What Commercial Insurance Can Learn from Enterprise SaaS: The Power of Customer Success

by Mark Gardella, CEO, Sertis

Here’s a question for the insurance industry: Why do enterprise SaaS companies invest heavily in Customer Success, while most commercial insurers barely think about it?

In SaaS, Customer Success isn’t just a support function—it’s a growth engine.

The goal is simple: ensure customers achieve their desired outcomes, so they stick around, expand their business, and advocate for the product.

The results speak for themselves:

• Retention: SaaS companies with a strong Customer Success function have net revenue retention (NRR) rates of 110-120%, meaning existing customers not only stay but spend more over time. (Source: KeyBanc SaaS Survey)
• Expansion Revenue: 60-80% of new bookings for mature SaaS businesses come from existing customers. (Source: SaaStr) 
• Customer Satisfaction: Companies with strong Customer Success programs see 20-30 point improvements in Net Promoter Score (NPS), driving higher referrals and lower churn. (Source: McKinsey) 

• Competition is fierce. Alternative risk transfer options, captives, and new entrants (including insurtech MGAs) give customers more choices than ever.
• Pricing alone won’t differentiate. If customers only hear from their insurer at renewal, the decision often comes down to price.
• Risk management is an ongoing process. A proactive Customer Success function could help insureds prevent losses and reduce claims, leading to improved loss ratios, and ultimately more sustainable coverage.  

The True Cost of Risk in Multifamily

In commercial real estate—and multifamily properties in particular—the total cost of risk goes far beyond just the cost of insurance.

When a fire, violent crime, poor maintenance or major liability event happens on a property, the economic impact extends well beyond the claim payout. Property owners also face:

• Rent roll losses due to vacant units and lower tenant retention. A single fire-damaged unit can take months to repair, reducing rental income. Violent crime can increase vacancy rates, as 63% of renters consider neighborhood safety a top priority when choosing where to live. (Source: NMHC) 
• Reputational damage leading to lower leasing demand. Listings with reported crime or frequent insurance claims can see significantly reduced rental applications.
• Increased operating costs from higher security expenses, legal fees, and maintenance. A property with a history of violent crime may require additional security staff or surveillance upgrades to maintain occupancy.
• Deferred maintenance—such as roof leaks, aging HVAC systems, or plumbing issues—can result in costly repairs, disrupt tenants, and ultimately lead to higher turnover.
• Higher future insurance premiums—or even policy non-renewal—if claims history deteriorates.

All of this has a direct impact on an owner’s returns. In fact, studies show that violent crime alone can reduce property values by 10-15% and increase vacancy rates by up to 7 percentage points in affected areas. (Source: Brookings Institution)  

Regular preventative maintenance and property management is key to controlling all types of risks. Proactively addressing wear and tear not only reduces costly emergency repairs but also helps maintain occupancy rates and long-term asset value.

This broader definition of economic loss is what truly matters to property owners. Yet, the traditional insurance model focuses only on claims payments—not on preventing these losses in the first place.

Why MGAs Are Best Positioned to Lead

Most large insurance carriers are structured around policy issuance and claims—not customer engagement. MGAs, on the other hand, have the agility and customer-centric mindset to activate true Customer Success functions. Here’s why:

• Nimbleness: Unlike large insurers, MGAs aren’t weighed down by legacy systems and bureaucratic processes. They can implement and iterate quickly.
• Tech-Driven Insight: Many MGAs already leverage data analytics
• Customer Success and automation to assess risk dynamically. Applying that same approach to proactive customer engagement is a natural next step.
• Alignment with Customers: The best MGAs view themselves as partners, not just policy providers. A strong Customer Success function helps insureds prevent claims, optimize coverage, and get the most value from their insurance program.

How Sertis is Leading the Way

At Sertis, we’ve built our business around this philosophy. For us, Customer Success is just as important as disciplined underwriting and strong distribution partnerships.

That’s why we developed the Sertis Risk Indicator (SRI)—our proprietary, dynamic risk management platform that provides customers, broker partners, and property management companies with real-time visibility and actionable insights to manage risk more effectively.

With SRI, we don’t just underwrite risk—we help our customers reduce it. By putting the right tools and data in their hands, we empower them to:

• Improve safety measures and reduce loss frequency
• Lower their total cost of risk over time
• Proactively address maintenance issues to prevent costly repairs and tenant disruptions
• Make smarter, data-driven decisions that lead to better insurance outcomes

And we don’t stop there. Our approach to Customer Success means we’re continuously engaging with our insureds and distribution partners—not just at renewal time, but throughout the policy lifecycle.

Because at Sertis, our mission is clear: to empower our customers and distribution partners to bend the arc of the overall cost of risk down—driving high returns for all stakeholders.

The Bottom Line

If enterprise SaaS companies can prove that investing in Customer Success drives retention, revenue growth, and profitability, there’s no reason commercial insurance can’t do the same.

MGAs that lead the way—those who take a proactive, technology-driven approach to risk management—will build deeper relationships, improve underwriting results, and create a true competitive advantage.

It’s time for the insurance industry to stop thinking of customer engagement as a cost center—and start seeing it as a growth driver.

Get appointed with Sertis.