Digital Engagement Analysis for Insurance Brands

Please note: This analysis does not reflect actual business performance (revenue, profits, membership etc.); it is strictly a measure of digital presence and engagement based on publicly available data.

To properly rank these brands, we looked at what people actually responded to over a 105-day period (and 3 months for LinkedIn). These rankings are strictly engagement-based.

How the Engagement Score (ES) was calculated:

We took the total number of likes from all posts in the period and divided it by the total number of posts.

For Facebook, we averaged the like-based score and the comment-based score to get a more accurate picture of interaction.

If a brand posted fewer than 10 times during the period, an ES of 0 was awarded to ensure statistical relevance.

To qual outliers the winsorization method was used.

First Mutual Life Holdings / Doves Holdings (Joint Top)

Old Mutual / CIMAS (Joint 2nd Position)

ZIMNAT

Nyaradzo Group

ZIMNAT and FML have cracked the code here. When you show actual people in your content, it builds a level of trust that a stock photo of a smiling family just can't touch. In an industry built on promises and "what-ifs," seeing real faces makes the brand feel relatable.

TikTok has been a massive win for ZIMNAT, CIMAS, and FML. Why? Because they stopped being boring. They’ve embraced "edutainment," educational content that’s actually fun to watch. This has allowed them to tap into the youth market, a demographic that usually ignores traditional insurance ads. If you aren't entertaining, you’re invisible.

This is the biggest gap in the market. The entire sector is basically sleeping on Pay Per Click (PPC) ads. Only Old Mutual and FML are making use of them, and even then, there’s room to grow. For everyone else, it’s like leaving money on the table. If you want to jump to the top of the search results, this is the quickest way to do it.

Interactive posts are Old Mutual’s bread and butter, and they work. Meanwhile, CIMAS has been "boots on the ground" with the Mud Run, marathons, and cycling events. These events are engagement goldmines. However, CIMAS learned a hard lesson: Quantity does not mean Quality. While they had high visibility during their 105-day data collection, the quality of content didn't always match the volume, which prevented them from taking the top spot.

FML is playing the long game with their podcast Beyond the Brand. While it needs more "juice" to stay interesting, their trolley dash videos with socialites have been absolute engagement magnets. Their marathons and choral competitions are also brilliant initiatives that bring in massive cross-platform engagement.

DOVES and Nyaradzo prove that you don't need a million followers to dominate the conversation. By leaning into popular funerals and high-profile events, Doves raked in massive engagement. It’s about being present where the public's attention is already fixed.

Nyaradzo is a beast on Facebook. They have embodied the Sahwira (friend/companion) culture perfectly.

The Strategy: They congratulate everyone for promotions or wins and show up for every funeral. It’s pure brand heart.

The Innovation: They are the only brand effectively using User Generated Content (UGC) through Nyaradzo Got Talent and Shoko naSahwira.

The Influencer Power: With influencers like Madam Boss, Jah Prayzah, and Zimpraise, their reach is massive.

So, why did they miss the #1 spot? Tunnel vision. Nyaradzo focused almost 100% on Facebook (4.75x more posts than Instagram). They seem lost on LinkedIn, and by failing to push their top-tier UGC onto TikTok and Instagram, they missed out on a much higher engagement aggregate.

The data shows that having the most followers doesn't guarantee the most engagement. To win in this digital landscape, brands need to stop "broadcasting" and start "conversing."

The brands currently leading, FML and Doves, succeed because they balance high-profile events with relatable, human content. For a brand like Nyaradzo to reclaim the top spot, they must break their "Facebook-only" habit and adapt their powerful Sahwira storytelling for more professional (LinkedIn) and their UGC visuals for TikTok/Instagram audiences. Ultimately, the future belongs to those who can be both educational and entertaining ("edutaining") while utilizing the tools, like PPC, influencers, events and trends.