Why protection customers ignore unexpected calls, and what to do instead

A change in behaviour

Many people now let calls from unknown numbers go to voicemail, or decline them altogether. Phone handsets and networks increasingly label or filter suspected spam. Customers have become wary of scams, particularly calls about money or insurance. The result is that outbound calls which once reached most customers now reach far fewer, and often reach the same, most engaged customers each time.

Ofcom's own consumer guidance lists unexpected contact from an organisation as the first warning sign of a scam, and advises people to hang up and call back on a number from the organisation's official website. Customers are being told, sensibly, to be suspicious of exactly the kind of call many post-sale processes rely on.

What it means for protection distributors

Many post-sale processes were designed around the phone: welcome calls, quality calls, failed-payment calls, review invitations. As answer rates fall, these processes reach a smaller share of customers, take more attempts and cost more per outcome. The customers who are hardest to reach are often the ones most likely to have a problem or to cancel.

Calls flagged as spam

Where a firm makes high volumes of outbound calls, its numbers can be flagged by networks or call-identification apps as likely spam. That reduces answer rates further and can affect the firm's ability to reach customers even for important calls. Managing outbound volumes and using recognisable caller identification helps, but does not solve the underlying change in customer behaviour.

Customers still want help

None of this means customers do not want contact. They want it on their own terms. A short message from a firm they recognise, explaining why it is getting in touch and offering an easy way to respond, is much less intrusive than an unexpected call. Customers can respond at a time that suits them, and many are more candid in writing than on the phone.

Customer-led engagement

Branded digital journeys sent by email or SMS let customers confirm details, raise issues, update payment information or request a conversation. When they do ask to talk, the call is expected and welcome, and the adviser already knows why. That turns outbound calling from a search for customers into a response to customers who have asked for help.

Keeping people at the heart

The aim is not to replace conversations but to make them count. Advisers and service teams spend less time dialling and more time helping the customers who need them. Customers who prefer the phone can still choose it. And the firm reaches far more of its book than it could by calling alone.

What the numbers look like

Across Adviser.ai clients, automated engagement has delivered outcomes such as completed checks and review requests at up to 14 times lower cost than equivalent phone-based processes. More importantly, it has reached customers who were not being reached at all, surfacing issues that would otherwise have gone unseen.

Making the switch

Start with the process where answer rates are lowest, often post-sale quality calls or review invitations. Run a digital journey alongside the existing calls for one cohort and compare reach, completion, issues found and cost. Use the results to decide how far to move, and keep the phone for the conversations that genuinely need it.

Good practice when calls are needed

Some conversations will always need the phone. When they do, it helps to tell the customer in advance, by message, that a call is coming and why; to use a recognisable caller ID; to call at a time the customer has chosen; and to leave a clear voicemail with a way to respond digitally. Each step increases the chance the call is answered and welcomed.

Measuring reach properly

Phone processes are often measured on calls made. A better measure is the share of the intended customers actually reached and the outcomes produced. Comparing that figure with the reach of digital journeys for the same purpose usually makes the case for change clear.

What this means for compliance

Firms should consider whether relying on unexpected calls for important post-sale contact still meets customers' needs. If a large share of customers are never reached, the firm cannot show it is supporting them. Offering a digital route, with the phone available for those who want it, is easier to evidence and more inclusive.