Direct Mail Best Practices for Insurance Brands

Insurance marketers are seeing something big: direct mail is outperforming every other channel, from email to paid search to connected TV.

New research commissioned by Franklin Madison Direct, based on insights from 90 marketers in the financial, insurance, and investment sectors, reveals just how powerful the channel has become. In fact, 72% of mailers in these industries reported improved results over the past year.

Keep reading for an exclusive look at the 2025 Direct Mail Guide: Financial & Insurance Marketers Edition, and discover direct mail best practices for insurance brands.

Why Insurance Direct Mail Still Works

Insurance brands compete in one of the most crowded and competitive marketplaces. Consumers are bombarded with online advertising and emails, so messages can be easily brushed aside. Direct mail creates a physical moment that establishes credibility and cuts through the digital clutter.

Our research shows that 52% of financial services marketers increased their direct mail budgets in the past 12 months, and 49% expect to increase direct mail spending again within the next 12 months.

The reason is simple. When used strategically, direct mail drives acquisition, cross-selling opportunities, and retention. Insurance leaders are embracing direct mail best practices, placing emphasis on segmentation, personalization, integration, and measurement.

Going Beyond Simple Targeting

Using Insights to Influence Strategy

Marketers often fall into a routine with campaigns because they fear risk and uncertainty. However, the real opportunity lies in using data to prioritize tactics where marketing spend has the most significant impact.

Take winback campaigns for example. A lapsed auto policyholder who once bundled home and auto coverage may be more valuable than a brand-new prospect. By analyzing CRM data and past interactions, you can identify which customers will most likely return. Then you can craft offers that speak directly to what they previously valued.

Our research shows that insurance marketers devote more resources to winback than their peers in financial services or other industries. We recommend working with an experienced direct marketing partner to guide your strategy in the right direction and invest smarter.

Personalization Begins with Data

Why Relevance is More Important than Recognition

Insurance is built on trust, and direct mail can strengthen or weaken that trust. While simply adding recipients’ first names to a letter is common, true personalization shows that you understand their life stage, needs, and even the risks they face.

• A young family receives a mailer with benefit charts tailored to parents.
• A coastal homeowner receives a localized example of savings tied to real perils in their ZIP code.
• A retired couple receives information about supplemental health and retirement security.

Presentation is also critical. Over half of marketers report that higher-quality paper stock improves results, underscoring that credibility is often in the details. Plus, with advancements in digital printing, every element from images to promotions to CTAs can be personalized at scale.

One of the top direct mail best practices for insurance brands is making every piece feel relevant and trustworthy. When customers feel understood, they are more likely to respond.

Direct Mail Best Practices for Insurance Integration

From Multichannel to Orchestrated Journeys

Many insurance marketers pair direct mail with digital, but it often ends up acting as just a patch job. The real opportunity is orchestration, where channels harmonize to create a seamless customer journey.

Imagine this: your mailer arrives, and the same offer appears in a Facebook ad a day later. When the prospect visits your landing page but doesn’t convert, they’re retargeted with creative that mirrors the original mail piece. That’s not a coincidence, that’s strategy.

Our data shows that 97.7% of insurance, financial, and investment marketers agree  combining mail with digital improves results. The key is consistency: using campaign-specific landing pages that visually align with the offer, retargeting with the same creative, and measuring lift with digital metrics.

Consider this national insurer competing in a crowded market. Rather than treating mail as a standalone channel, they paired it with digital ads, tested multiple creative packages, and applied segmentation insights. The campaign achieved a 1.85% lead rate and gained over 400 new policies, proving that orchestrated journeys outperform disconnected efforts.

Attribution and Performance Tracking

Measuring Direct Mail’s True Impact

A common misconception is that direct mail can’t be measured. In reality, it’s one of the most trackable channels when paired with smart testing and attribution strategies.

Holdout groups, matchback analysis, and incrementality testing reveal a campaign’s true lift by showing which conversions would not have happened without the mail piece. When insurers align direct mail results with digital KPIs such as clicks, form fills, and policy purchases, they gain a holistic view of the customer journey.

The payoff is clear: customers acquired through mail often convert at higher rates and show stronger renewal behavior than digital-only prospects. By proving its role in long-term customer value, direct mail shifts from being seen as a cost center to a measurable growth driver.

Ready to Put Insurance Direct Mail Best Practices into Action?

The insurers who are seeing the greatest returns are those embracing direct mail best practices: smarter audience segmentation, personalization beyond names, integration with digital touchpoints, and measurement that proves impact.

Direct mail still works for insurance brands competing in crowded markets, especially when it’s data-driven, orchestrated, and designed to build trust at every customer journey stage. If you’re looking for a partner to help elevate your insurance direct mail campaigns, get in touch with Franklin Madison Direct today.