24/7 insurance agency answering service: keep your producers free for clients.
A contractor needs a certificate, a family wants to review an upcoming renewal, and your producers are already with clients. Penny captures what each caller needs and books a time on the agency calendar or takes a callback request. Loss notices follow your agency’s reporting rules.
Penny asks what the caller wants to insure and when the policy renews, then offers a review time on the agency calendar with the line noted.
14 days of Pro, including 100 phone minutes and 300 website conversations. No credit card.
Or call her from your phone: (630) 324-4620
Practice a coverage question in the account configured for your agency
The live demo uses Summit Heating, a fictional HVAC business. Listen to her intake here; test your own trade’s rules in your Penny account.
(630) 324-4620- In your agency account, ask for a homeowners renewal review and check that the renewal date is on the booking.
- Request a certificate for a new contract and listen for the holder and job-date questions.
- Ask about a payment and check that Penny uses your approved service route without taking card details.
- Test a loss report and confirm that safety guidance and your agent-contact rule take precedence when needed.
The right questions prepare the producer’s callback
Penny starts with the reason for the call, then follows the question list for that request. Your agency supplies the appointment rules; licensed staff handle quotes, coverage, and policy changes.
- 1
She asks: What can we help with today?
Why she asksA quote, certificate, billing question, and loss notice each need a different agency contact and set of details.
- 2
She asks: What is your name and the best callback number?
Why she asksThe producer or account manager who picks up the request has a reachable contact.
- 3
She asks: For a quote or review, what do you want to insure and when does it renew?
Why she asksThe line and renewal date help your agency choose the producer and prepare for the conversation.
- 4
She asks: For a certificate, who is the holder and when is it needed?
Why she asksThe account manager gets the requested holder, job date, and any wording to review before issuing it.
- 5
She asks: For an existing policy, do you have its number or the address on the policy?
Why she asksThese help authorized staff locate and verify the record. Penny does not read policy details back to the caller.
- 6
She asks: For a loss, are you safe, when did it happen, and what was damaged?
Why she asksImmediate danger gets emergency guidance before intake. The agent receives the caller’s description and date without a coverage decision.
Each agency request arrives with what the right person needs
- Everyday call
A homeowner wants to compare an upcoming renewal.
The caller hearsWhat do you want to insure, who is your current carrier, and when does it renew?
Penny doesRecords the line and renewal date, then offers a review time on the agency calendar for a licensed producer.
- Everyday call
A contractor needs a certificate for a new job.
The caller hearsWho is the certificate holder, and what is the job date?
Penny doesCaptures the requested holder, wording, and timing for the account manager to review and issue.
- Everyday call
A policyholder wants help with a payment question.
The caller hearsI can pass that question to your account manager or share the carrier’s payment contact.
Penny doesTakes the service request as a message without taking card details or stating a policy’s current status.
- Needs attention
A caller reports a loss that is still in progress.
The caller hearsAre you somewhere safe, and what is the best number for our agent to reach you?
Penny doesGives emergency guidance first when needed, then emails you the reported loss and connects your on-call agent if that rule’s transfer is on.
A homeowners renewal gets a review time with the producer noted
A homeowners renewal review is booked on the agency calendar with the producer noted, and the umbrella-policy and pricing questions attached.
- PennyHarrowgate & Sayer Insurance, this is Penny. How can I help?
- Odalys (caller)Our homeowners policy renews next month. I’d like to compare options and ask about an umbrella policy.
- PennyI can book a homeowners review. What is your name and the best number to reach you?
- Odalys (caller)Odalys Brankovic, 630-555-0144.
- PennyThank you. What is the property address, your current carrier, and the renewal date?
- Odalys (caller)2260 Kingsbury Court in Lombard. We’re with Northfield Mutual, and it renews October 1.
- PennyI’ll note a homeowners renewal on October 1, your current carrier, and your question about adding an umbrella policy. Sigrun handles those reviews.
A fact from the knowledge pack, used on the call.
- Odalys (caller)Can she tell me whether combining them would change the price?
