Thinking about an insurance customer support VA? The insurance industry is at a crossroads. As customer demands increase and technology rapidly evolves, agency owners are scrambling to keep their teams focused on high-value, licensed work. The solution isn’t hiring more licensed staff; it’s strategically offloading non-licensed tasks to a dedicated insurance customer support VA. In 2026, this move is no longer optional—it’s essential for survival, growth, and client retention.
In a recent interview, Kelly Donahue-Piro, from Agency Performance Partners, outlined the critical need for this shift, sharing the exact challenges agencies are facing and the strategic path forward.Closing the licensed vs. unlicensed work gap.
One of the most persistent inefficiencies plaguing agencies today is the misallocation of talent. Licensed producers and account managers, who are highly trained and compensated, are routinely bogged down by administrative, unlicensed duties. This creates two major problems: wasted payroll and a frustrated, underutilized team.
According to Kelly, the challenges facing agencies are urgent and complex:
- Talent Scarcity:
- The traditional hiring pool is drying up due to “a lack of qualified talent coming into the industry.” Virtual assistants have become a necessity, offering a pipeline to “effective talent quickly.”
- Misallocation of Staff:
- There is a significant operational split where “we have too many licensed people doing unlicensed work.” This means highly paid staff are focused on routine administrative tasks that do not require a license.
- Inefficient Workflows:
- Efficiency can be drastically improved by assigning specific, focused workflows to a VA. Tasks like quoting can be completed “faster and more efficiently” when handled “start to finish without phone calls coming in.”
By creating this clear boundary, agencies ensure their highly skilled internal teams can focus on complex client needs, sales, and retention strategies.
Boosting Profitability with an Insurance Customer Support VA
Bringing on a virtual assistant is not merely a cost-cutting measure. It is a fundamental shift in how your team’s time is leveraged to generate revenue. By implementing an insurance customer support VA, agencies unlock latent profitability within their existing staff.
The strategic goal is to free up your licensed team to focus on profit-driving activities. When a VA absorbs the administrative burden, your team is simultaneously empowered to:
-
Cross-sell:
- Agents can proactively identify and pursue opportunities to cross-sell existing clients, increasing policy count per household.
-
Follow up on New Business:
- Consistent and timely follow-up is essential for closing new policies, a task that often gets delayed when internal staff are handling urgent service needs.
-
Remarket Policies:
- An efficient process for remarketing allows the agency to retain more clients and ensure policies remain competitive.
-
Focus on Licensed Work:
- By delegating the unlicensed volume, your team can concentrate their energy on complex policy changes, coverage reviews, and client consultations that require their expertise.
Getting your team an insurance VA allows them to embrace the WOW Customer Experience training that Agency Performance Partners offers.
In short, the VA handles the volume that keeps the lights on, while your internal team focuses on the actions that increase your agency’s overall value and customer retention.
Vetting and Launching Your First VA Program
The decision to hire a VA is only the first step; successful implementation requires a structured approach to vetting and integration. Not all virtual assistants fit specialized insurance roles, so use this VA Vetting Checklist to hire top talent.
When hiring an insurance customer support VA, Kelly advises that the specialization of the role demands a specific approach to vetting:
-
Evaluate the VA Company:
- The quality of the VA is directly tied to the company that provides them. You must vet the company on its own merits, examining their training structure, whether the VAs “come to an office,” and if there is a consistent “manager” overseeing their work.
-
Assess Communication and Goals:
- Depending on the VA’s duties, their communication skills are critical. Agencies should assess both their “written and spoken English.” Seek assistants motivated to learn and execute tasks, then ask about their future goals to assess long-term potential.
Implementation Best Practices
Agency owners often hesitate to leap because they fear commitment or potential workflow disruptions. Kelly suggests a simple and powerful action.”I think actually meeting a VA is powerful. You may be surprised.” A brief interaction quickly dispels any preconceived notions about a VA’s capabilities. When handling common implementation mistakes, agencies can ease into the model through a transactional approach. “You may want to start by going to a pay by transaction model first.”
Ultimately, this limits risk, allowing agencies to build confidence before fully integrating virtual assistants. You can review APP’s How to Hire a Virtual Assistant guide for more details.
Conclusion
The evolution of the insurance agency hinges on its ability to maximize the time of its licensed professionals. In 2026, the competitive advantage belongs to those who effectively utilize an insurance customer support VA to streamline unlicensed work, allowing their sales and service teams to focus on revenue generation, relationship building, and true customer experience. High-performing agencies thrive by leveraging specialized, effective talent wherever they find it.
Three Things the Reader Should Know at the End of the Blog (for Social Media Content):
- Agencies use VAs because licensed talent is scarce and licensed staff waste time on administrative, unlicensed work
- Hiring an insurance customer support VA directly boosts the bottom line by freeing your internal team to focus on high-value tasks like cross-selling, remarketing, and new business follow-up.
- Agencies should properly vet the virtual assistant’s company regarding training, management, and office presence. Starting with a pay-by-transaction model to ease into the integration process smoothly.
