Does anyone actually get better ROAS in insurance ads?

I’ve been playing around with insurance advertising for a while now, and one thing that constantly bugs me is how quickly ad costs can spiral up without much change in return. It’s like no matter how well I think I’ve optimized a campaign, the cost per lead keeps creeping up. So lately, I’ve been wondering—can you actually improve ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) without just throwing more money at it?
A few months ago, I was stuck in that exact situation. My campaigns were running fine on paper—steady click-through rates, decent leads, okay conversions—but the ROAS was kind of flat. Every time I tried to scale up, my cost per conversion went up too. Classic case of spending more to earn the same. I even remember thinking, “Maybe insurance advertising just is expensive, and there’s no getting around it.”
But here’s where it got interesting. I started noticing how a few peers in a small marketing group I follow were managing to keep their spend steady while improving their returns. At first, I thought they were using some secret tool or agency, but most of them were just tweaking their ad placement, timing, and targeting strategy—nothing fancy.
So I decided to try a few things myself, and here’s what I found out through trial and (plenty of) error:

1. Ad timing really matters more than I thought
I used to just let my ads run 24/7, thinking insurance is one of those products people can search for anytime. But after checking performance data, I realized most of my quality leads came in during weekday mornings—especially around 9–11 AM. When I limited my campaign schedule to those prime hours, my irrelevant clicks dropped, and my ROAS actually went up about 20% in two weeks.
It’s not that fewer impressions hurt performance—it’s that the right impressions did the heavy lifting.

2. Stop chasing “more” keywords
I used to think the more keywords, the better. Wrong. That approach only drained my budget faster. So I stripped my campaigns down to specific intent-based phrases like “affordable home insurance quotes” or “compare car insurance policies online.”
The generic ones like “insurance” or “best policy” just burned through spend with little return. When I tightened my targeting to more specific and relevant search terms, not only did my click cost drop, but the conversion quality went up too.

3. Retargeting quietly wins the long game
Something I underestimated was how important retargeting really is in insurance advertising. People rarely buy on the first click. They browse, compare, and come back later. I added a simple retargeting layer using display ads—nothing fancy, just a few clear messages reminding users to complete their quote.
The crazy part? My overall spend barely changed, but my conversion rate climbed steadily. I guess it’s because I was finally talking to “warm” users instead of starting from scratch each time.

4. Landing pages deserve more credit
This one took me a while to accept. I was obsessing over my ad copy and targeting while ignoring my landing page design. Turns out, a poorly structured landing page kills conversions faster than a bad keyword.
I simplified my page, cut the unnecessary form fields, made the CTA more obvious, and added a quick trust badge (because insurance is all about credibility). That alone improved my bounce rate by 30%. It’s funny how small tweaks can make a big difference when you’re trying to stretch every dollar.

5. Learn from what others are doing right
I’m not a fan of cookie-cutter advice, but sometimes reading how others approach the same problem helps. I came across this breakdown on Insurance Advertising That Achieves ROAS Without Increasing Spend, and honestly, it hit a few points I wish I had known earlier—like how to leverage small creative adjustments and ad sequencing without needing more budget.
It’s not a “magic trick” kind of article, but it reinforces the idea that results don’t always come from spending more; they come from spending smarter.

6. Testing small, learning fast
If I’ve learned anything from running insurance ads, it’s that small experiments work better than full-blown overhauls. Instead of redoing an entire campaign, I now test one thing at a time—like headline variations or new audience filters. It’s easier to spot what’s actually working when you isolate changes.
I guess the biggest takeaway here is that achieving better ROAS isn’t about bigger budgets—it’s about better control. Whether it’s ad timing, audience focus, or messaging tweaks, the small consistent optimizations pay off more than dramatic overhauls.

To wrap it up, if you’re stuck in the same “spend more, earn the same” loop that I was, take a step back. Look at your timing, check your targeting, simplify your funnel, and retarget smarter. You don’t need to double your budget—just double your awareness of what’s working.
And if you’re curious about how others approach it, that link I mentioned earlier is a pretty solid place to start for ideas. Sometimes all it takes is seeing how someone else solved the same problem to get you unstuck.