# How to Choose a CRM for an Insurance Agency: Buyer's Guide, Checklist and Comparison

> A buyer's guide for insurance and pension agencies: criteria, demo questions, and a fair picture of spreadsheets, generic CRMs and insurance-specific systems, sourced from the vendors' own sites.

- Published: 2026-10-25 · Updated: 2026-10-25
- Running an agency · 10 min read · The Financi team
- Canonical page: https://www.financi.co.il/en/articles/choosing-crm-insurance-agency

## The short version

- Before comparing vendors, define what your agency actually does from lead to signature. That list is the yardstick, not the vendor's feature list.
- Three questions separate the systems: how clearing-house and Har HaBituach data gets in, how signing works and what is kept, and where the client's WhatsApp conversation lives.
- Pricing is not always public. A vendor that does not publish a price is not necessarily expensive, but you only get a quote in a demo, so ask for it in writing.
- Test with a short pilot on one real process, not a slide deck. Two weeks of results teach more than ten pages of specifications.

Choosing a system for an agency is a decision that stays with you for years: clients, documents, conversations and permissions all end up in it, and leaving costs time and money. The common mistake is to start by comparing features. A better start is a different question: **what does a working day in our agency look like, and where does it get stuck?**

This guide is for agency owners and agents considering a move from spreadsheets or from an existing system. It covers criteria, questions to ask in a demo, a fair table of the options Israeli agencies actually use, and a way to test in a pilot. We are Financi, one of the systems in the table, so we wrote it under strict rules: every claim about another system comes from that vendor's own site, with a link, and whatever we could not find written there is marked “not mentioned on its site”. That is not a statement that the capability does not exist, only that we did not see it published.

## What to check before comparing vendors

Start from a short list of your own needs and rate each as “must” or “nice to have”. This is the axis that usually separates a good decision from regret:

- **Clearing house and Har HaBituach.** Does the system order and pull data, and how does it reach the client card: automatically, as a file you upload by hand, or as a separate screen.
- **Forms and signing.** Can you send the client a link to fill in and sign from a phone, and what comes back: a signed document, a seal and an audit trail.
- **Communication channels.** WhatsApp, SMS and phone system: are conversations kept on the client card or left on someone's personal phone.
- **Role-based permissions.** Who sees whose clients and who may export. In an agency with several people this is a privacy question, not only convenience.
- **Processes and tasks.** Can you describe your own process (a new pension, a coverage change) with steps, owners and due dates, or does the system only store records.
- **Commissions and reports.** What you can see about income and commissions, and what stays in the bookkeeper's spreadsheet.
- **Data and exit.** What happens to the data at the end of the contract, whether you can get a full backup, and in what format.
- **Security and privacy.** Is there a public data processing addendum (DPA), where is the data stored and who are the sub-processors.
- **Support and onboarding.** Who trains the team, how long onboarding takes, and what happens when something breaks on a Thursday afternoon.

> **Weight by pain, not by polish.** If your pain is chasing documents, forms and signing are the main criterion. If it is leads going cold, it is communication and assignment. A system that excels at something your agency does not need is still a poor decision.

## The options agencies actually use

The table has three kinds of entry: general tools (spreadsheets and a generic CRM), systems built for the insurance and pension industry, and a forms platform that is not a CRM but appears in many comparisons. The facts on the industry systems were read from their public sites on 25 October 2026 and may change; each has a link at the end. If you find an inaccuracy, tell us and we will fix it.

*What each option says about itself. “Not mentioned on its site” is not a claim that the capability does not exist*

| Option | What it is | Clearing house and Har HaBituach | Signing and forms | Public pricing |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Spreadsheets | A general tool. Very flexible and no licence cost, but no permissions, audit trail or built-in processes. | Manual: download a file and paste | None. Documents live outside the sheet | Not applicable |
| Generic CRM (not insurance-specific) | Lead and client management for any business. The industry's fields and processes usually need setting up. | Usually not built in; depends on a custom connection | Usually through an outside tool | Varies by vendor |
| Surense | A CRM for insurance and financial agents: SurenseFire (cloud), an agent app and a client app. | Its site mentions a clearing-house connection, power-of-attorney issuing, and automatic retrieval of information and files. Har HaBituach: not mentioned on the pages reviewed | Power-of-attorney signing is mentioned. General forms and signing: not detailed on the products page | Not published. Three plans; price depends on plan and users, given in a demo |
| Roeto | A workspace for financial and insurance professionals, which its site says is from the IBI investment house. | Its site mentions an automatic clearing-house connection, pulls and single-client orders. Har HaBituach: not mentioned | Not mentioned on its site | Not published. Contact sales |
| Bafi | An insurance-industry platform from B-COM with many modules: office management, Ulead, an online clearing house and more. | Has an “On-Line clearing house” module. Har HaBituach: not mentioned on the main page | A DOX module: online forms with e-signature | Published on its site, per module (as written, excluding VAT) |
| SMS (SMS2010) | An operations and data-analysis system for insurance and pension professionals, run by S.M.S Service Management Systems. | Its site mentions clearing-house orders and a client analysis booklet built from clearing-house data. Uploading a Har HaBituach file is mentioned | Digital forms with remote signing by SMS | Not published |
| Almagor | Software for pension and individual-insurance advice and marketing, with a web interface. | Its site mentions importing clearing-house and Har HaBituach data | Smart forms with remote signing, sent by SMS, email and WhatsApp | Not published. A free month of trial is offered |
| Formally | A no-code digital forms and signing platform. Per its site it connects to CRM and ERP systems, and it does not present itself as a CRM. | Not applicable: it is not presented as a client-management system | Its core: forms, signing and processes. Per its site, aimed mainly at banks, insurers, investment houses and large organisations | Not published |
| Financi | A CRM for insurance and pension agencies, by Shavve. Six modules on one client card, including a shared WhatsApp inbox and operations (Ops). | Orders data from the clearing house and Har HaBituach with the client's consent and merges it into one card | Forms and signing from a phone with no login. A signed, sealed PDF returns with an AWS KMS seal and a 7-year WORM ledger | Published on its site |

> **How to read the table.** The table does not rank. You may find a system stronger than Financi in an area that matters to you: for example one with motor-insurance modules or simulators, or a signing platform designed for large organisations. That is why the next step is your own list of needs, not the table.

