The challenge: Speed of contact determined renewal rate. The team was too slow.

Southern Cross Underwriting provides commercial and personal lines insurance across Queensland. Every quarter, approximately 5,400 policies come up for renewal. The firm's retention team of four was responsible for calling each policyholder to remind them, answer questions, process the renewal, or flag those considering switching.
At four minutes per call (including voicemails and callbacks), the quarterly renewal campaign consumed the entire team for 8-10 weeks. By the time later-stage policyholders were contacted, many had already lapsed or switched to a competitor.
Southern Cross's internal data showed that policyholders contacted within the first week of their renewal window renewed at 68%. Those contacted after four weeks renewed at only 31%. Speed of contact was directly correlated with retention, and the team simply couldn't move fast enough.

The solution: 5,400 policyholders contacted in 11 days

Thrumble AI ran the entire quarterly renewal campaign. Over 11 days, the AI contacted all 5,400 policyholders with a natural Australian English voice.
Each call confirmed the policyholder's identity, reminded them of their upcoming renewal date, outlined any changes to their premium or coverage, answered common questions using pre-approved responses, and offered to process the renewal on the spot.
Policyholders who wanted to discuss their coverage in detail or negotiate pricing were transferred to a retention specialist with a full call summary and the policyholder's stated concerns already documented.
Those who declined renewal were logged with their reason (price, switching provider, no longer need coverage), giving Southern Cross structured churn data for the first time.

The results: The numbers speak for themselves

• 5,400 policyholders contacted in 11 days. The previous manual process took 8-10 weeks.

• 2,100 policies renewed through AI-handled calls: a 39% conversion rate from outbound contact.

• Average 1.9 call attempts per policyholder, with intelligent retry scheduling.

• 410 policyholders transferred to retention specialists with pre-documented objections, enabling targeted save conversations.

• Structured churn data captured for every declined renewal. Something Southern Cross had never had before.

The commercial impact: $3.2M in recovered premium. $480K in annual staffing savings.

The 2,100 renewed policies represent $3.2 million AUD in recovered annual premium revenue.
The campaign cost approximately $4,800 AUD in Thrumble usage. The previous manual process consumed an estimated $120,000 AUD per quarter in retention team capacity.
Annualised, the shift to AI-powered renewal campaigns saves Southern Cross $480,000 AUD per year in staffing costs alone, before accounting for the improvement in renewal rates.

11 days instead of 10 weeks. 2,100 renewals. $3.2M in premium revenue recovered.