How to import your Excel book into an insurance CRM

Most Indian insurance agents start on Excel. Migrating to a CRM is intimidating, but it does not have to be. This guide walks you through importing your Excel client book into a CRM in 7 simple steps.

Step-by-step migration

1. 1Clean your Excel sheet — remove duplicates, standardize phone numbers to 10 digits, fix spelling errors in client names.
2. 2Export as CSV — File > Save As > CSV. UTF-8 encoding, comma delimiter.
3. 3Map columns in your CRM — match Excel columns to CRM fields: Client Name, Mobile, Policy Type, Due Date, etc.
4. 4Import active clients first — only the 20-50 clients you are actively servicing. Do not import the 5-year-old dead leads.
5. 5Verify the data — spot-check 10-15 entries to make sure dates, phone numbers, and policy numbers came across correctly.
6. 6Set up renewal reminders — configure reminders for each policy's due date.
7. 7Archive the Excel file — keep it as backup for 30 days, then delete.

Column mapping reference

The most important columns to map first: Client Name, Mobile Number, Policy Number, Insurer, Policy Type, Due Date, Premium Amount. Everything else (email, address, notes) can be added later.