## Questions to ask every vendor in a demo

**Demo checklist**

- [ ] Show me one of my processes from start to finish, with sample data, not the home screen.
- [ ] How does clearing-house and Har HaBituach data reach the client card, and what do I have to do by hand?
- [ ] What exactly comes back after the client signs, and how can I show the document was not altered?
- [ ] Where are WhatsApp conversations and emails with the client stored, and who on the team sees them?
- [ ] How are permissions set: who sees whose clients and who can export?
- [ ] What is the total first-year cost: licence, extra users, onboarding, training, backup and exit? In writing.
- [ ] What happens to our data at the end of the contract, and in what format do we get it?
- [ ] Which customers can we talk to, agencies our size?
- [ ] What does not work today? Ask to hear a list of limits, not only features.

## Which kind of solution suits which agency

*A rule of thumb, not a verdict. Every agency should test in a pilot*

| Agency situation | What usually fits | Why |
| --- | --- | --- |
| A single agent, few clients, no team | A tidy spreadsheet or a light tool | The cost and learning of a large system exceed the benefit |
| A small agency starting to lose documents and leads | An industry system with clearing house, forms and communication | The pain is process, and process is the industry |
| An agency with several staff and permission needs | A system with role-based permissions and an audit trail | Privacy and accountability require separation |
| An agency already on a system and satisfied | Stay, and test only one defined gap | Switching costs time, and only a clear gap justifies it |
| A large organisation or bank with special signing requirements | A dedicated signing platform next to the client system | Not every CRM is built for such volumes and requirements |

## Common mistakes when choosing

- **Choosing on licence price alone.** The real cost includes onboarding, staff time, extra users and payments to sub-processors.
- **Being impressed by a generic demo.** A demo on data the vendor prepared always looks good. Ask for your own process.
- **Ignoring the exit.** A system you cannot leave is a loan at an interest rate you cannot see.
- **Moving everything in one day.** A gradual move, process by process, reduces risk and lets the team learn.
- **Forgetting the team.** A system the team dislikes stays empty. Involve two people in the demo and the pilot.
- **Skipping privacy.** Ask for a data processing addendum and ask who the sub-processors are before uploading client data.

## A two-week pilot, step by step

1. **Pick one real process** — For example a new pension client, from lead to signature. Not everything the agency does, just one process you know well.
2. **Define four measures before you start** — Time from lead to first conversation, time from conversation to signature, documents returned for correction, and admin hours spent. Record the current state.
3. **Bring on a small team** — Two people, including the most sceptical one. They will find the problems a slide deck will not.
4. **Run in parallel** — Do not switch off the existing system. Work in both and compare.
5. **Summarise in writing** — What worked, what is missing, what it cost and what the team says. The decision rests on measures, not on a feeling.

If you are not sure it is time to move, [our free readiness check](https://www.financi.co.il/en/tools/crm-readiness-check) gives a first answer in a few minutes, and [the article on moving off spreadsheets](https://www.financi.co.il/en/articles/why-agencies-outgrow-spreadsheets) lists the signs.

## Frequently asked questions

### Does a small agency need an industry-specific CRM?

Not always. A single agent with few clients can work with a tidy spreadsheet. A system becomes worthwhile when you start losing leads or documents, or a second person joins and needs permissions.

### What is the difference between an insurance CRM and a generic one?

An industry system usually includes the field's concepts: policies, commissions, a clearing-house connection, forms and signing. A generic CRM can be configured to do them, but that takes work and usually outside tools.

### How long does onboarding take?

It varies between vendors and agencies, and we will not publish a number we cannot support. Show the vendor your process and ask for a written timetable with milestones.

### Should I choose by the published price?

A public price is convenient for comparison, but it is not the whole picture. Compare the total first-year cost: licence, users, onboarding, training, backup and exit.

### How do I avoid lock-in?

Ask in writing how you get your data at the end of the contract and in what format, and check that you can export clients, documents and history. Check for an API too.

> **Want to see one of your processes on Financi?** Book a demo and we will walk through a real process from lead to signature. We will also tell you what Financi does not do. [Book a demo](https://www.financi.co.il/en#contact)

## Sources and further reading

- [Surense: vendor home page](https://www.surense.co.il/)
- [Surense: products](https://www.surense.co.il/products/)
- [Roeto: vendor site](https://www.roeto.co.il)
- [Bafi: vendor site](https://www.bafi.co.il)
- [Bafi: price list published on its site](https://www.bafi.co.il/mehiron/)
- [SMS: vendor site](https://www.smscrm.co.il)
- [Almagor: vendor site](https://www.almagor.app)
- [Formally: vendor site](http://www1.formally.co.il/)

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*The information in this article is general only and is not financial, pension, legal or tax advice, nor a substitute for personal advice. Demos and calculators are illustrative models: your numbers will differ.*