Text messaging may be a less satisfying communication option — due to its emotional superficiality, the inability to decipher nuance or sarcasm, and its use to avoid actual conversation.

But today's tech-savvy, forward-thinking insurers have little choice but to incorporate texting (along with app-based messaging) into their prospecting and customer relationship management plans as texting is overwhelmingly popular among consumers, especially millennials.

Consider how far text messaging has come in roughly two decades, based on 2015 reporting:

  • 97% of Americans sent and received at least one text message a day, according to the Pew Research Center.

  • Worldwide, consumers sent about 23 billion text messages a day, or 16 million per minute, according to Portio Research.

  • Text messages have a 98% open rate, while email has only a 20% open rate, according to Mobile Marketing Watch.

"Text messaging has proven itself to be a superior communication platform," software blogger Juebong Khwarg recently wrote. "It's fast, it's accessible and it's multi-functional."

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Elana Ashanti Jefferson

Elana Ashanti Jefferson serves as ALM's PropertyCasualty360 Group Chief Editor. She is a veteran journalist and communications professional. Reach her by sending an e-mail to [email protected].