Marketing a product nobody wants to think about: overcoming low engagement

Reframe: from "product" to "peace of mind"

The winning insurers stop marketing the policy and start marketing the feeling of being handled. The product is not the coverage document. It is confidence.

Concrete example: instead of "Comprehensive auto coverage from $X per month," a message like "If you break down at 2am, one tap and we are on the way" sells the moment of relief, not the contract.

This reframe matters because fear-based messaging often backfires. Behavioural research on threat appeals shows that when you scare people without giving them an easy, immediate action, they cope by avoiding the message entirely. A useful primer is the Extended Parallel Process Model, which explains why "threat plus low efficacy" leads to denial rather than action.

Rule of thumb: every time you raise a risk, pair it with a simple, doable step. Never leave the customer holding the fear alone.

Engineering touchpoints across the year

The goal is to spread engagement across the calendar so your brand is already familiar (and trusted) before renewal arrives. Think of this as designing a touchpoint calendar, a planned sequence of low-friction, useful contacts.

1. Value that is not a bill

Send things customers actually want to open.

• A home insurer sends a "before the storm" checklist when severe weather is forecast in the customer's region.
• A health insurer nudges a free flu jab reminder and where to get one nearby.
• A pet insurer shares seasonal advice (foods that are toxic at holiday time).

None of these mention price. Each builds the "you are handled" feeling.

2. Milestone touchpoints

Tie contact to the customer's life, not your billing cycle.

• One year with no claim: "You drove safely all year. Here is a small perk." This reframes the "I paid for nothing" feeling into recognition.
• A new baby added to a life policy: a genuine congratulations, not an upsell.

3. The claim as the marketing moment

Most insurers treat claims as a cost centre. In marketing terms, a claim is the one time the customer finally sees the product work. A smooth, fast, human claim experience is the single most powerful piece of marketing you own, because it converts a stranger into an advocate at their most emotional moment.

The reverse is also true: a painful claim creates a lifelong detractor who tells everyone.

Salience without anxiety: the messaging rules

You want to be remembered without being feared. Some practical guardrails.

Lead with control, not catastrophe. "Here is how to stay covered on your trip" beats "Accidents abroad can cost thousands."

Use specificity to reduce vagueness. Vague risk is scarier than concrete risk. "Water damage is our most common home claim, and here are three ways to prevent it" is reassuring because it is actionable.

Normalise the product. Show ordinary people, ordinary moments. Insurance marketing that feels light and human (many well-known campaigns use mascots or gentle humour) works precisely because it lowers the dread of the category.

Match the channel to the emotion. Price and admin can go by email or app. Anything touching loss, health, or death deserves a warmer channel and a human option.

🎬 [VIDEO: "The Science of Fear Appeals in Advertising" — youtube.com — a clear explainer on why scaring your audience often reduces action, with marketing examples]

Build the habit loop

Salience grows through repetition, but only if each contact is welcome. The pattern to aim for is a simple loop:

1. Trigger: a relevant, real-world moment (a storm forecast, a renewal, a life event).

2. Action: one easy step the customer can take (tap to check cover, download a checklist).

3. Reward: a small feeling of being safer or smarter.

Every completed loop makes the next contact more likely to be opened. Over a year, you move from "the company I pay once" to "the company that looks out for me."

Beware the anti-pattern: contact that is all trigger and no reward (constant upsell emails) trains customers to ignore you, which is worse than silence.

Measuring engagement that actually matters

Opens and clicks are easy to count and easy to fool yourself with. In a low-engagement category, tie marketing to outcomes that predict retention and lifetime valuelifetime valueLifetime Value: the total revenue (or profit) a customer generates throughout their entire relationship with your business.Voir la définition complète →.

Metrics worth tracking:

• Renewal rate, split by whether a customer engaged with off-cycle touchpoints. If engaged customers renew at higher rates, your calendar is working.
• Net Promoter Score (NPS), a common one-question survey ("How likely are you to recommend us?"), measured specifically after a claim. Post-claim NPSNPSNet Promoter Score (NPS) measures customer loyalty by asking how likely customers are to recommend a brand, then subtracting detractors from promoters.Voir la définition complète → is your truest marketing signal.
• Unprompted brand recall, tested occasionally: can customers name you without seeing your logo? This is salience made measurable.
• Complaint and churn timing. If churn clusters at renewal, you have a renewal-cliff problem, not a price problem.

A caution on data: insurance touchpoints often involve sensitive information (health, home, family). Whatever engagement you build must respect privacy rules in your market and honour consent. Trust is the entire product. One creepy, over-personalised message can undo a year of goodwill.

A simple planning frame

When designing any insurance campaign, run it through four questions:

1. Does it raise a fear? If yes, does it also give an easy action? (No orphan fear.)

2. Is it useful even to someone who never claims? If not, it will feel like a bill.

3. Does it tie to the customer's calendar or ours? Prefer theirs.

4. Would a real person be glad to receive this? If you hesitate, cut it.

This keeps you on the right side of the line between "present and trusted" and "annoying and avoided."

Key Takeaways

• Insurance engagement is structurally low because it is a grudge purchase, invisible day to day, and "works" by doing nothing. Plan around that reality instead of fighting it at renewal.
• Sell peace of mind and control, not the policy document. Pair every risk you raise with an easy, immediate action so fear does not turn into avoidance.
• Spread welcome, useful touchpoints across the year (seasonal tips, milestones, safety nudges) so your brand is familiar and trusted before the renewal decision.
• Treat the claim as your most important marketing moment: a smooth, human claim creates advocates, while a painful one creates lifelong detractors.
• Measure what predicts retention (renewal rate by engagement, post-claim NPSNPSNet Promoter Score (NPS) measures customer loyalty by asking how likely customers are to recommend a brand, then subtracting detractors from promoters.Voir la définition complète →, unprompted recall), and never let personalisation cross into creepy. Trust is the product.