Table of Contents

• Who are your clients?
• 8 ways to automate your enrollment season communications
• How AMS+ supports your agency
• Frequently asked questions about automation

Enrollment season moves fast. Between managing renewals, staying compliant, and keeping clients informed, there's a lot your team is expected to stay on top of. Clients notice when they don't hear from you.

When communication depends on someone remembering every follow-up, important touchpoints can easily be missed. During Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) and Open Enrollment Period (OEP), even one missed message can put a client relationship at risk.

That is why a consistent communication strategy is so important. Automation uses pre-scheduled, trigger-based messages to send the right communication at the right time. This helps your agency stay connected with clients through timely, personalized outreach without requiring your team to send every message manually.

In this blog we’ll walk you through eight enrollment season communications your agency should be automating.

Who Are Your Clients, and What Do They Expect From Your Agency?

Before exploring what to automate, it is important to understand who you serve and their needs during enrollment season.

Your clients may include Medicare beneficiaries reviewing their coverage, individuals and families shopping for ACA plans, or employer groups preparing employees for annual enrollment. Each audience has different needs, timelines, and questions, but they all expect honesty, clear communication, and timely support from your agency.

They may also prefer to receive information in different ways. Some clients prefer a text or email, while others want something more personal, such as a phone call or voicemail.

As you create your enrollment season messages, keep these best practices in mind:

• Consider asking clients how they prefer to be contacted and save that preference in your AMS or CRM.
• Personalize your messages based on the client, coverage type, and stage of the enrollment process.
• Keep messages short and focused. Each communication should have one clear next step.

• Lead with value by explaining why the information matters and what the recipient needs to do.

Following these guidelines for one client or group may be simple. Applying them consistently across your entire book of business, especially during enrollment season, is much more difficult.

Let’s look at the enrollment season communications your team should consider automating.

1. How Do You Set Up a Pre-Enrollment Season Email Campaign That Actually Gets Read?

The most effective way to prepare clients and prospects for enrollment season is to start communicating with them before it begins. A pre-enrollment drip campaign is a series of automated emails sent in the weeks leading up to key AEP or Open Enrollment dates. It helps clients stay informed and ahead of key deadlines.

Some clients need more time before they're ready to act, which is why early outreach almost always leads to better results.

A drip campaign sequence doesn't have to be complicated. Here's a few places to start:

• 90 days out: "Enrollment season is coming. Here's what to expect."
• 60 days out: "Your coverage review checklist"
• 30 days out: "AEP starts soon. Here's how we'll help you."

• One week out: "Enrollment opens in 7 days. Ready to review your plan?"

A quick compliance note: CMS guidelines prohibit agents from directly marketing or selling Medicare Advantage and Part D plans before October 1st. Until then, keep your outreach educational, not promotional.

Try this workflow:

Trigger: A set number of days before AEP begins
Actions: Send emails 90, 60, 30, and 7 days before the start date

If you serve both Medicare and ACA clients, create a separate workflow for each. The deadlines are different, and your messaging should reflect that.

2. Are You Following Up With New Leads Fast Enough?

Research shows that following up within 5 minutes makes you 21x more likely to qualify a lead, and one of the simplest ways to hit that window is by connecting your website lead form directly to your agency management system (AMS).

With the right automation in place, a prospect's information goes straight into your system the moment they submit it, an assigned agent gets notified, and a welcome email goes out.

Try this workflow:

Trigger: New lead form submission
Actions:

• Send automated "Thank you for reaching out" email to the lead immediately
• Create a task assigned to the agent of record to call within 24 hours
• If no response after three days, send a follow-up email automatically
• Automation makes five-minute lead follow-up achievable, even on your busiest day.

Automation makes five-minute lead follow-up achievable, even on your busiest day.

3. What's the Best Way to Automate Policy Renewal Reminders?

Renewals hold your book of business together, but they're easy to overlook when everything else is pulling for your attention. A missed renewal reminder is often all it takes for some clients to start shopping around.

