Building and nurturing trust is essential in any business, but even more so in insurance, where people need to feel safe and understood when purchasing a policy or validating a claim. Speaking multiple languages in insurance plays a vital role in this process, as it helps bridge communication gaps and makes clients feel more valued and secure.
Today, we can connect with clients from all over the world, meaning they come from different cultures and speak different languages. This can make it more challenging for insurance agents to explain complex information and build trust at the same time. In this article, we will cover why it is important to speak multiple languages in the insurance sector and how to achieve it in a hassle-free way. Let’s begin!
How Can Language Build Trust in a Multicultural Economy?
Language is more than just a mere channel for communication, it is the very basis of trust, empathy, and connection between people, both in person and online.
In fact, according to a 2020 CSA Research study, 76% of online shoppers prefer products that have information in their native language. Moreover, 40% stated they are not likely to buy from websites in foreign languages.
This shows how important language is in the internet era, and the same applies in service jobs, especially in insurance, where legal, money, and personal issues affect customer choices, and so it requires that the explanations are crystal clear.
When clients speak the same language as their insurance agent, they feel more respected, understood, and supported, especially when talking about sensitive topics like health, loss, or money.
Why Language Matters in Insurance?
Insurance products, such as life, health, or car insurance, can be difficult to understand at first. If a client misunderstands the coverage or rules of their insurance, it could lead to terrible consequences, from losing their trust to potential legal issues.
Multilingual agents help prevent this by:
- Making the coverage clear: Agents fluent in the client’s language can break down technical jargon and policy nuances in simple, familiar ways so they are easier for the customer to understand.
- Avoiding mistakes and disputes: When everyone understands the same language, there’s less room for confusion or misinterpretations. It also avoids the reliance on third-party interpreters.
- Meeting legal standards: Many countries legally require insurers to explain the terms and conditions of insurance policies to their clients in the clearest way possible, especially in areas with many non-English speakers.
- Offering emotional support: During claims or emergencies, being understood in their native language can bring comfort to clients and foster their trust during vulnerable moments.
The U.S. Insurance Landscape
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 67.3 million people in the U.S. aged 5 and older spoke a language other than English at home in 2021. Spanish was the most common, followed by languages like Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, and Arabic.
In light of this, U.S. insurance companies that are proactively hiring bilingual staff and offering translated documents are fostering a competitive edge, not just in sales but in long-term customer loyalty. But hiring alone isn’t always enough. That’s where technology-enhanced tools like Promova can help.
Promova is a language learning app that helps professionals build practical language skills by practicing in real-life situations, not just memorizing grammar rules. This makes it easier to use the language in real conversations with customers, which makes it especially valuable in high-stakes industries such as insurance.
Language learning platforms have evolved significantly in the last few years, and Promova is a great example of this change. Unlike traditional classroom lessons, Promova uses an easy-to-use app that offers:
- AI-driven roleplay exercises: Insurance workers can practice real conversations with AI, like helping clients with their claims, talking about prices, or providing support in emergencies.
- Industry-focused vocabulary: Vocabulary lessons are designed to teach sector-specific terms and phrases that can come up in actual client interactions.
- Flexible learning: Lessons are short and structured to fit into even the busiest of schedules, allowing agents to learn gradually and retain information more effectively.
Promova is used broadly across many industries and by individual learners all around the globe, but its flexibility makes it especially helpful for insurance agents that want to give better service to their clients.
Steps to build multilingual trust in insurance
To get the most from speaking multiple languages, insurance companies can follow a more structured approach. Here are three key steps that can make a big difference:
1. Help teams learn high-demand languages
While hiring bilingual agents is certainly valuable, it is not always possible for every role. Investing in language training for your existing staff can empower them to engage more effectively with non-English-speaking clients. Here are a couple of actions you can take:
- Conduct internal audits to identify the most commonly spoken languages among your client base and among your current leads.
- Integrate language courses and learning apps like Promova into training programs that agents can take advantage of.
- Support these programs with fun incentives or recognition for skill acquisition.
2. Prioritize cultural understanding, not just translation
A literal translation doesn’t always convey the intended message, especially in the insurance sector. Insurance agents need to understand cultural nuances to achieve effective communication with customers. This means involves adapting:
- Idiomatic expressions and analogies used in everyday life.
- Visuals and culturally appropriate references.
- Legal terminology suited to the audience’s comprehension level
To achieve this, you can:
- Work with localization experts with experience in legal and financial languages.
- Encourage your team to learn about the culture too, not just the language. For example, they can read blog posts, watch videos, or listen to podcasts from the country where the language is spoken to learn more about how people live, speak and think in real life.
- Build feedback resources where customers can review and improve translated forms and documents.
3. Use technology to support human service
AI chatbots, speech-to-text tools, and real-time translation software are quite useful to handle basic queries, but complex conversations still require human empathy and understanding. This is why technology should support, but not replace, human interactions:
- You can adopt a hybrid model for customer support: Chatbots for greetings and basic FAQs, and access to trained agents for sensitive or more complex conversations.
- Use analytics to assess the service’s effectiveness across different languages and keep improving as needed.
Challenges of building multilingual services (and how to solve them)
Even though building multilingual skills has plenty of advantages, naturally it comes with a few challenges. Let’s take a look at the most common of them and how to overcome them:
Limited staff
Most insurance companies don’t have employees who speak every language their customers use. Hiring a full multilingual team can be expensive and time-consuming.
Solution:
- Gradually start training your staff with simple and accessible tools.
- Use apps like Promova to help team members learn key phrases in other languages at their own pace.
- Focus on your client’s most-used languages first, and expand as your needs grow.
- Encourage basic cultural awareness to improve communication, even when full fluency isn’t possible at this time.
Quality control in translations
Bad or machine-only translations can confuse clients, hurt your brand image, or even cause serious legal or safety issues. Why? Literal translations often miss cultural context or tone that are crucial to get a message across correctly.
Solution:
- Set up a clear translation review process that doesn’t rely only on automated tools.
- Hire professional translators or localization partners who understand your industry to proofread priority or sensitive documents.
- Test your content in real-life situations with native speakers.
- Keep a centralized glossary of brand terms and tone guidelines to stay consistent across languages.
Digital divide
Not all customers are comfortable using apps, websites, or AI chatbots, especially older clients or those with limited access to mobile devices or Wi-Fi.
Solution:
- Offer multiple support channels, like phone support with multilingual staff or interpreters, in-person help for walk-in clients or events, or multilingual printed brochures.
- Make sure your digital tools are easy to use and accessible for customers of all ages.
- Use simple language and visuals in your apps and forms to guide users of all skill levels.
Why being multilingual pays off?
When people trust you, they stay with you. It’s as simple as that. If your clients feel heard and understood in their native language, they are more likely to renew their insurance, recommend you to others, and stay loyal to your company for a long time.
Multilingual services also support company goals for inclusion and accessibility. This is important for brand image, operational performance and meeting Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) goals.
Final thoughts
In the insurance industry, where decisions are often life-altering and the stakes are high, trust is everything. Speaking your client’s language, both literally and culturally, is no longer a luxury but a strategic requirement. It communicates care, respect, competence, and commitment.
Integrating tools like Promova to help your staff learn new languages, localizing documents, and blending technology with human support helps insurance companies build stronger relationships with customers from all over the world.