Written by Zara Chechi Reviewed by James Macey Updated on 20 March 2023 On this page Zoho CRM Freshsales Hubspot Less Annoying CRM Sugar Sell Next Steps How We Test CRM Systems FAQs Expand Our site is reader-supported – by clicking our links, we can match you with a potential supplier, and we may earn a small commission for this referral. Our top CRM systems for insurance agents are Zoho, Freshsales, Hubspot, Less Annoying CRM, and Sugar Sell. CRM systems help organize your business, streamline sales processes, and increase productivity. Choosing the right software for your insurance agency can help increase profitability, sales, and efficiency. We’ve done the research, and our 10+ years of experience in the CRM industry has also helped us find the best of the bunch. Explore our finds below – or if you’re short on time, use our free quote tool to be matched with relevant CRM providers for insurance agents. Just give us some brief details, and you’ll be contacted by trusted suppliers with no-obligation quotes. Provider Best Price (per month)Free Trial Zoho CRM Cloud-Based CRM $0 – $81 30 days Freshsales For Customer Engagement $0 – US$59 21 days Hubspot Free Version $0 – $450 Free version Less Annoying CRM For Small Agencies $15 30 daysSugar Sell For Medium-Sized AgenciesFrom $80 7 days Zoho CRM – Best Cloud-Based CRM Zoho is a user-friendly, cloud-based, customizable system. Zoho gives you the ability to seamlessly integrate with third-party apps such as Gmail, Zoom, and Slack. However, on Zoho’s free plan, you’ll be limited to Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Tasks. Zoho’s mobile app is super handy for when you’re on the go, because you can keep the system updated and refer to it as needed. You can automate mundane tasks to free up your own time, and set up automations to help your customers renew their plans on time, too. You can manage multiple policies on one screen with Zoho, making it well suited for life insurance agents. When a claim is raised, you can set up assignment rules so that it’s sent to the right person quickly, ensuring it gets dealt with efficiently. You can set SLAs and checklists, setting a standard for your customers and ensuring processes are followed correctly. Zoho is free for up to three users, so it’s a great choice for startups or small businesses. It also provides a flexible, monthly subscription, but it’s cheaper when you pay annually. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Read our Zoho review... Pros Clean, intuitive, easy-to-use interface Free for up to three users Flexible, monthly subscription Cons Poor customer service Expensive costs per user on higher tiers Occasional lags and bugs Pricing: Per month Free – $0Standard – $19 (annually) or $25 (monthly)Professional – $31 (annually) or $44 (monthly)Enterprise – $50 (annually) or $63 (monthly) Ultimate – $65 (annually) or $81 (monthly) Freshsales – Best for Customer Engagement Freshsales is freshtastic at tracking customer engagements. It only takes minutes to set up, and then you can automate time-consuming tasks, set and monitor goals, and streamline sales processes. Freshsales provides you with tons of opportunities to have more meaningful conversations with your customers. Whether through customizable web forms or AI-powered chatbots, you can be sure that your customers feel engaged with your agency. You can automate tasks, freeing up your agents to focus on sales, and set up custom rules so leads are automatically assigned based on factors such as language, expertise or region. You can also integrate Freshsales with third-party apps, but it has less integrations than competitors like Salesforce. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Read our expert review here... Pros Free version AI-powered chatbots Workflow automation Cons No mobile app Less third-party integrations than competitors Customer support can be slow Pricing:Per user, per month Free – $0Growth – US$9Pro – US$39 Enterprise – US$59 Hubspot – Best Free Version Hubspot has an intuitive, easy-to-use, customizable interface. There’s no steep learning curve, so it’s a great option for those who aren’t tech-savvy. This software also provides email tracking so your agents can make the right action at the right time. You can even automate sales processes, personalize emails and set up follow-up tasks to ensure you stay on top of things. You can automate admin tasks and update your Hubspot mobile app in real-time, even if you’re out on the road. Hubspot is scalable, so it grows as your business grows. Plus, it has recently expanded into Ontario, where it’s looking to establish itself amongst the fast-expanding Canadian tech industry. Hubspot offers a free plan for up to five users, which includes sales, marketing, and operations tools. There’s limited support on the free plan but if you’re used to CRM systems then this might not be an issue. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Pros Customizable Email templates and tracking Cons Limited support on free plan Mobile app lacks some functionality Pricing:Per month Free – $0Starter – $45Professional – $450 Enterprise – $1,200 Less Annoying CRM – Best for Small Insurance Agencies Built for small businesses, Less Annoying CRM is simple and provides the most essential features. You can set up customized alerts for certain actions, such as policy renewals or birthdays. The system is easy to set up, and you have access to free customer support. The 30-day free trial means you can test out if this system is right for your business. You don’t need to provide any credit card details, so there’s no risk of accidentally getting sucked into a contract. It’s easy to customize the system, and you can contact the provider for assistance if you’re stuck. You can integrate Less Annoying CRM with Gmail and Google Calendar, organizing everything into one place. Its simple search feature means you can access any piece of information quickly, and from one straightforward screen you can see everything related to a customer or contact. Less Annoying CRM is affordable and provides the necessities for an efficient insurance agency CRM system. