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From Claim to Connection: The Payout Is Just the Start

Author

Ohad Gutman
Chief Business Officer, Empathy

September 2026

Every year, U.S. life insurers pay out more than $100 billion in death benefits. For most families, that check represents a years-long promise that is finally kept. For most carriers, it also marks the end of the relationship: Fewer than 1 in 10 beneficiaries ever return to buy a policy from the same company.

Empathy set out to understand why, partnering with LIMRA Applied Research Solutions on a study of 272 life insurance claimants and 12 in-depth interviews. The findings? Carriers have gotten much better at processing claims ... but the experience doesn't end there.

Table Stakes

Carriers have made real progress modernizing claims. Beneficiaries rated their overall satisfaction favorably, giving it an average score of 4.22 out of 5. Communication, clarity of instructions, and timeliness of payout also ranked highly. But strong operational scores are not translating into retention or conversion.

The research suggests why: Once claimants feel informed and supported, factors like payment speed and contact frequency have no statistically significant effect on how they view the carrier afterward. A carrier that pays in 10 days instead of 14 will not be remembered differently for it.

What does move the needle is post-claim perception, the overall impression a beneficiary forms once the process is complete. It's the single strongest predictor of whether someone will recommend their carrier or become a paying customer, and the effect could even turn unhappy beneficiaries into paying customers. Among beneficiaries who weren't entirely satisfied, 78% say a better experience would have made them more likely to recommend the carrier, and 71% say it would have made them more likely to purchase a policy. Even among the most satisfied claimants, a majority still say a better experience would have deepened their loyalty further.

The Relationship Starts Earlier

The claims journey doesn't begin when paperwork is filed. Sixty-eight percent of claimants had contact with their insurer before ever submitting a claim, often to understand the process, update beneficiary information, or ask what documentation would be needed. These early interactions matter: 83% of beneficiaries who had been engaged before the claim rated these exchanges as very or extremely helpful, and pre-claim helpfulness independently predicted how positively people viewed the carrier after the claim closed.

Timing matters as much as the contact itself. In the earliest days, beneficiaries want simple, human confirmation. They want to know the claim was received and what happens next. Deeper support is welcome, but often at a later point after the initial shock has settled and there's more capacity to absorb the process.

Expectation Versus Reality

This is where the research is most sobering. Eighty-six percent of beneficiaries wanted help with paperwork; a third received it. Eighty-one percent wanted help navigating probate; fewer than 1 in 5 did. The pattern holds across categories, from emotional wellness resources to financial education.

Figure 1. The Delivery Gap

Despite the clear value of post-claim support, there is a stark disconnect between what beneficiaries want and what they actually receive. Across virtually every category, demand far outpaces delivery, revealing a massive missed opportunity for carriers.

One data point stands out. Among beneficiaries who received financial education from their insurer after a claim, confidence in managing the payout rose 20 percentage points, from 76% to 96%. That is a fundamentally different relationship with the same money, driven by one intervention carriers are well positioned to offer.

Figure 2. Beneficiary Confidence in Managing Payouts

Improvement in financial confidence among those who received financial education from the carrier post-claim

There is also a common assumption worth retiring: that beneficiaries want to be left alone once the check clears. Ninety-six percent say they are open to continued contact, and 87% would prefer to keep working with the same representative who handled their claim. Roughly 50% said specific, useful support, such as tools to manage next steps or access to personalized guidance, would have kept them engaged. What they're not open to is contact for its own sake.

Closing the Gap

The research points to a clear design philosophy rather than an operational overhaul:

  • Start before people file. Early, low-pressure touchpoints, like confirming beneficiary designations or explaining what a claim actually involves, build familiarity long before a claim is on the horizon.
  • Respect the emotional arc. Grief isn't linear, and neither is a beneficiary's capacity to engage. The deeper support that drives retention, such as financial and estate guidance, lands best 30 to 60 days after payout, not in the initial, most overwhelming days.
  • Prioritize quality over quantity. More outreach doesn't build more trust. Relevant, well-timed support does.

The Opportunity

The need doesn’t end when the payout does. Families face probate, estate settlement and financial restructuring, often while still grieving. Yet, the support most carriers offer typically ends when that work begins. Closing that gap doesn't require reinventing the claims process. It requires extending it in ways that meet families where they actually are.

For carriers willing to make that shift, the reward isn't just a better experience. It's a foundation for the kind of loyalty and trust that carries across generations.

 

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