Renewal reminder workflows keep your team and your clients in the loop well before the deadline, so no one is scrambling to review options or make changes at the last minute.

For senior market clients, staying ahead of renewals matters even more. These clients want to feel confident about their plan, and hearing from you before renewal goes a long way toward building that trust.

Here's a simple timeline to build your renewal workflow around:

• 90 days before renewal: Client email introducing the upcoming review window
• 60 days before renewal: "Let's schedule a plan review" email with a link to your scheduling tool
• 30 days before renewal: Final reminder with deadline-appropriate urgency
• Day of renewal: Internal task assigned to agent confirming renewal status

Try this workflow:

Trigger: Policy renewal date approaching (90, 60, 30 days)
Actions:

• Send email to client at each interval
• Create task for agent of record
• Flag if renewal is still unconfirmed at 30 days for priority follow-up

Retention is built through small, consistent touchpoints over time. A renewal workflow is one of the most reliable ways to make sure they actually happen.

4. How Should Your Agency Manage Scope of Appointment (SOA) Communications?

If your agency works in the Medicare market, Scope of Appointment (SOA) isn’t optional. Every new and renewal Medicare sales appointment requires a completed SOA form before any plan-specific discussion begins. 

When appointment volume spikes, managing SOA forms manually can create compliance gaps. 

Automation closes that gap. An industry-specific AMS, like AMS+, lets your agency generate a unique electronic SOA form for each prospect or client. Once completed, the form attaches automatically to their record for easy reference and compliance documentation. You can also link it to your scheduling tool and the SOA request sends automatically the moment a meeting is booked.

Try this workflow:

Trigger: New appointment scheduled
Actions:

• Send automated email to client with SOA form link
• Create internal task reminding agent to confirm form completion before the meeting
• Automatically store the signed form to the contact's record

When the SOA process is automated, your team spends less time chasing paperwork and more time focused on the appointment itself. If you need copy for SOA outreach, these SOA Email Templates & Resources are a good place to start.

 5. How Can Your Agency Use ANOC Season to Build Client Loyalty?

Medicare Advantage and Part D plan sponsors are required to send the Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) directly to enrolled members by September 30th each year.

While sending the notice is the carrier’s responsibility, it creates one of the most valuable client touchpoints of the enrollment season. Reaching out during this time allows clients to ask questions, share concerns, and better understand how upcoming plan changes may affect them.

Try this workflow:

Trigger: Date-based (typically the first week of September each year)
Action: Send personalized email to all Medicare Advantage and Part D clients
Message goal: Alert clients that the ANOC is on its way, explain what it means in plain language, and invite them to a review appointment. Include a link to your online scheduler so clients can book directly from the email.

Follow up again in late September with clients who have not responded. A second touchpoint helps ensure they enter AEP feeling informed and supported.

6. Are You Making the Most of Birthday & Milestone Touchpoints?

Birthday messages may not seem connected to enrollment season, but staying in touch throughout the year makes your outreach feel more personal when enrollment begins.

A simple birthday message shows clients that you value the relationship beyond their policy, and it is one of the easiest workflows your team can automate.

In an agency management system like AMS+, you can create a birthday workflow that automatically sends an email to the client. Once the workflow is set up, it can run automatically each year.

Try this workflow:

Trigger: Individual's birthday is approaching (set to trigger 1–3 days before)
Actions:

• Send personalized birthday email to the client
• Send notification to agent of record
• Assign optional task for agent to call or send a card

Milestone variations to add:

• Policy anniversary celebration
• One-year client anniversary
• Coverage effective date reminder

Consider sending a half-birthday message to stand out. A quick “Just thinking about you” email during a quieter time of year can be a simple and memorable way to stay connected.

7. Is Your Team Ready for Aging-Into-Medicare Touchpoints?

As clients approach age 65, your agency has an opportunity to reach them early and help them understand what to expect.

For many people, turning 65 and enrolling in Medicare can feel overwhelming. A thoughtful message can help your agency provide clear guidance during this important transition.

