Insurance agent website: what customers check before they call

A site for an insurance agency is a front door, not a counter. People come to call, to ask for a quote, or (if they're already a customer) to file a claim or pay a bill. Coverage, payments and claims happen with the company or in your agency system, so the site's job is small: get the call, and get customers to the right page fast. It also has to avoid collecting what it shouldn't, and almost everything on it counts as advertising.

In October 2026 we opened 20 independent agency websites in 12 towns across 11 states. Twelve showed a tappable phone number on the first phone screen. None showed a premium. Eight put "File a claim" or "Pay your bill" in the header or footer. None showed a license number, none had any Spanish, and only two said a form doesn't bind coverage.

This isn't legal advice. Insurance advertising, licensing and data-security rules are set by each state, and Medicare plans have federal marketing rules of their own. We read parts of California's, New York's and Texas's rules (some through summaries) and the federal Medicare rule; we did not read your state's. Check it with your department of insurance or your compliance contact, and with your company if you write for just one.

Put your phone number and a quote button at the top

1. Click Business info in the left menu and fill in Phone. Visitors can tap it, and it shows in your header and footer. See Business info and hours.
2. Click Menu. Under Header button, turn on Call bar on phones, type Button text like "Get a quote", and under Goes to choose your contact page or Another website… with your quote tool's link.

Five of the 20 had no phone number on the first screen, and three typed it as plain text.

Say whether you're independent, and name your companies

"Independent" and "we shop several companies" were on most sites. Fewer named the companies (11 of 20).

1. In a Highlights section on your home page, say it plainly, like "Independent: we shop 12 companies".
2. On your About page add a Text section that names every company you place business with, and which lines each is for. If you write for one company (a "captive" agent), say that instead.
3. Add a Badges & logos section only with the company's permission. Companies set rules on logos and wording. A captive agent usually must follow the company's own website rules, so ask before you build.

Give your hours, and say what to do after hours

Twelve of 20 gave hours, all weekday daytime. Under Business info, set Regular hours, Saturday and Sunday too, and add an Open today section near the top of your home page. For after hours, say: "For a claim at night or on a weekend, call company at number." Claims don't wait for Monday.

Make claims and bills one tap away

Existing customers are a big share of visits. Make a page called "Claims & service".

1. Click Pages, then New page, and pick Basic page.
2. Add a Services section, set Layout to Simple list, and name it "File a claim". Add one service per company: Name is the company, Description its claim number, and Link its claim page.
3. Add a second Services section called "Pay your bill" the same way, with each company's own payment page. If you have more than nine companies, use more sections.
4. Link the page from your menu and your footer (Menu, then Footer links, then Add footer link), and link your agency system's customer portal if you have one.

Never take a premium through this site. A premium you collect belongs to the company, and several states treat it as fiduciary money that can't be mixed with your own. Payment requests, booking deposits, the online store and gift cards all pay into your own Stripe account, so don't use them for premiums. Link the company's page.

Keep your quote form small

A form on your site emails every message in ordinary mail and keeps it in your Inbox. That is a poor place for a Social Security number, a driver's license number, a date of birth or a card number. One site's quote form asked for a driver's name and date of birth. Ask for those on the phone, or in your company's or quote tool's own secure form.

1. On your contact page, find the Form section. Under Start from, open Choose a ready-made form… and pick Contact.
2. Turn on Ask for phone number and Ask what they need help with. Under Topic choices, add auto, home, renters, life, business, Medicare.
3. Change Label for the message box to something about timing, like "What day and time is good for a call?" Turn off Let people attach photos.
4. Use Thank-you message to say when you'll call.
5. If you'll text people, turn on Consent checkbox and choose Text messages (Add a consent checkbox). Consent isn't a condition of buying.

If you use EZLynx, a company's quote page or another rater, link it or embed it (Add embed code).

Say that a form doesn't bind coverage

Visitors may think sending a form insures them. Only two of the 20 said otherwise. Under the form's Intro, add something like: "Sending this form doesn't buy or change coverage. Nothing is in effect until a licensed agent confirms it. Please don't send a Social Security number or payment details here." Trade-association sample disclaimers say this; adapt it with your counsel or compliance contact.

