The policy behind the promise: INSHUR’s CX transformation with Zendesk
When INSHUR faced a 10x increase in customer volume, they partnered with Zendesk to streamline support without growing headcount. The team reduced customer contact rate from 65% to 14%, doubled ticket volume without adding agents, and cut cost per ticket by 30%. CSAT rose from 58% to 73%, while the agent-to-customer ratio improved from 1:900 to 1:8,000. With Guide, Explore, and now QA, INSHUR is redefining what it means to earn—and keep—the trust of every customer.
“We needed a solution that wasn’t going to become a project in itself. Zendesk gave us everything we needed to move quickly and build a solid foundation—without locking us into complex configurations we couldn’t manage ourselves.”
Lauren Palmer
Director of Operations at INSHUR
Founded
2016
Customer since
2022
Offices
UK, US, NL
Industry
insurance technology
–78%
Active customer contact rate
–30%
Cost per ticket
+26%
CSAT
+89%
Agent-to-customer ratio
When trust is the real policy
In a world where drivers earn by the minute and platforms scale overnight, INSHUR is the engine powering trust, protection, and possibility. Founded in 2016, this multi-award-winning insurtech has become the leading global provider of insurance solutions for the on-demand economy. With offices in the UK, US, and the Netherlands, and a team of over 240, the company delivers efficient, tech-enabled insurance solutions to leading platforms like Uber and Amazon Flex—helping drivers stay on the road with peace of mind and a sense of safety.
What sets INSHUR apart isn’t just its speed or scale, but its impactful, tailored coverage and support that adapt to every journey. At the core of this operation is a globally distributed customer experience team spanning two continents. It effectively delivers 24/7 service through a smart blend of automation, self-service, and human expertise. Customers can reach the company via a range of integrated channels, including email, Help Centre, phone, and an AI-powered virtual assistant embedded into their workflows.
Far from being a back-office function, support at INSHUR is a strategic asset—enabling continuous improvement, informing product development, and driving the company’s next phase of growth. By capturing and feeding back customer insights, the team helps shape everything from UX to policy design—while continuing to deliver on the emotional core of insurance. As Lauren Palmer, Director of Operations, says, “Trust is critical in insurance. What customers are really buying is a promise that we’ll be there when it matters most. And it’s our support team that brings that promise to life, turning uncertainty into reassurance at every touchpoint."
The tipping point before takeoff
In 2022, INSHUR was preparing for a period of rapid expansion, with customer volumes expected to increase tenfold within weeks. At the time, customer interactions were almost entirely manual, workflows were limited, and no help centre existed. Every query required agent intervention—making the model costly, high-effort, and increasingly difficult to manage efficiently. “We had a really high ratio of support agents to customers,” recalled Palmer. “It just wasn’t sustainable.”
INSHUR’s existing support platform lacked the flexibility and ease-of-use the team needed to evolve at pace. Its complexity made the system difficult to maintain, and even minor changes demanded time and engineering resources the team couldn’t spare. As the business geared up for hypergrowth, it became clear the current setup couldn’t support the pace of expansion.
INSHUR wasn’t just looking for a quick fix—they needed a lasting solution. One that was fast to deploy, easy to manage without engineering dependency, and capable of absorbing a dramatic spike in customer interactions—without expanding the team or compromising the experience.
After evaluating several other platforms, the decision quickly became clear. Zendesk offered the maturity, agility, and ownership INSHUR was looking for. “We needed a solution that wasn’t going to become a project in itself. Zendesk gave us everything we needed to move quickly and build a solid foundation—without locking us into complex configurations we couldn’t manage ourselves,” emphasised Palmer.
When help starts before the ticket
When faced with a tenfold increase in customer volume, INSHUR didn’t scale by adding agents—it scaled by empowering customers. With Zendesk, Lauren Palmer and her team built a lean, high-impact support operation where automation and self-service did the heavy lifting from day one. “The rollout was light-touch but high impact,” noted Palmer. “Everything was pre-built and ready to go. We just had to tweak it to fit our needs.”
The real unlock came with Zendesk Guide. For the first time, the company launched a Help Centre, built and managed entirely in-house. As volume surged, the Help Centre grew with it—deflecting thousands of repetitive queries and becoming the frontline of INSHUR’s support experience. As Palmer points out, “When we went live with the Help Centre, in the first three months it had 120,000 views. Over 12 months, we had half a million interactions.”
To keep up with evolving needs, the team adopted a startup mindset to content iteration. “We created a full-time role focused entirely on enhancing our service tools, driving small improvements every day and major ones at least once a quarter,” Palmer said. “Because it’s those small, incremental changes that lead to the biggest impact over time.”
This foundation enabled INSHUR to rapidly expand its customer operations—without adding a single new agent. Rather than increasing headcount, they turned their attention to content—updating and improving help articles based on real-time trends and customer language.
The power of getting it right
INSHUR’s investment in self-service wasn’t just about handling growth—it was about unlocking better service for every customer. With Zendesk Explore, the team gained real-time visibility into performance—enabling faster iteration, quicker detection of gaps, and more confident decision-making. What used to be a support operation driven by inbound volume became one shaped by anticipation and autonomy.
The number of active customers reaching out dropped from 65% to just 14%, as the Help Centre became the first—and often only—stop for answers. This shift didn’t just lighten the load. It lifted the experience. Customer satisfaction rose from 58% to 73%, even as ticket volumes nearly doubled, jumping from 9,000 to 16,000 per month. With no change in headcount, the team’s efficiency soared. Agent-to-customer ratio improved from 1:900 to over 1:8,000.
Behind the scenes, the economics told the same story. Cost per ticket fell by 30%, proving that efficiency and empathy don’t have to be at odds. And as agents took on more meaningful work—with the right tools, workflows, and information—INSHUR’s internal NPS also grew.
The results weren’t just impressive—they were transformative, reinforcing the company’s commitment to meeting customers with speed, clarity, and care. As Palmer said, “It’s so important to get the fundamentals right. We can finally see what’s working and what needs to change. That visibility has made all the difference.”
Quality, AI, and scale for what’s next
INSHUR’s journey with Zendesk has always been about more than software—it’s been a partnership grounded in adaptability, ownership, and shared ambition. From the early days of a fast-paced rollout to the transformative impact of self-service and automation, Zendesk has provided a platform INSHUR can not only depend on—but build on.
The team is now rolling out Zendesk QA, shifting from fragmented manual reviews to full visibility across every agent and virtual interaction. It’s a leap that will add new rigor to coaching, compliance, and customer experience. “We were only able to QA 0.001% of our tickets,” explained Palmer. “That’s just not enough.” With QA in place, INSHUR will finally be able to confidently monitor 100% of interactions—instantly surfacing trends, gaps, and opportunities for improvement.
Looking ahead, INSHUR is also looking into Zendesk AI Agents and Copilot to deepen its automation strategy. The goal isn’t to remove the human—it’s to elevate the team, freeing agents from repetitive tasks and reinforcing the strategic value that support plays across the business.“We're not just investing in tools,” Palmer stated. “We're investing in how we scale the right way—faster, more personally, and always grounded in what our customers need next.”
