iMessage for insurance agents and financial advisers

Most industries in this guide can adopt messaging and sort out the details later. Financial services cannot. Regulated firms generally have obligations to retain and supervise business communications, and communications happening on channels the firm cannot capture are a well-documented enforcement area.

Get three things right before you send anything

1. 01Capture. Every message archived to the firm's system of record, automatically, with no reliance on anyone remembering.
2. 02Supervision. A named person able to review communications, with the access to actually do it.
3. 03Retention. For the period your regulator requires, in a form that can be produced. See data retention.

If a vendor cannot demonstrate all three, it is not a candidate for this industry regardless of its features. Ask during evaluation, not after — choosing a stack.

Keep it logistical

export const adviser = {
  reviewMeeting: (c: Ctx) =>
    `${c.firm}: your annual review is booked for ${c.dayDate} at ${c.time}. ` +
    `Reply C to confirm or call ${c.phone}.`,
 
  renewalDue: (c: Ctx) =>
    `${c.firm}: your ${c.policyType} renews on ${c.renewalDate}. ` +
    `Documents are in your portal: ${c.portalLink}`,
 
  // A claim is stressful. Acknowledge fast, then move to a call.
  claimAck: (c: Ctx) =>
    `${c.firm}: got your claim notification. ${c.handlerName} will call ` +
    `you ${c.whenPhrase}. Anything urgent, call ${c.phone}.`,
 
  documentChase: (c: Ctx) =>
    `${c.firm}: we still need your ${c.documentName} to complete this. ` +
    `Upload securely: ${c.uploadLink}`,
};

What must never appear in a message

• Account numbers, balances, policy values, or holdings.
• Any recommendation or advice on a product — that has suitability and documentation requirements a text cannot meet.
• Performance figures or anything that could read as a promotion without the required disclosures.
• Claim outcomes or medical detail underlying a claim.

One organisational point: this only works if the firm number is the only number clients have. An adviser who hands out their mobile because it is easier has reintroduced exactly the problem the system exists to solve. The same discipline applies in law firms, with lower stakes.