Insurance Agency Answering Service: Options and Costs
Insurance callers come in two moods: someone shopping for a quote who will call three agencies in an hour, and a client who just had a fender bender and wants to know what to do. Both need an answer now. Neither should hear coverage advice from someone who isn’t licensed.
The quick answer: An insurance agency answering service covers your phones when your CSRs and producers can’t. Live services like Specialty Answering Service, PATLive and Ruby run about $470 to $1,725 a month at 120 calls, and insurance-only AI like Sonant prices by quote. Carly is the pick for agencies that want every caller handled the same way: it rings your team first, then answers, books quote calls with a licensed producer on their real calendar, sends claims callers to the right carrier line, and logs every call to your CRM.
Insurance agency answering service costs at 120 calls a month
US list prices from each vendor’s own page, checked October 23, 2026. The last column estimates a month for an agency sending 120 calls to the service, about 3 minutes each (360 minutes).
| Option | Who answers | Entry price | Billing unit | At 120 calls (360 min) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carly | Your team first, then AI | Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/mo | Monthly plan | Setup: one prompt in ChatGPT or Claude |
| Smith.ai AI Receptionist | AI, with live staff available | Free for 25 calls, then $3 a call | Per call | $270 (Pro, 150 calls at $1.80) |
| Sonant | Insurance-only AI | Not published | Quote by agency size | Quote |
| Specialty Answering Service | Humans | $44 plus $1.54/min | Per minute, by the second | About $471 (220-minute plan plus 140 minutes at $1.44) |
| PATLive | Humans | $49 plus $2.99/min | Per minute | About $592 (300-minute plan plus 60 minutes at $1.89) |
| Smith.ai live receptionists | Humans | $300 for 30 calls | Per call | $1,125 ($810 for 90 + 30 calls at $10.50) |
| Ruby | Humans | $250 for 50 minutes | Per minute | $1,725 (500-minute plan) |
Sonant is the insurance specialist in the field: it recognizes existing clients, handles routine service calls and connects to agency management systems like Applied Epic, AMS360, EZLynx and HawkSoft. See our Sonant AI review.
What each option does with three typical calls
| Prospect wants an auto quote | Client was just in an accident | Lender needs a certificate of insurance | What your CSRs see at 8am | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voicemail | Calls the next agency | Waits, or calls the carrier | Waits | A list of voicemails |
| General live service | Message taken | Message taken, maybe the carrier’s number read out | Message taken | Messages by email or app |
| AI message-taker | Name, number and reason captured | Same | Same | Transcripts and a callback list |
| Carly | Basic details taken, quote call booked with a producer | Given the carrier’s claims number from your list, CSR texted | Request taken and assigned to a CSR | Every call summarized, assigned and logged |
Four rules for answering an insurance agency’s phone
1. Nobody unlicensed talks coverage
Whoever answers can take details and book a call. Questions about what a policy covers, quotes and binding go to a licensed producer.
2. Claims callers get the carrier’s number fast
Give the service each carrier’s claims line and when to read it out. A client standing next to a damaged car shouldn’t wait for a callback.
3. Quote shoppers get booked, not told “someone will call you”
Shoppers ring several agencies in a row. A quote call booked on a producer’s calendar during the first call beats a callback promise.
4. Service requests land with the right CSR
Certificates, ID cards, payment questions and policy changes should arrive in your team’s queue with the policy holder’s details, not as a pile of voicemails.
How Carly covers an insurance agency’s phones
Carly follows your rules on every call, exactly the same way, which is what keeps an agency’s phone handling consistent.
- Your team rings first. In business hours your CSRs and producers get the call. Carly answers when nobody picks up, and right away after hours.
- Books quote calls with the right producer on their real Google or Outlook calendar, round robin by line of business, then texts the confirmation.
- Sends claims callers to the carrier using the claims numbers you give it, and texts the account’s CSR so they can follow up.
- Takes service requests (certificates, ID cards, billing questions, changes) and assigns them to the right teammate.
- Knows your clients. Callers already in your CRM are greeted by name, with their record in front of Carly.
- Calls web quote requests back within about a minute, before they reach the next agency (how it works).
- Reminders by text for renewals and payments, each client getting their own message.
- English or Spanish, detected from the caller (bilingual answering).
- Logged everywhere. Every call goes to Carly’s CRM, HubSpot, Salesforce or Dynamics 365, and Carly connects to thousands of apps.
Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/month. Keep your agency’s number and forward the calls nobody gets to, or grab a new number in the chat. Paste this into ChatGPT or Claude:
Carly business setup prompt
Paste this into ChatGPT, Claude or any AI. It walks you through the rest.
Help me connect Carly Teams so I can work with my organization's business texts, phone calls, voicemail and voice/text agents from this chat. I'll add it to you myself: tell me exactly what to click for the app you are, one step at a time, and wait for me to confirm before moving on. If a step doesn't match what I see, ask me what's on my screen. If you can do the setup yourself (Claude Code, Codex, Muse, Grok Bot), go ahead, and ask me for any key in your secure credential prompt, never in the chat. Don't tell me it's connected until list_phone_lines works, and if I have several teams, ask which to use. Before sending a text or making a call, confirm the team, recipient and message or task with me. The steps are below.