Consider reaching out at these points:

• Six months before 65th birthday: "Here’s what you need to know about Medicare..."
• Three months out: Overview of Medicare plan types in plain language (Original Medicare vs. Medicare Advantage vs. Medigap)
• One month out: "Let's talk before you turn 65."
• Birthday: A personal birthday message with a reminder that you're here to help

For senior market clients, timely guidance can make all the difference. An aging-in workflow helps your agency reach them at the right moment with the support they need.

Try this workflow:

Trigger: Individual's 65th birthday is approaching (triggers at six months, three months, one month)
Actions:

• Send educational email series at each date
• Send birthday email on the day itself
• Create task for agent to make a personal follow-up call at the 30-day mark

This workflow helps your agency provide timely support, so clients feel informed and prepared before their Medicare coverage begins.

8. What Should You Send to New Clients?

After a client enrolls, continue checking in to answer questions, provide support, and make sure their coverage is meeting their needs. Post-enrollment touchpoints can reinforce client relationships and improve retention.

This is especially important in the insurance industry, where personal recommendations often influence purchasing decisions. Consistent follow-up helps build the trust that encourages clients to stay with your agency and recommend it to others.

Try this workflow:

Trigger: Policy effective date (or enrollment confirmation date)
Actions:

• Send welcome/confirmation email 
• Send check-in email at 30 days
• Create task for agent at 90 days to make a personal outreach call
• Send mid-year review invite at six months

How Does AMS+ Support My Agency From Start to Finish?

By bringing automation, reporting, and task management tools into one system, AMS+, keeps your agency running smoothly from the first lead follow-up to the last post-enrollment check-in.

The goal is not to automate every client interaction, but to automate routine work so your team has more time for meaningful client conversations.

How Can I Get Started With Automated Workflows?

Automated Workflows in AMS+ makes it easier for agencies to automate routine communications and internal processes. With detailed triggers and actions, pre-built recipes, and a simple editing experience, your team can create automations more efficiently.

Each recipe combines a trigger, conditions, and an action in a customizable template that your team can adjust to your agency’s goals, processes, and communication needs.

Available recipes for your agency include:

• Send Birthday Email
• Lead Form Follow Up
• Policy Renewal Reminder
• Policy App Submit Notification
• Agent License Expiration Reminder

By starting with a working framework, your team can launch automations faster while still customizing each workflow.

You still have the option to create a workflow from scratch by:

1. Choosing the event that will trigger the workflow.
2. Adding conditions that determine which records qualify.
3. Selecting the communication, notification, or task the workflow should perform.

FAQ

What types of communications can be automated during enrollment season?

Nearly all of your routine outreach can be automated. This includes renewal reminders, lead follow-up sequences, SOA form requests, ANOC awareness emails, aging-in touchpoints, pre-enrollment countdown campaigns, and post-enrollment check-ins. 

When should your team start preparing AEP/OEP communications?

Most successful agencies begin building their communication workflows in late summer, around July or August. This gives your team time to update client data, configure workflows, review templates, and test everything. 

What is a Scope of Appointment (SOA)?

The Scope of Appointment (SOA) is a federally required form that Medicare beneficiaries must complete before meeting with a licensed insurance agent. In the CY2027 Final Rule, CMS eliminated the mandatory 48-hour waiting period between collecting an SOA and holding a personal marketing appointment. Beginning October 1, 2026, agents can collect the SOA and meet with a client the same day. Also, SOA documentation must be retained per CMS record retention requirements. Note: The CY2027 Final Rule reduced marketing and sales call recording retention from 10 years to 6 years for marketing and sales calls. Calls that result in a Medicare plan enrollment still require 10-year retention under separate enrollment record rules. 

Can automation help with cross-selling during enrollment season?

Yes, an AMS makes cross-selling more targeted. Your team can run reports to identify clients who hold one type of coverage but not another, then build automated email campaigns specifically aimed at those coverage gaps.

Posted on Tuesday, August 4, 2026 in Insurance Automation

1. insurance automation
2. open enrollment
3. productivity