What Makes an Insurance Call Billable? Duration, Checks and Returns
Founder, Oracle Leads
Published
Updated
- billable call
- billable call duration
- pay per call billable
- insurance call returns
- call buffer time
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Table of Contents
Key Takeaways
- Billable duration should count time connected to your agent, not total call length.
- On Oracle Leads, a call bills after 90 seconds connected to your team and only if it passed every campaign check.
- Unanswered, declined, short and duplicate calls are not billed.
- Every charge should point to a call record, so disputes are settled with evidence.
Two vendors can quote the same price per call and charge you very different amounts, because they define a billable call differently. The billing rule, sometimes called the buffer or minimum duration, is where most of the value of a call is won or lost.
Connected Time vs Total Call Length
Total call length includes everything from the moment the consumer dials: ringing, prompts, hold time and any qualification menu. Connected time starts when your agent is actually on the line. A rule based on total length can bill you for a call your agent barely spoke on.
Oracle Leads bills on buyer-connected time. Time in qualification prompts or an automated menu before connection does not count.
Figure
Connected Time, Not Total Time
The Checks a Call Must Pass
Before a call rings your line, it must match the campaign you set up. On Oracle Leads a billable call must:
- Come from a state on your campaign's state list.
- Arrive inside your scheduled hours.
- Fit within your call caps and your daily and total budgets.
- Connect to your receiving number.
- Stay connected to your team for at least 90 seconds.
Figure
The Checks Every Billable Call Passes
- 1
In your states
From your state list
- 2
Inside your hours
Your schedule and time zone
- 3
Within caps and budget
Daily and total
- 4
Connects to your line
Your receiving number
- 5
90 sec connected
Then it bills
| Call outcome | Billed? |
|---|---|
| Connected to your agent for 90 seconds or more, all checks passed | Yes |
| Connected for 41 seconds | No. Logged in full, not billed. |
| Rang but your team did not answer | No |
| Declined or abandoned before connection | No |
| Duplicate of a recent call | No |
| Outside your states, hours, caps or budget | Not routed to you |
Why a Duration Threshold Exists
Wrong numbers, hang-ups and consumers who realize they called the wrong business usually end fast. A connected-time threshold filters those out without asking you to judge every call by hand. Ninety seconds connected is long enough that both sides chose to keep talking.
How Returns Work
No rule is perfect. If a billed call should not have billed, a fair process looks at the record, not opinions. On Oracle Leads you submit a return request from the call record with the reason. The return is reviewed against the routing, connection and billing records, and your balance is credited where the charge was wrong, never more than the amount charged. Each return is decided once, with the decision logged.
An Audit Checklist for Any Vendor
- Is the threshold measured on connected time or total call time?
- Does time in an IVR or qualification menu count?
- How are duplicates defined, and are they billed?
- Can you see each call's connected duration, state and timestamp?
- Does each charge point to a call record and the price in effect?
- What is the return process, and who decides?
Read the full standard on the Call Quality page, or see how pricing works.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long must an insurance call last to be billable?
It depends on the vendor. On Oracle Leads a call must stay connected to your team for at least 90 seconds, and time in automated prompts before connection does not count.
Are duplicate calls billed?
Not on Oracle Leads. Duplicate, unanswered, declined and short calls are not billed.
What if I think a call was billed by mistake?
Submit a return request from the call record with the reason. It is reviewed against routing, connection and billing records, and credited where the charge was wrong.
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