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Pros Simple Built for small businesses 30-day free trial Cons No mobile app Pricing:$15 per user, per month Sugar Sell – Best for Medium-Sized Insurance Agencies Sugar Sell is cloud-based, customizable, and flexible. You can automate processes to shorten sales cycles, track performance, and simplify reporting. AI technology means you can make more accurate predictions about your customers and use this information to provide a better experience for them. Integration with existing apps means you can work from one consolidated platform, while omnichannel communications give you the ability to provide seamless customer service. But there’s a steep learning curve, so for those who want a simple system or are not tech-savvy, there may be some teething issues.Sugar Sell offers built-in support for renewals, so you can stay ahead of the game with renewable pipeline status and individual renewal opportunities. You can also work from anywhere, and across multiple devices, with SugarCRM Mobile. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Read our detailed SugarCRM review Pros Work from anywhere Workflow automation Omnichannel customer communications Cons Inflexibility due to annual billing Costly Pricing:From $80 per user, per month Next Steps We’ve found the best CRM software for insurance agents and made it easier for you to figure out which system is right for your business. You can use our free comparison tool to be matched with CRM providers for insurance agents. With a few brief details about your business, we’ll connect you with trusted suppliers who’ll contact you with no-obligation quotes. This way you can compare providers and pricing. How We Test CRM Systems for BusinessesWe tested 13 market-leading CRM systems to evaluate them in terms of functionality, usability, cost, scalability, and more so we can make the most useful recommendations to Canadian businesses.Our rigorous testing process means these products have been scored and rated in six main categories of investigation and 13 subcategories – in fact, we covered 84 areas of investigation in total. We then gave each category score a ‘relevance weighting' to ensure the product's final score perfectly reflects the needs and requirements of Expert Market readers – and that's our product testing algorithm in a nutshell!Our main testing categories for CRM systems are:Features: the functionalities and capabilities provided by the CRM software, such as contact management, lead and opportunity tracking, and task and activity management.Help and Support: the resources and assistance available to users when they encounter issues or require guidance while using the CRM software.Customization: the ability to tailor the CRM software to suit the specific needs and processes of the organization, e.g. customizing fields, layouts, and workflows.Scalability: the ability of the CRM software to accommodate the growth and changing needs of the organization, such as the capacity to handle a growing customer database.Price: the cost associated with using the CRM software. It includes factors such as licensing fees, subscription plans, and additional charges for add-on modules or features.Team Structure – Sales CRM: determining if a platform makes it easier to manage large sales teams, including team dashboards, team hierarchies, and team inboxes.Usability – Small Business CRM: assessing the simplicity of the interface, the ease of navigating through menus and options, and the overall user experience. FAQsWhat is a CRM in insurance?A CRM exists to manage your businesses relationships with customers, and the software has now evolved to a sophisticated point where it can automate tasks, provide insightful analytics, organize customer data, and much more. For insurance businesses, you can utilize customization to provide customers with a highly personalized experience, creating more engaging and meaningful interactions with them. A CRM system helps you target the right opportunities with tools that help you identify the hottest leads. The same system also helps you to target existing customers in a streamlined way. What is the simplest CRM? The simplest CRM from our five picks is Less Annoying CRM, but if you want a more comprehensive yet still pretty simple platform, we recommend Zoho CRM. Written by: Zara Chechi Business Services Expert Zara is a Payments Expert, specialising in writing about Point of Sale systems. With a Law Degree from City University of London, she has used her legally-honed research and analytical skills to develop expertise in the Business Services world. Featured in FinTech Magazine, she quickly became an expert in payroll, POS systems, and merchant accounts. Reviewed by: James Macey Senior Business Software Researcher James draws on his 4+ years experience as a researcher to offer specialized advice on a wide range of categories from CRM to Fleet Management. He believes all businesses can grow if they use the right tools and services.