HOMESITE INSURANCE
Case Study—
Retaining Customers During Crisis
How a redesigned cancellation & moving experience retained 7,560 customers and generated $4.3M
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Homesite Insurance experienced a 48% surge in cancellation calls within its renters insurance line. Homesite provides white-labeled servicing platforms for 33 major insurers, including GEICO and Progressive, making cancellation volume a critical operational and revenue risk.
As part of the UX team, I helped lead a redesign of the cancellation and “moving” experience, shifting the narrative from cancellation to transition, enabling renters to seamlessly move, transfer policies, or graduate to homeownership without coverage gaps.
(Roles)
UX/UI Design Lead
(Research Method)
User Survey
Task Analysis
(Tools)
Miro Board
Figma
Hotjar
The Problem
Most renters weren’t canceling because they were unhappy — they were moving.
However:
Customers didn’t understand transfer or upgrade options
The only path was calling an agent (~$18 per call)
Online servicing was task-oriented and emotionally fraught
Coverage gaps during moves created stress and churn
98% of online servicing users were renters — and almost all would move eventually.
Strategy
We reframed “cancellation” as a life transition problem.
Our strategy focused on:
Reducing friction during moves
Educating customers on transfer and upgrade options
Integrating cancellation, billing, and quoting into one flow
Supporting renters transitioning to homeowners (“graduation”)
The goal: retain customers while reducing operational cost.
Key UX Decisions
Introduced a dedicated Moving Center within online servicing
Unified cancellation, billing, and policy transfer flows
Pre-filled forms using existing customer data
Routed customers seamlessly to digital quote platforms via APIs
Optimized microcopy through testing (“Protect” vs. “Insure”)
Designed for clarity under stress, not exploration
Impact
7,560 customers retained
$4.3M in premium revenue generated
6% reduction in cancellation calls
$1.6M additional premium from reduced call volume
Improved customer understanding and confidence during moves
This work transformed a cost center into a retention and growth opportunity.
Why This Matters
This project demonstrates how UX can:
Reduce churn without discounting
Shift customer behavior through clarity and education
Deliver measurable revenue impact
Scale across white-labeled, multi-tenant insurance platforms
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Goals & Objectives
Understand the current state of “Moving” and “Graduation”
Define the future roadmap for moving-related services
Method
Online survey
Platforms: Qualtrics, PureSpectrum
Participants: 300 (ages 18–65)
Outputs
Topline report
Full research report
Executive summary for leadership
My Contribution
Participated in synthesis discussions
Translated findings into interaction and flow design
Used the research as a decision framework throughout design and iteration
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After synthesizing customer research and collaborating with business and product stakeholders, we identified a clear path to improve the moving and cancellation experience while supporting core business objectives.
Primary Objective
Simplify how customers transfer, update, or secure property insurance during life transitions—using API-driven integrations within the Online Servicing platform to increase successful handoffs to digital quoting and sales.Strategic Focus
Understand the current experience: Evaluate existing moving and cancellation flows to surface friction points and failure moments.
Design the future state: Define a simplified, intuitive roadmap that reduces effort, confusion, and unnecessary cancellations.
Key Strategies
Streamline quoting, policy transfer, and cancellation into a single, cohesive moving experience
Integrate billing and cancellation steps to prevent coverage gaps
Support renters transitioning to homeownership with targeted discounts and guidance
Enable multi-policy management for customers with complex insurance needs
Reduce form friction through pre-filled customer data
Provide clear education and next-step guidance throughout the process
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As the research phase concluded, I focused on deeper alignment with my primary stakeholder—the Product Owner. In addition to regular stand-ups, we held targeted one-on-one working sessions to address open questions, resolve bottlenecks, and align on emerging insights.
A key outcome of these conversations was recognizing the importance of understanding backend processes that directly shaped the customer-facing experience. To design responsibly within a microservices-based platform, I invested time learning how the underlying systems, APIs, and quote-routing logic functioned end to end.
Working closely with the Product Owner, we mapped a detailed process flow illustrating the full customer journey—from servicing entry points through quote routing and policy outcomes. This shared artifact helped surface constraints, clarify dependencies, and identify opportunities for UX improvement.
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We created wireframes focused initially on Moving and Customer Retention, with scope expanding to support Multi-Policy Management as requirements matured.
During the define phase, the Product Owner, analysts, and I collaborated in Miro to map high-level flows and assess platform capabilities. My contributions included:
Synthesizing survey findings into actionable design considerations
Aligning UX decisions with business goals and operational constraints
Observing sales agent calls to understand real-world customer interactions
I facilitated cross-functional sessions with product, engineering, and QA to ensure alignment and supported epics and user stories while tracking cross-dependencies to reduce downstream friction.
