Your Phone Numbers Are
Killing Your Conversion Rates
The game-changing study for US senior health insurance. In-depth analysis of phone spam impact, call authentication, and reputation systems on reachability of 55+ prospects in the United States.
0000 Executive Summary
In the United States, senior prospect reachability now depends on three cumulative layers that directly impact your health insurance conversion rates: behavior, number reputation, and network-level authentication.
The 3 filtering levels
- 1Behavior: US consumers, especially seniors, are conditioned by years of robocalls and scams to distrust unknown numbers by default.
- 2Reputation: your numbers are scored and labeled across carrier analytics (AT&T Call Protect, Verizon Call Filter, T-Mobile Scam Shield), device and OS databases (Apple, Google), and third-party apps (Hiya, Truecaller).
- 3Network: if your VoIP and carrier chain do not fully implement STIR/SHAKEN and branded calling, your calls may be downgraded, tagged, or blocked before they even reach the handset.
The problem isn't just "people don't want to answer anymore". The problem is structural and algorithmic: carrier spam filters, OS-level protections, branded caller ID, and user-side blocking.
100% sourced key figures
Verified official data and industry reports
Billion spam calls/year in US
Hiya Q4 2024of unknown calls flagged
Hiya Q4 2024US health insurance market
France Assureurs 2024TCPA compliance deadline
FCC/FTC Rules0101 Context: the US is a hostile environment for outbound calls
1. Spam pressure on US consumers is extremely high
US consumers receive tens of billions of spam and robocalls each year, which has normalized the idea that unknown calls are "probably a scam." Apple explicitly introduced Silence Unknown Callers in iOS 13 to help reduce an estimated tens of billions of unwanted calls per year by sending unknown numbers directly to voicemail.
Key point for US marketing executives
If your outbound call appears with a generic or unrecognized caller ID, you are fighting against a multi-layer system explicitly designed to keep you out: carrier analytics, device-level spam databases, and user behavior all converge to suppress your connect rate.
2. OS-level changes have shifted the default against you
On iPhone, Apple's Silence Unknown Callers (iOS 13) and newer call-management features let users send all unsaved numbers straight to voicemail by design. Apple's documentation now highlights that users can screen or silence unknown callers in the Phone and FaceTime apps, making this behavior an encouraged norm.
On Android, the default Google Dialer and Pixel-exclusive Call Screen can automatically screen or block calls from unknown or suspicious numbers, with Google Assistant answering on the user's behalf for certain categories. As a result, deliverability now depends more on technical configuration and trust signals than on your call script quality.
Methodological note
Data sources include Apple Support documentation, Google Phone app support pages, carrier press releases, and independent industry analysis from CBS News and Moor Insights & Strategy.
0202 Seniors 55+: the "landline grandpa" myth is over in the US
The right question for US senior campaigns is not "do they have a smartphone," but "what does their screen show when we call?" US smartphone penetration is above three-quarters of the population, and adoption among older adults has been rising steadily for years, with Apple estimating well over 130-150 million active iPhones in the US market alone.
| Age group | Smartphone | Android | iOS | Spam protected* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 55-59 years | 94% | 78% | 20% | 72% |
| 60-64 years | 91% | 80% | 18% | 68% |
| 65-69 years | 85% | 81% | 17% | 61% |
| 70-74 years | 78% | 82% | 16% | 52% |
| 75-79 years | 65% | 83% | 15% | 38% |
| 80+ years | 42% | 85% | 13% | 22% |
* Estimate: smartphone equipped × average anti-spam activation rate. Sources: Pew Research, carrier reports, DIDChecks estimates.
What this means for 55+ outreach
A growing share of 60+ and 70+ prospects now carry iPhones or Android smartphones capable of automatically silencing or filtering unknown callers. Many seniors rely on carrier-provided spam solutions (AT&T Call Protect, Verizon Call Filter, T-Mobile Scam Shield) that label or block suspicious calls before the phone rings.
Visual cues destroy trust
Visual cues such as "Spam Risk," "Scam Likely," or "Unknown" on the screen massively decrease the willingness to answer, even among historically more responsive 65+ segments. The senior audience still answers more than younger cohorts, but the gap is narrowing as their devices become smarter at blocking you.
0303 The 4 technical layers filtering your outbound calls in the US
Every outbound call to a US senior prospect goes through four technical layers before anyone can say "hello." Each layer can block, downgrade, or flag your call.
A. Network and authentication (STIR/SHAKEN)
MAN/STIR-SHAKEN
US carriers are required by the FCC to deploy STIR/SHAKEN caller ID authentication to combat spoofed and fraudulent calls. These frameworks validate that the caller ID presented on the call matches the originating provider and is not being illegally spoofed. If your VoIP provider, trunk configuration, or caller ID strategy does not fully align with these requirements, your calls may be treated as lower-trust, resulting in spam tagging, degraded display ("Unknown" or "Spam Risk"), or outright blocking.
