Best Performing Ad Creatives Used by Top Insurance Companies

With what seems like an endless supply of companies offering different types of insurance coverage, it’s not hard to understand why advertising tactics mean everything in the world of insurance to help differentiate themselves.

These insurance companies are not the same ones as your parents grew to know. They are agile, always trying to stay ahead of the competition, and offering new products that reflect the wants and needs of customers around the country.

At Dicer.ai we’ve completed the most in-depth study ever conducted into the insurance advertising landscape, analyzing 24 of the top insurance companies and more than 3,200 ad assets that they ran.

Here are some of the top trends and creatives we observed, in the three main advertising categories: image, video, and copy.

Image Trends

Across all 24 analyzed insurance companies, the visual use of Leisure Activities in images was one the most common visual used in ad asset images. Below you'll find key common strategies used across ad images.

Top image trends in insurance advertising include some of the sector’s key themes such as Medicare, preventative dental care, commercial auto insurance, specialized mental health support and much more.

One of the top trends in the industry is promoting an active lifestyle and adventure. It was prevalent in multiple ads that multiple companies ran, leveraging messaging and imagery to highlight exploration, outdoor activities and how joyful living an active life can be.

AAA, for instance, ran an ad featuring a woman hiking to highlight the importance of travel insurance for people who love the outdoors. The ad sought to appeal to people’s emotions to emphasize how important having insurance is.

Another major trend observed was a focus on personalized healthcare interaction. This follows in tune with the one-on-one experience that so many healthcare organizations are delivering to patients today.

The visual elements in these ads emphasized trust, personalized attention and care, supplementing that with text that highlights the benefits of supportive and comprehensive healthcare services.

Humana ran an ad featuring a dental professional and a patient in a dental care environment, emphasizing an educational and relaxed interaction. This trend is gaining steam most likely because of the emotional connection that it exudes — something that patients desire today.

A third observed image trend is leisure and relaxation in natural settings. In these ads, individuals were often featured in settings that were both relaxing and tranquil. This included relaxing by the water, boating and fishing. USAA, for instance, featured a collage of images that included someone relaxing by a pool and on a cruise ship in calm waters.

Insurance companies sought to appeal to people’s desire to relax and escape from their daily stresses with this trend. In doing so, they hoped to make the insurance products they offer more appealing to customers.

Video Trends

The video use of Emotional Narratives, such as family and inclusivity, parents and aging, and newborns was a common theme among assets and shown across more than a dozen insurance companies.

A top video trend that was observed in this study was an emphasis on inclusivity and family. Overall, the videos depicted diverse family units with happy expressions in settings that would suggest everyday moments.

Another video trend was emphasizing safety and emergency services. These ads were much more serious in tone, as the companies were promoting the reliability of their products and services in emergency scenarios. GEICO’s ad highlighted the roadside assistance offered through auto insurance policies by using a mix of serious scenarios and humor to emphasize how important having reliable support can be.

All of these ads attempted to tug at the heartstrings of consumers, who may not know where to turn in case of emergency.

A third video trend was emotional storytelling that focused on personal achievement and community engagement. These ads had a narrative style to appeal to consumers. American Family Insurance ran ads celebrating graduations, and encouraging viewers to share their own achievements with a specialized hashtag.

Copy Trends

Copy focused on Financial and Travel plans was by far the most common theme across companies. As life brings twists and turns, key messaging of staying financially secure with insurance led the way in copy trends.

Another prevalent trend observed is emphasizing savings and discounts. This is a significant trend and one that’s been present for a while in the industry. Insurance companies tried to appeal to consumers, especially during what is trying financial times for many people. Since the market is so competitive right now, insurance companies are trying to win out on price.

Another copy trend is an emphasis on care that’s both localized and personalized. With people desiring and even demanding this type of care today, insurance companies are increasingly trying to play to that.

Cigna promoted its Cigna LocalPlus solution in Utah to show how useful its local network plan is in helping people manage rising healthcare costs without having to sacrifice quality. Consumers prefer this personalization and localization of care today, which is why these insurance companies likely tried to appeal to that.

A third copy trend was emphasizing savings and discounts. Much like the above, this trend is not altogether surprising. Insurance companies are in a very competitive market, at a time when an increasing number of people are looking to save money wherever possible without sacrificing the quality they’ve come to expect.

Many of the ads observed mentioned how much customers were able to save by switching to their company. Farmers Insurance, for instance, professed that “others saved $661 on average by switching to Farmers GroupSelect, an auto insurance policy “that’s better for your budget.”

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