Show your license numbers and the states you're licensed in

Zero of the 20 showed a number. California requires the license number on quotes and print and some email, Texas accepts your licensed name, and New York calls a website's license information "prudent". Your state may differ.

1. In Business info, under License number, write something like "Agency license 12345 (Ohio). Producers: see About." It shows in your footer.
2. Put each agent's number and states in their Credentials on the Team list (Your team).
3. Use your licensed name where your state asks for it.

Be careful with prices, savings and "best"

Nobody showed a premium, and that is fine. What gets agents in trouble is a price or a saving you can't back.

• Skip "as low as $X", "save up to $Y", "lowest rates", "cheapest" and "guaranteed" unless true for the coverage and people described, and say who qualifies.
• Compare fairly. Don't run down another company.
• A customer's "saved me $600 a month" is a testimonial. Texas asks that a testimonial be genuine, current and accurately quoted; add "savings vary".
• Say what a quote is: not a policy, and not final until underwritten.

If you sell Medicare plans

Federal rules apply to Medicare Advantage and drug plans, and to agents who sell them. Only one of five sites that mentioned Medicare showed the disclaimer.

1. If you sell for more than one company, put this on your Medicare pages and in the footer: "We do not offer every plan available in your area. Currently we represent number organizations which offer number products in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE to get information on all of your options." Use the wording in the current rule.
2. Don't suggest the government sent your message, don't use the Medicare card image, and don't call a plan with a premium "free."
3. Don't call people who only filled a form unless they asked to be called. Cold calls and texts about these plans are barred.
4. Medicare Supplement (Medigap) is regulated by your state, with its own advertising rules.

Business owners: certificates and coverage

Contractors, landlords and shops search for "certificate of insurance". Two of 20 mentioned it. Add a How it works section on your business page: "Ask for a certificate: tell us who it's for and the holder's wording. Usually same day." Name the business types you insure in a Services section.

Show your reviews

Thirteen of 20 showed some, one with a count. Add your Google reviews word for word to your Reviews list (Reviews), add a Reviews section to your home page, and your rating and count in Highlights.

• Never trade a favor for a good review. The FTC's rule on reviews bars paying for positive ones.
• Don't answer a review with the customer's policy or claim. "Please call us" is safe.

Introduce your agents

Click Lists, then Edit team, then Add person: Name, Role, Photo, Short bio and Credentials. Add a Team section to your About page. Say how long you've been there and, if true, that you're family-owned.

What we can't do for an agent

• Take premiums. See above.
• Applications, signatures and Medicare forms. Don't use Signed forms for them; keep them in your agency system or the company's tools.
• Chat. Don't turn on the Ask us chat. Visitors would type their situation into it.
• Review requests or newsletters to your policyholder list. A customer list is private, and marketing needs each person's agreement. Use the Leave-a-review link at the desk (Reviews).
• A portal, quotes or claims. We can't make them. Link yours.

Before pasting in a marketing company's code, ask whether it records screens or sends data to ad networks from your quote page. We add none. Four of the 20 sites ran an ad pixel or a session recorder.

Spanish

None had any. You can turn on Spanish (Show your site in Spanish). It's translated automatically, so have a fluent reader check your coverage and Medicare pages.

Make your site work for everyone

Use real fixes, not an overlay widget: the FTC fined an overlay maker $1 million for saying its product made sites compliant. Describe your photos and add an Accessibility statement page from Pages, New page. Also add a privacy page from the Privacy policy template and link both in your footer.

Photos that help people trust you

Real photos of your office and your agents beat stock ones. Keep customers' papers and screens out of the shot. Until you have your own, see Free photos.

Answer the questions customers ask

Add an FAQ section: independent or not, how to get a quote, what it costs to use an agent, how to pay and file a claim, certificates, Medicare, Spanish. See Use suggested questions.

Tips

• Keep your domain renewed: one agency address we found now shows a larger group's page. See Connect your domain.
• Check your footer's year and your hours. Two sites had footers from 2020 and 2021.