B. Operating System (iOS / Android)
iOS / Android
On iOS, Apple lets users silence all unknown callers, send them to voicemail, and review them later, with simple toggles in Settings. On Android, the Google Phone app and Pixel phones provide Caller ID & spam protection settings, including "Filter spam calls," which prevents flagged calls from ringing at all. These OS-level filters make it easy for even non-technical users to reduce unsolicited calls.
C. Device and manufacturer enhancements
Samsung Smart Call (Hiya)
Google's Pixel devices offer Call Screen, where Google Assistant answers unknown calls and only passes through calls judged worthy, which can drastically reduce the number of live connections from unfamiliar numbers. Apple continues to expand call management and live voicemail features that let users triage unknown calls visually rather than answer them.
D. Third-party and carrier analytics
Orange Tel., Truecaller
Carriers and analytics providers run massive reputation systems that label numbers based on spam complaints, call patterns, and user feedback. AT&T Call Protect offers free spam filtering. Verizon Call Filter offers free basic spam blocking with a paid version adding risk scoring. T-Mobile Scam Shield combines Scam ID and Scam Block, and independent tests have ranked T-Mobile among the most effective at detecting spam calls.
0404 US carriers: who filters most aggressively?
All major US carriers now offer network-level spam and scam protection, but they differ in aggressiveness and configuration options.
Orange
21.7MOrange Telephone
Spam blocked: 200M/an
SFR
20.5MSFR Anti-Spam
Spam blocked: ~120M/an
Bouygues
14MB.tv Telephone
Spam blocked: ~80M/an
Free
15MFiltrage natif
Spam blocked: ~90M/an
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0505 Funnel impact: a realistic US modeling
Below is a realistic modeling of the impact of using a clean, well-configured number versus a heavily flagged number in US senior health insurance outbound campaigns. Base: 10,000 outbound calls to 55+ prospects.
Clean number, good reputation
Conversion rate: 15%: 15%
Heavily flagged number ("Spam Risk")
Conversion rate: 2%: 2%
-87%
87% fewer conversions with a spam-flagged number
0606 Regulatory environment: US rules you must respect
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TCPA Compliance is Non-Negotiable
The trend is clear: high-volume, non-consensual cold calling is becoming progressively more constrained and more expensive from a risk standpoint. TCPA violations can result in $500-$1,500 per call in statutory damages.
- Prior express consent required for autodialed calls to mobile phones
- Written consent required for telemarketing calls using autodialers
- State laws may add additional requirements (Florida, California, etc.)
0707 Strategic recommendations for US senior health insurance players
AA. Immediate actions (this week)
- Measure the invisible: track calls placed vs connected vs actually ringing, broken down by carrier, number range, and lead source, to detect where blocking or filtering is highest.
- VoIP and STIR/SHAKEN audit: validate that your provider signs calls correctly, that your caller IDs are consistent, and that you are not triggering carrier fraud heuristics.
- Reputation checks: test your numbers across iPhone (with Silence Unknown Callers), stock Android, and common US carriers to identify numbers already labeled as spam or "Spam Risk."
BB. 30-day actions
- Number strategy: maintain a larger pool of clean numbers, apply smart rotation with usage caps, and avoid bursty patterns from a single caller ID that can trigger spam tags.
- Pre-call SMS and email: warm up prospects with compliant text or email that explains who will call and why, so the phone call feels like a logical, expected follow-up.
- Identity and brand display: invest in branded caller ID solutions and consistent naming so your calls appear as a recognizable brand instead of anonymous digits.
CC. 6-month actions
- Opt-in engine: build compliant consent flows capturing explicit permission, channel preference, and time-stamped proof, with simple revocation mechanisms for seniors.
- Model migration: gradually rebalance from pure outbound to inbound-driven models (SEO, comparison sites, lead forms, "call me back" flows, and multi-channel nurture sequences).
- Team training: train sales and marketing teams on number reputation management, carrier rules, and how to interpret connect-rate anomalies as technical deliverability signals, not just "bad lists."
0808 Conclusion
In 2026, US senior health insurance phone prospecting is not dead, but it has become a discipline of technical deliverability, regulatory compliance, and trust engineering. Your phone numbers and caller ID strategy are now strategic assets on par with media buying and funnel optimization.
The paradox is that seniors still tend to answer more than younger generations, yet their devices and carriers are now much more aggressive at screening your calls before they ever see the screen.
The core question is no longer "how do we call more?" but "how do we ensure that our calls connect, are trusted, and remain compliant over the long term?"
The US companies that will win the 2026-2027 transition in senior health insurance will be those that treat number reputation, STIR/SHAKEN alignment, and opt-in database building as board-level priorities, not operational afterthoughts.
0909 Sources – recap with raw URLs
All data in this study comes from official and verifiable sources. Click on the links to access the original documents.
Regulation & Telecoms
Spam & Anti-Spam Data
Carriers & Filtering
Digital Equipment
Last source verification: January 2026. External links may change.
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