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In collaborative ideation sessions, we evaluated page taxonomy and navigation to clarify each page’s purpose within the servicing experience. Key considerations included:
Geolocation pages: Supporting location-specific insurance needs
Quote routing: Ensuring clear, predictable handoffs to sales platforms
Channel engagement: Providing appropriate escalation paths (chat, callback, phone) based on customer intent
This process ensured that navigation, content structure, and system integrations worked together to support customers during high-stress life transitions.
Ideation
Prototyping
High-Fidelity Mockups
Hey, you’re moving? We’re here to help make it easy."
This flow gives customers clear, confident choices about what to protect during a move. We intentionally use “protect” instead of “cover” or “insure” to emphasize action and responsibility—avoiding industry jargon while reinforcing the importance of safeguarding what matters most.
The experience reduces cognitive load by letting customers complete their thoughts naturally, using conversational prompts such as:
“I want to start my policy on…” and “My new address is…”
Pedro selects Rental, enters his policy start date, and provides his new address—completing the task in a single, guided flow.
To reduce friction and prevent errors, we integrated SmartyStreets for address validation. Real-time suggestions align with postal standards, helping customers enter accurate information quickly while minimizing rework—directly supporting insights uncovered during ideation.
Pedro is presented with a clear, reassuring message:
“Here’s the best option we found for you.”
The quote overview highlights what the policy includes, helping Pedro quickly understand his coverage without digging. Applicable discounts and savings are surfaced upfront to reinforce value, build trust, and confirm that this recommendation reflects his situation.
The quote details are presented with clarity and restraint—plain language, tailored reading level, and no industry jargon—so Pedro can quickly understand what’s included.
From here, he can move seamlessly into payment, save the offer for later, or decline it altogether. A persistent “Call Us” option ensures support is always within reach, reinforcing confidence at a critical decision point.
Research showed that incentives—especially loyalty discounts—play an important role in reinforcing trust and rewarding long-term customers. This is particularly meaningful for customers transitioning from renting to homeownership.
By surfacing loyalty discounts at this moment, the experience acknowledges that transition and reinforces the value of staying with the brand, supporting both customer confidence and retention.
Many customers—especially first-time renters and homeowners—find insurance terminology confusing at key decision points. To reduce uncertainty, we introduced a dynamic FAQ that adapts to common questions and customer context.
These educational cues are embedded directly into the moving experience within Homesite’s servicing platform, providing guidance when it’s needed. By pairing education with action, the flow supports confident decision-making while unifying cancellation and billing within a single, cohesive experience.
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Refining microcopy was a critical part of the moving experience. We intentionally chose “protect” over “cover” or “insure” to emphasize action and responsibility, avoiding industry jargon while aligning with how customers think about safeguarding what matters most.
To reduce decision friction, we separated property types into clear categories. Although houses and condos share the same insurance structure (HO-3), they were presented as distinct options to prevent confusion. Rentals (HO-4) were treated as a separate category, resulting in a clear three-option interface that supported faster, more confident decision-making.
Call-to-action language was also optimized through A/B testing. Based on sales insights, “Start My Quote” outperformed “Begin My Quote,” reinforcing momentum and aligning more closely with customer intent at that moment in the flow.
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We explored selective inspiration from gaming and widely adopted consumer applications to encourage positive behaviors, such as loyalty retention and enrollment in autopay. The focus was not on gamification for its own sake, but on applying familiar engagement patterns that reinforce progress, reward continuity, and reduce drop-off at key moments.
Drawing on principles from behavioral design and gamification research, we identified opportunities to introduce lightweight incentives and feedback cues that support customers transitioning into homeownership. While insurance is not a frequent-purchase category, these techniques helped frame the experience as supportive and forward-moving—guiding customers through complex decisions while reinforcing long-term value.
Impact Results
The redesigned moving and cancellation experience streamlined digital servicing, reduced operational friction, and improved customer retention during a high-churn period.
Operational Impact: Reduced cancellation-related calls by 6%, generating $1.6M in additional premium revenue
Customer Retention: Retained 7,560 customers, resulting in $4.3M in premium revenue by improving the renter-to-homeowner transition
Experience Innovation: Introduced a “graduators” narrative to guide renters transitioning to homeownership with clear, supportive decision paths
Engagement & Education: Expanded multi-channel communication and integrated in-flow education to improve understanding and confidence during policy changes
Scale & Reach
The new moving experience scaled across the servicing platform, supporting renters, first-time homeowners, and existing policyholders navigating life transitions. By reframing cancellation as a guided move, the solution delivered a clearer, lower-stress experience while aligning customer needs with business outcomes.