I’ve been running insurance ads for a while now, and honestly, I used to think the whole “ads not working” thing was just a matter of budget or bad luck. But after losing money on more than a few campaigns, I realized there’s a real pattern — most insurance advertising just doesn’t bring back the ROI people expect.

It’s kind of wild when you think about it. You can follow all the “best practices,” get good creatives, even run A/B tests — and still end up with numbers that barely justify the spend. So yeah, when I came across a discussion about how 70% of insurance ads fail to get ROI, it didn’t surprise me one bit.

Why I Think Most Insurance Ads Don’t Work

From my own experience (and what I’ve seen others go through), the main problem is that insurance feels… cold. People don’t wake up excited to buy insurance, right? It’s something they feel forced to think about when they’re buying a house, starting a business, or getting older.

So when ads just shout “get insured now” or “low premium offers,” it doesn’t connect emotionally. Most ads in this space look and sound exactly the same. It’s no wonder people scroll past without a second glance.

Another issue? Targeting. A lot of advertisers go too broad. Insurance isn’t a one-size-fits-all deal — health, auto, life, home, each has different buyer intent, and lumping everyone together wastes ad spend fast.

I learned this the hard way. My first few campaigns were just wide open — I let the platform “find the right people.” Spoiler: it didn’t.

My Turning Point

I hit a point where I had to pause all campaigns and rethink what I was doing. I started looking at other industries that were doing well with ads and realized they all had something in common: storytelling and timing.

Instead of pushing a sale, they were educating, helping people understand why they needed the product and when it made sense for them. So I tried shifting my approach from “Buy this insurance” to “Here’s how to protect what matters.”

I also narrowed down my audience. Instead of running one big campaign for everyone, I broke it down into smaller segments — young professionals, families, and retirees — each with different ad angles.

Guess what? The difference was night and day. The clicks went down, but the conversions went up. My cost per lead dropped, and the leads I did get actually followed up or booked calls.

Common Mistakes I See People Make

From chatting with others in the same space, I think these are the top three things that make most insurance advertising fail:

Too generic messaging: Saying “get insurance today” isn’t enough. It doesn’t speak to a pain point or a goal.

Lack of trust-building: Insurance is personal. If the ad doesn’t feel credible or backed by real experiences, people tune out.

Ignoring the funnel: Many people expect ads to directly sell insurance, but they work better when they guide — from awareness to understanding to action.

It’s also worth mentioning that creative fatigue is real. Running the same banner or text ad for weeks kills engagement. I started rotating visuals and headlines every 10–14 days, and the freshness helped a lot.

What Helped Me Turn Things Around

If I had to boil it down, the biggest improvement came when I started treating ads like conversations, not announcements. Instead of pushing plans or offers, I asked questions — “What would happen if your family lost your income for a month?” or “Is your current plan really covering what you think it is?”

It sounds simple, but those little shifts made the ads feel more relatable.

I also came across an article titled Why 70% of Insurance Ads Fail to Get ROI — And How to Avoid It, which breaks down a few more reasons and insights that really lined up with what I was noticing. It’s worth a read if you’re stuck or feel like you’re wasting ad spend.

The main takeaway from that (and my own experience) is: ads that educate perform better than ads that just sell. When people understand the “why” behind a policy, they’re way more likely to click, ask questions, and eventually buy.

Final Thoughts

If your insurance ads aren’t getting ROI, don’t assume you’re just bad at advertising. This industry is tough. People are skeptical, the competition is fierce, and attention spans are short.

But that also means there’s a lot of room to stand out — if you focus on connection over conversion. Use real stories, be specific with targeting, refresh your creatives often, and test messaging that builds trust instead of just shouting offers.

I’m still figuring it out myself, but after shifting how I approach insurance advertising, I’m finally seeing results that feel worth the effort.

Sometimes, it’s not about spending more — it’s about sounding more human.