# Connect Carly Teams to an AI app
> Carly Teams works a team's business phone lines through the team's AI agents: business texts, phone calls, voicemail, the voice and text agents, and the team's CRM.
MCP server: https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp (streamable HTTP, OAuth)
## Setup
Carly Teams isn't in any plugin or connector directory yet, so it's added as a custom connection by URL.
1. Add Carly Teams:
- ChatGPT: open https://chatgpt.com/plugins, click Add, and choose Create MCP App (not Create plugin or Upload plugin archive). If Create MCP App isn't on the menu, turn on Developer mode first in Settings > Security and login. Name it "Carly Teams" with the description "Work with my team's business texts, calls, voicemail and voice/text agents," paste https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp as the server URL, choose OAuth, create it, and sign in. Then in the message box open the + menu, choose Developer mode, and pick Carly Teams. No plugin needs to be built, packaged or uploaded.
- Claude (claude.ai, Claude Desktop, or Cowork): Customize > Connectors > Add custom connector, name it Carly Teams, paste https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp, and sign in.
- Claude Code: `claude mcp add --transport http --scope user carly-teams https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp`, then /mcp, pick carly-teams, and authenticate.
- Codex: `codex mcp add carly-teams --url https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp`, then `codex mcp login carly-teams`.
- Cursor: add {"mcpServers": {"carly-teams": {"url": "https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp"}}} to ~/.cursor/mcp.json, then sign in to carly-teams from Customize.
- Muse: a custom connector to https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp with a Carly API key as its bearer token. The key comes from carlyassistant.com/integrations (Advanced > API Keys > Create a new key, with Owner set to the team and all scopes selected) and goes in Muse's connector settings, not in a chat message.
- Grok: grok.com/connectors > New Connector > Custom, paste https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp, and sign in.
- Grok Bot: a custom remote MCP server named carly-teams at https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp. Approve it and sign in.
- Perplexity: Plugins in the sidebar (or Customize > Connectors), then Add custom > Connector > Add MCP connector. Choose Remote, name it Carly Teams, paste https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp, pick OAuth, check the box and click Add, then click the Carly Teams card to sign in.
- Anything else: a remote MCP server (streamable HTTP) named carly-teams at https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp. It signs in with OAuth.
Sign in with the Carly account that belongs to the organization.
2. Once it's added, the Carly Teams tools show up in the chat, including list_phone_lines. If they don't, turn Carly Teams on for the chat or start a new chat.
3. To check it worked, call list_phone_lines: it returns the teams and phone lines the account can reach. A team with no phone line yet can get one with find_numbers (optionally by area code) and get_number, which may return a checkout link to finish.
4. Something to try first: "Review our missed calls and voicemail and help me reply to customers." Carly Teams also reads and answers business texts, has the team's agent make calls, and edits the voice and text agents. Texts and calls go out at once from the agent's number and can't be taken back. Team permissions apply.
## Email, calendars and workflows
Email, calendars, files, booking pages and workflows are the regular Carly connector, added separately. It's listed in ChatGPT's plugin directory (https://chatgpt.com/plugins/plugin_asdk_app_6a67a26316b88191860222f918d4ec54) and Claude's connector directory (https://claude.ai/directory/carly), and connects anywhere else at https://carlyassistant.com/mcp/. Its setup is https://carlyassistant.com/mcp.txt.Then call your own line after hours and ask for a quote (how to test it). Get started.
Questions to ask any insurance answering service
- Who answers, and are they licensed? If not, what do they say when a caller asks about coverage?
- Can it book with a producer, or only take a message?
- What happens on a claims call at 10pm?
- What’s billed? Minutes, calls or agency size, plus overage, rounding and setup.
- Where do service requests land? Your management system, your CRM, or an email per call.
More for agencies in AI tools for insurance agents and after-hours answering service.
FAQ
How much does an insurance agency answering service cost?
At about 120 calls a month, live services run from about $471 (Specialty Answering Service) to $1,725 (Ruby) on list prices checked October 23, 2026. Smith.ai’s AI Receptionist is $270 for 150 calls, and Sonant prices by quote. Carly: Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/month.
Can an answering service give insurance quotes?
Not unless the person answering is licensed. A good setup takes the caller’s details and books a quote call with a licensed producer. Carly books that call on the producer’s calendar during the first call.
How should an answering service handle insurance claims calls?
Give it each carrier’s claims number and tell it when to share it. Carly reads out the right carrier’s number and texts the client’s CSR so someone follows up.
Can I keep my agency’s phone number?
Yes. Forward unanswered calls to Carly, or get a new number in the chat. Your published number stays the same.
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"Before Carly, I relied on a Calendly link, but the whole process felt impersonal and not very professional. Carly changed that by handling all the back-and-forth, so I'm no longer stuck in endless email threads trying to line up schedules.
Now Carly reaches out to candidates, shares my real-time availability, lets them pick a slot, then sends a Zoom link and drops it straight into my calendar. She sends reminders to both of us before each call, which has significantly reduced no-shows and last-minute confusion.
On top of scheduling, Carly acts like a full executive assistant, sending me my schedule the night before so I can prepare for each call. It reminds me of the old x.ai assistant, but Carly is noticeably smarter, faster, and better suited to my healthcare recruitment business."