- PennyI’ll include that question for her to review. I have review times on Tuesday at 8:45 or 10:30. Which works for you?
- Odalys (caller)Tuesday at 8:45, please.
- PennyYour review is booked for Tuesday at 8:45, with a note that it’s for Sigrun. The notes have your address, renewal date, current carrier, and umbrella-policy question.
The producer receives the renewal date and requested line of coverage
From the insurance knowledge pack
- Personal lines (auto, homeowners, renters, umbrella) and commercial lines (general liability, BOP, workers’ compensation, commercial auto), and which producer or account manager takes each.
- The first-notice-of-loss fields a carrier’s claims desk wants: policy number, date of loss, location, description, injuries, other parties, police report number.
- Declarations-page vocabulary: named insured, limits, deductible, the separate wind-and-hail deductible, endorsements. Recognized and routed, never interpreted for the caller.
- Certificates of insurance: certificate holder, additional insured, waiver of subrogation, and the ACORD 25 form the account manager issues.
- Quote intake: the renewal date (the X-date), the current carrier, prior claims, drivers and VINs, and what the producer needs before rating.
- The claims path after the notice: agency versus direct-to-carrier reporting, adjuster assignment, ACV versus RCV, and the duty to mitigate with receipts for emergency repairs.
- Storm-chaser, assignment-of-benefits, and public-adjuster solicitations after a weather event, and why no policy information leaves the agency through the phone.
- Billing calls: grace periods, cancellation for non-payment, reinstatement, mortgagee-billed policies, and where a “did my payment post” call is routed.
- Commercial service requests: loss runs, endorsements to add a driver or a vehicle, and the effective-date question that goes to a licensed person.
- Privacy rules on nonpublic personal information under GLBA and state law, and what they mean for a receptionist who never reads a policy back.
Capture useful request details while protecting policy information
Kept on the record
- The caller’s name, callback number, and the policy number or policy address they give
- The requested line, renewal date, and certificate or service-request details
- For a loss: the date, reported damage, other parties, and injury yes/no flag without treatment details
- The transcript and request summary, kept for the retention period you set
Not asked for
- Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, and dates of birth, which she asks callers not to read out
- Card and bank details: she never takes a payment
- Any policy or claim detail released to a third party, because she releases none
Anything a caller says stays in the transcript until you delete it; card numbers she recognizes are removed from emails and webhooks. Penny confirms nothing about a policy to the person on the line. She records what the caller reports and passes it to a licensed agent, who verifies the caller and the coverage. On Business you set how long Penny keeps conversations, and a data processing agreement is available on request for your E&O carrier and your state privacy review.
A quote inquiry can reach a producer after the agency closes
- Services
- Hours
- About
- Contact
Each request reaches your inbox and a signed webhook with the callback details
- Salesforcevia Zapier
- HubSpotvia Zapier
- Outlook
- Google Calendar
- Zapier
Connect Zapier or signed webhooks to send the captured details to the tools your office uses.
What agency owners ask about everyday policyholder service
Send setup or plan questions to support@pennyassistant.com.
Google Calendar or Outlook holds the review appointments. Salesforce or HubSpot can receive quote, service, and loss-intake fields through Zapier. Zapier and signed webhooks carry the captured request details into other agency tools, with the caller attached.
Compare these intake examples with the calls your insurance office receives
Asked “do I have a case?”, Penny sends that question to the attorney and takes the names and dates needed to arrange a consult.
Penny checks the listing status and the caller’s agent details before offering a showing request from your calendar’s open times.
A prospect asks about retirement planning. Penny records the life change and books a discovery meeting with your advisor.
Penny bills a monthly price with minutes included; when you choose to keep answering past them, 60 more minutes are added at a time at the plan’s rate. The answering service cost guide sets it beside per-minute human services, and the plans are on the pricing page.
Give Penny a call before you forward yours.
Try the HVAC demo, then set up Penny for your business. Your account starts with 14 days of Pro, including 100 phone minutes and 300 website conversations; Free keeps your website chat after the trial.
14 days of Pro, including 100 phone minutes and 300 website conversations. No credit card.