard, and the trade defaults stay on. When a caller says one, the AI flags it as a priority call. It skips the text question and rings you right away, for up to 40 seconds, in or out of business hours, on every plan.
Miss a priority call and it goes to voicemail, on Receptionist as well as Pro. You get a text alert. The caller isn't texted, because a priority call skips the press 1 question.
Common calls for insurance agents
Each one tagged by how soon it needs you.
- Just had an accident: needs to file claim emergency
- House fire: claim filing emergency
- Tree on car / roof: storm damage soon
- Medical emergency / health insurance question soon
- Theft or stolen vehicle soon
- Buying a car today: needs binder soon
- Closing on house tomorrow: needs binder soon
- New auto quote soon
- New homeowners quote soon
- Adding driver / vehicle to policy routine
- Policy review / renewal question routine
- Certificate of insurance request routine
- Life insurance inquiry routine
The work it knows about
On Receptionist, the AI receptionist answers with instructions written for insurance agents. They cover this work:
Personal lines
- Auto
- Home / homeowners
- Renters
- Umbrella
- Flood
- Motorcycle / RV / boat
- Life
Commercial
- Small-business general liability
- Workers comp
- Commercial auto
- Business owner policies
- Certificate of insurance issuance
Service
- Claims initiation
- Policy changes
- Renewals
- Coverage review
What it asks callers
The AI receptionist gets the caller's name and reason, confirms the callback number by its last four digits, and asks what days work. Its instructions for insurance agents list more to gather:
- Existing customer or new prospect
- Reason for call
- For claims: type of loss, when, where, any injuries, police report yes/no
- For auto quote: drivers, vehicles, current carrier and rate
- For home quote: property address, year built, square footage, current carrier
- For binders: exact deadline date
- Policy number if existing customer
What the AI receptionist won't do
- It doesn't book appointments. It asks what days work, and you confirm the time when you call back.
- It doesn't ask callers for their email.
- If a caller asks whether it's an AI, it neither confirms nor denies.
- It confirms the callback number by its last four digits.
The AI receptionist comes with the Receptionist plan. Pro has no AI receptionist, so a call you miss on Pro goes to voicemail. Receptionist is coming soon, and Pro is available now.
Questions about VettedCalls for Insurance Agents
Will someone who was just in a wreck reach me at 11 p.m.?
Yes, as long as they say what happened. "Just had an accident" and "car accident" are default priority words for insurance agents, and a priority call rings you for up to 40 seconds at any hour, on any plan. A policyholder you've saved as a contact rings you at any hour whatever they say. If you don't pick up, they reach your voicemail.
Can I keep recordings of calls for my files?
Yes, on Receptionist. Recording is on by default there. It covers both sides of a call you answer, and it starts only after the caller has heard "This call may be recorded." You get a transcript and a short summary of each one, kept in your call log for 90 days. Switch it off in dashboard settings if you'd rather not record. Pro has no call recording.
How do I know how many priority calls came in overnight?
On Receptionist, a text arrives at 7am your time that counts yesterday's priority calls, alongside total calls, spam blocked, calls connected, AI-answered calls and voicemails. On Pro, the summary comes weekly, by text on Mondays. A stretch with no calls gets no summary.
Can I block one number without reporting it to every customer?
Yes. Marking a number as spam blocks it for your account only, until you unmark it. It also comes off your saved contacts and your verified list, and the shared spam registry isn't touched.
If a shopper says they need a quote asap, will that ring me as a priority call?
Yes. "Asap" is one of the six priority words on every account, along with urgent, emergency, help, right now and today. A caller who uses one rings you right away like a claim would.
Related trades
The AI receptionist has instructions written for 58 trades and professions, plus a general set for everyone else. Here are a few of them.