The Health Insurance Agent's Guide to Cross-Selling

Table of Contents

• What is cross-selling 
• The value of cross-selling
• 6 essential cross-selling strategies
• How to identify and explore cross-selling opportunities with AMS+

Key Takeaways

What is Cross-Selling for Health Insurance Agencies?

Insurance cross-selling is all about spotting ways to offer your existing health insurance clients extra coverage from your agency that complements their existing coverage or addresses gaps. Cross-selling also helps your clients get more complete protection and makes their experience with your agency even more valuable.

How do you identify cross-selling opportunities? Follow these two steps:

1. Review their policy details, noting expiration dates, coverage types, and any existing gaps.
2. Identify what products or services can help them, and then bring these issues to your client’s attention.

Here are some common cross-sell ideas for health insurance agents:

• They  have life insurance with you, but not health insurance, or vice versa
• They have group health insurance, but not dental or vision coverage
• They have life insurance, but no annuities
• They have life insurance, but no short-term disability coverage

Cross-selling is one of the most cost-effective and easiest ways to build your book of business. In fact, retaining customers is five times less expensive than getting new ones.

Think of cross-sell opportunities as low-hanging fruit. They are easily accessible wins already within your reach. Your current book of business is full of these opportunities; you just need to know where to look and how to convert them.

The Value of Cross-Selling Health Insurance Policies

Why is cross-selling important for benefits, health, and senior insurance agents? The answer is simple: it's one of the most cost-effective growth strategies available.

Cross-selling opportunities can often occur naturally throughout your client relationships. Usually, this occurs in one of two ways:

1. A client has one or multiple health insurance policies with your agency and ancillary coverage from another agency.
2. A client has one or multiple health insurance policies with your agency and is lacking coverage for ancillary services.

It boils down to this: some clients may not fully understand the value of having sufficient coverage from one source. This gap in understanding is a perfect opportunity for your agency to help your clients have comprehensive coverage while positioning your agency as a trusted resource. 

6 Essential Cross-Selling Strategies Your Agency Can Use

1. Use a Client Needs Assessment

What is a Client Needs Assessment (CNA)? A CNA is a one-page questionnaire that helps uncover coverage gaps and highlight opportunities where your agency can provide meaningful value to your clients. Use a CNA to:

• See what health insurance coverage your clients and prospects currently have
• Understand who the agent(s) of record is/are
• Identify where the client’s potential coverage gaps are

With the CNA, you can visually show your clients and prospects the layout of their coverage, their gaps, and their risks. This helps your agency better illustrate how you can help as well as the impact.

2. Cross-Sell at Clients’ Key Life Stages

There are two key ages when health insurance agents should reach out to clients about new coverage. These ages are:

• Turning 26
• Turning 65 

Let’s break these down.

How to Cross-Sell Turning-26 Health Insurance Coverage

Right now, 26 is the age when dependents are required to purchase their own health insurance coverage. The vast majority will likely use their employer-sponsored health insurance, but it never hurts to check. Look for turning-26 individuals who fall into one of these categories:

• Still in school/pursuing an advanced degree
• Intern/working at a company without benefits
• Independent worker or freelancer
• Solo entrepreneur

How to Cross-Sell Turning-65 Health Insurance Coverage

The other key cross-sell age is the turning-65 group. At 65, most beneficiaries have the option to switch to Medicare coverage. These clients need your guidance and support.

Proactively reaching out to your prospects and clients before and during these milestones positions you as a trusted advisor. It gives you the opportunity to help them prepare for and navigate the changes.

3. Share Case Studies & Testimonials 

Social proof is incredibly powerful. And it’s not just useful for new business. Use case studies and testimonials to showcase the value of cross-sell options to existing clients. Feature clients who have found success to help you tell the story of why cross-sell clients should consider these additional coverage options. For example, if you’re trying to cross-sell cancer insurance, use existing stories from your book of business that showcase the value of having cancer insurance.

5. Use Automated Email Campaigns

Automated email campaigns are powerful tools for cross-selling because they help you stay connected without the manual burden of individual follow ups.

Here’s how to create effective email campaigns, along with some best practices to maximize your engagement:

• Personalize emails with your clients’ name and current coverage
• Highlight their coverage gaps
• Include your contact information and availability to make it easy for your clients to discuss their options with you

Every email should include a clear call to action. This helps prevent confusion and encourages your clients to take the next step toward expanding their coverage with your agency.

How to Identify & Explore Cross-Selling Opportunities with AMS+

To quickly identify and act on cross-selling opportunities, you’ll need to have your clients' policy data organized within an agency management system (AMS), like AgencyBloc’s AMS+ solution. With AMS+, all of your data (individuals, employer groups, policies, agents, carriers, etc.) is linked together, making it easy to quickly search your database, generate reports, and find cross-selling opportunities.

3 Steps for Cross-Selling with AMS+

Step 1: Generate a Cross-Sell Report

First, identify which coverage gaps to focus on. This could be that they have group health insurance but don’t have group life. Or they have Medicare Advantage but don’t have Part D. Then, in AMS+, run a Policy Cross-Sell Report using those filters. This report identifies all of the potential cross-sell opportunities you have.

Filter your list of clients further by coverage type, policy details, agency, agent information, or other criteria. Once you run the report, you'll receive a .CSV file with a list of clients who match your requirements.

Step 2: Contact Cross-Sell Opportunities

​​Once you've identified potential cross-selling opportunities, begin reaching out. It’s best to use your client's preferred channel. The most common ways agents connect with potential cross-sell opportunities are:

• Phone Call: Best for clients who prefer personal interaction
• Text Message: Effective for quick cross-sell touchpoints
• Email: Ideal for reaching larger segments

How to Craft Effective Cross-Selling Messages

Your outreach should focus on helping your client's needs. Focus on showing how additional coverage can benefit them directly. Here are a few things to keep in mind when reaching out to your clients:

• Use simple, client-friendly language
• Make your messages personal
• Highlight how your product helps with a specific coverage gap
• Emphasize peace of mind and long-term security
• Share real-life examples
• Ask questions to understand their concerns
• Be transparent about costs and value

Step 3: Follow Up with Cross-Sell Opportunities  

Why is following up important in cross-selling health insurance policies? The answer is simple: clients need time to make informed decisions. Clients may need time to review their budget, talk with family, or simply think things over. This is why timely follow-ups are crucial.

When should you follow up with clients? Best practices suggest:

• Within 48 hours after the initial conversation
• At the 1-week mark if no response
• Before their current policy renewal date
• After major life events or changes

Staying in touch with your clients demonstrates your commitment to their protection and keeps additional coverage options on their radar. 

AMS+ makes cross-selling a seamless, routine part of how you support each of your clients. The key takeaway is this: cross-selling works best when you focus on client needs, not just closing a sale.

This blog was previously posted on January 31, 2018, and May 15, 2024, and has been most recently updated and republished on October 15, 2025.

Posted by Shannon Beck on Thursday, October 16, 2025 in Sales Enablement

1. client retention
2. data management
3. lead nurturing
4. selling