The best dictation software for insurance agents (2026)

Insurance agents spend a surprising share of the day typing things they've already said out loud: the note after a renewal call, the quote follow-up, the email explaining a deductible. On a Mac, Sayburst lets you say it once more and have it typed, cleaned up, into your agency management system, Outlook or Gmail, with your voice processed on the Mac. If you're mostly on a phone or a Windows PC, Wispr Flow is the better fit.

We make Sayburst. Other products are described from their own sites, checked October 31, 2026; this isn't legal or compliance advice.

#What agents actually type

Most agency writing is short, repetitive and important:

• Activity notes after every call: what was discussed, what was offered, what the client decided.
• Quote follow-ups and renewal emails that explain a premium change in plain language.
• Coverage recommendations, including the ones the client turns down.
• Quick texts and chat replies to clients and the service team.

The notes are the ones agents skip when they're busy, and the ones that matter later. A note that records "offered umbrella, client declined" is the difference between a clear file and an argument. Dictation makes that note a 15-second job.

#Quick picks

• Agent on a Mac, notes and email all day: Sayburst.
• Free, a few notes a day: Apple Dictation.
• Agent who works from a phone and a Windows desk: Wispr Flow.
• Custom dictation modes across Mac, PC and phone: Superwhisper.
• Reviewing recorded calls or meetings: Otter, with consent.

#How they compare

1

Sayburst

Best for Agents who write notes and emails on a Mac · Price $29 once (1 Mac), $49 (3 Macs)

Sayburst is a Mac app that types wherever your cursor is, so it works in your agency management system's activity notes, a carrier portal, Outlook, Gmail and your texting tool without an integration. Hold fn, say the note, let go. Fillers are stripped, "Monday, no, Tuesday" is resolved, and punctuation and capitals are done for you.

For agency work, three features stand out. Replacements turn a short phrase into text you write constantly, such as your quote request link or your license line. Vocabulary spells carrier names, product names and client surnames correctly. And Email mode in Outlook lays out a renewal email with greeting, paragraphs and sign-off while chat apps stay casual in Message mode.

If you switch windows before the text lands, or the portal's field won't accept it, Sayburst keeps the dictation and ⌃⌥⌘V pastes it wherever you are.

Pros: works in any system with a text field, audio stays on the Mac, no subscription, one license moves with you if you change Macs. Cons: Mac only. It doesn't record calls; you dictate the note after.

2

Apple Dictation

Best for Free, a few notes a day · Price Free

Built into macOS with automatic punctuation in supported languages and on-device processing for many. It keeps fillers, has no vocabulary for carrier names, and stops after 30 seconds of silence. If you only write a handful of notes a day, start here.

3

Wispr Flow

Best for Agents who work across phone and Windows · Price Free tier; Pro $15/mo or $12/mo billed yearly

Wispr Flow types into any app on Mac, Windows, iOS and Android and cleans up as you go. Transcription always happens in its cloud, so it needs a connection. Its pricing page lists SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certification. If your agency runs on Windows and you do much of your work from your phone between appointments, it covers both.

4

Superwhisper

Best for Agents who want custom note templates as modes · Price Free local tier; Pro $8.49/mo or $84.99/yr

Superwhisper's free tier offers unlimited local dictation with custom vocabulary and replacements; Pro adds AI modes, so you could build a "renewal note" mode with your own rules. One Pro license covers Macs, Windows PCs and phones.

5

Otter.ai

Best for Recorded team meetings and calls you're allowed to record · Price Free Basic; paid plans per user

Otter records and transcribes meetings in Zoom, Teams and Google Meet and has apps for every major platform. The free plan includes 300 minutes per user per month with a 30-minute limit per conversation. It's useful for internal meetings and training; for client calls, check consent rules and your agency's policy first.

#A renewal call note, dictated

Straight after the call, into the client's activity log:

"Called Mark Delaney re homeowners renewal. Premium up about, um, eleven percent, mostly the roof age surcharge. Offered raising the deductible from one thousand to twenty-five hundred, he declined. Recommended a one million umbrella, uh, he wants a quote. Follow up Thursday, no, Friday."

What Sayburst types:

Called Mark Delaney re homeowners renewal. Premium up about 11%, mostly the roof age surcharge. Offered raising the deductible from 1,000 to 2,500; he declined. Recommended a 1 million umbrella; he wants a quote. Follow up Friday.

The decline is on the record, the recommendation is on the record, and the follow-up date is the one you meant. If Sayburst Writer were ever about to change a number you said, Sayburst types the cleaned transcript instead, so premiums and deductibles don't quietly change.

#Setting it up for agency work

1. Install Sayburst and grant Microphone and Accessibility. The speech model downloads once.
2. Assign modes per app. Email for Outlook or your mail client, Message for your texting or chat tool, Clean for your agency management system's browser window.
3. Add your vocabulary. Carriers you write with, product names, your agency name, local town names and frequent client surnames.
4. Create replacements. "Quote link" to your online quote URL, "my license" to your license line, "office hours" to your hours sentence.
5. Dictate the note before you dial the next number. That's the habit that clears the backlog.

For more on dictating email specifically, see the best dictation apps for email and our Outlook page. Sales-heavy teams will find more on call follow-ups in voice dictation for sales teams.

#Client information and privacy

Activity notes contain personal and financial details, so it's fair to ask where they go:

• Sayburst recognizes speech on the Mac and never uploads your audio. Recordings are deleted after transcription unless you keep them, and you can shorten text history or turn it off.
• Optional AI rewriting runs on the Mac with Sayburst Writer. If you connect a cloud provider with your own key, only the text goes, never audio, and Sayburst shows what will be sent before you enable it.
• Your agency management system stores the note under its own terms, as with anything you type.

Keeping audio local helps privacy, but your agency, your carriers and the regulations you work under decide which tools you may use with client data. We don't claim any certification for Sayburst. For the bigger picture, read local vs cloud dictation.

#How we chose

We ranked by fit for agency writing: works in the systems agents use, handles short notes and longer emails, keeps client data reasonably contained, and doesn't add a per-seat subscription for a simple job. Competitor facts come from official pricing and product pages, not hands-on testing. Call-recording platforms built into phone systems were left out because they depend on your telephony provider.

#Where another tool is better

If you're on a Windows PC at the agency, Sayburst won't run; Windows has built-in voice typing, and Wispr Flow works there too. If most of your notes are written on your phone in the car park, a phone keyboard's microphone key is free and fine for short entries. Sayburst is the pick when your desk is a Mac and you want every note, quote email and renewal letter to take a fraction of the typing.

Questions people ask

What's the best dictation software for insurance agents?

For an agent working on a Mac, Sayburst: it types activity notes and emails into your agency management system, Outlook or Gmail with one key, and keeps your voice on the Mac. Agents who work mostly from a phone or a Windows PC should look at Wispr Flow.

Can I dictate notes into my agency management system?

Yes, if the notes field accepts typing. Sayburst types into whatever field has focus, including browser-based systems, without any integration. Click the activity note, hold fn, speak, release.

Is it okay to record client calls for notes?

Recording calls has consent rules that vary by state and country, and your agency or carrier may have its own policy. Dictating your own note after the call avoids recording the client at all.

Will dictation get policy numbers and carrier names right?

Carrier and product names go in a vocabulary list, and phrases you repeat can be replacements. Always read back policy numbers, dates and dollar amounts before saving; they're the details that matter most.