Trust, Compliance, and the Power of Customer Voice in Insurance Technology

The insurance and InsurTech landscape is transforming at record speed. From AI-driven underwriting to automated claims and digital customer experiences, new technology vendors are reshaping one of the world’s oldest industries. But as innovation accelerates, so does skepticism.

Insurance buyers are cautious, risk-sensitive, and highly regulated, which means new vendors must earn trust long before they earn business. In this world, one factor consistently drives confidence and conversion: the authentic voice of the customer.

At InsureTech Connect (ITC) Vegas 2025, Deeto sat down with leaders from Egnyte, Infosys, Smart Communications, Carpe Data, Neutrinos, Optimity, GhostDraft, Proof, Retarus, and Canidium to ask three simple questions:

• Why does customer proof matter so much in insurance tech?
• What makes capturing it harder here than in other industries?
• How can InsurTech marketers get more advocates to share their success?

Their answers reveal a universal truth: in insurance, proof is the product.

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Why Customer Voice Matters More Than Ever

The first insight was unanimous. In InsurTech, buyers don’t believe marketing; they believe other insurers.

Matt Sodnicar, Product Marketing Manager at Canidium, explained:

“It’s absolutely huge because it’s social proof. The customer wants to feel like you know their industry. You’ve got experience in their industry, and it helps accelerate the sales process because nobody wants to be your test pilot.”

Chris Schmitt, Senior Director of Industry Marketing at Egnyte, agreed:

“The people we talk to demand social proof. They don’t want to hear from us; they want to hear from our customers about what they solved for and why we’re important to their business.”

In a regulated, risk-averse space, this dynamic carries even greater weight. Insurance executives aren’t buying software; they’re buying proof that a partner can deliver securely, compliantly, and with measurable business results.

Jose Suarez, Marketing Manager at Retarus, described the impact clearly:

“There’s no better way to tell your story than the stories you’ve already completed. Customer stories and success stories are some of our most visited pages. They hit SEO-quality keywords and show proof of the problems we’ve solved.”

In InsurTech, the most effective marketing asset isn’t your demo. It’s the real outcomes your customers have achieved.

The Unique Challenge of Customer Proof in Insurance Tech

If customer proof is so powerful, why is it so rare?

Capturing and publishing stories in insurance is uniquely difficult. Legal, regulatory, and competitive constraints make advocacy programs slow and complex, even for the happiest clients.

Ben Offringa, VP of Marketing at Carpe Data, summarized the challenge:

“You have insurers that view your solution as a strategic advantage. They don’t want competitors to know what they’re using, so they won’t always come forward publicly as customers.”

Anshul Agarwal, VP Marketing at Infosys, described the internal bottlenecks:

“Once we get an advocacy piece, it has to be vetted through legal, marketing, sales, and project teams. The entire company reviews it first. The timelines are long, and even a single tweak can take a week.”

Ashish Jha, Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer at Neutrinos, pointed to another barrier:

“When you go back later to find the data, teams say, ‘We never captured it.’ Getting delivery and customer success teams to track the right metrics early on is the hardest part.”

Even when approvals are granted, motivation can fade. Matt Sodnicar noted that many customers see little reason to participate once their project is live:

“They’ve already gone live and moved on. There’s nothing in it for them, and strict NDAs mean some amazing success stories never see the light of day.”

Four Ways to Get More Customer Advocates in InsurTech

Despite the challenges, InsurTech marketers shared clear, practical strategies for capturing and activating customer voice while respecting industry constraints.

1. Capture Proof Early

Brenly McCulloch, Head of Demand Generation at Smart Communications, said timing is everything:

“As soon as that deal closes, that’s when everyone’s most excited. That’s the perfect time to get a customer testimonial—right there, before the moment passes.”

2. Partner with Customer Success

Holly Monroe, Content Marketing Manager at AgentSync, emphasized collaboration:

“You need a strong relationship with your customer success team. Marketing, CS, and the customer have to move together. And don’t just publish proof once. Repurpose it into different formats and share it everywhere.”

Customer success teams are closest to the stories. Working together ensures valuable feedback is never lost.

3. Make Storytelling Easy

Jane Wang, CEO of Optimity, shared a simple approach:

“We make it easy. We prep reports with real metrics and business results, and let customers put it in their own words. It’s faster, more authentic, and brings the case study to life.”

4. Create Safe Advocacy Spaces

Kelley Pidhirsky, VP of Solutions Consulting at Proof, offered a collaborative idea:

“Pull your best customers together under NDA to talk openly about challenges. It’s valuable for everyone because they’re in the same industry and facing the same problems.”

Private advocacy groups allow for candid discussion while still giving vendors a powerful, compliant way to collect insight and social proof.

Proof Is About Trust, Not Just Marketing

The conversations ended with a shared truth: in insurance, proof isn’t a campaign. It’s a measure of trust.

Every customer story, testimonial, or quote represents a relationship built on results. When companies make it easy for customers to share their experiences authentically and safely, they do more than generate leads—they strengthen credibility across the industry.

As the closing statement of the video reminds us:

In insurance tech, proof isn’t just about marketing. It’s about building trust in a competitive, regulated space.

What This Means for InsurTech Vendors

For InsurTech leaders, the implications are clear:

• Design advocacy around compliance. Anticipate approvals and offer anonymized or gated proof options.
• Capture stories early. Don’t wait until renewal. Start at onboarding or after the first measurable win.
• Make advocacy mutually valuable. Spotlight your customers’ success, not just your own.
• Use events as catalysts. Industry gatherings like ITC Vegas are perfect for collecting authentic stories.
• Automate where possible. AI-powered platforms such as Deeto help teams collect, manage, and share proof without the manual work.

The Deeto Perspective

At Deeto, we believe the future of InsurTech growth depends on authentic, scalable proof.

Our platform helps insurance and InsurTech companies:

• Collect customer stories and feedback automatically using AI-led interviews.
• Manage them in a secure, governed hub with built-in consent and compliance workflows.
• Distribute proof across sales, marketing, and partner channels—from reference calls to microsites and embedded widgets.

With Deeto, customer voice becomes a continuous signal that drives confidence and measurable growth.

Conclusion

Insurance has always been an industry built on trust. Today, that trust extends beyond policies and premiums. It lives in every customer story.

By investing in authentic advocacy, empowering customers to speak safely, and using AI to scale the process, InsurTech companies can turn proof into their strongest competitive advantage.

Because in insurance—just like in every trust-driven industry—proof doesn’t just beat promises. It is the promise.

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