How PURE Insurance scales internal support to 16+ teams with Zendesk

For more than 15 years, PURE Insurance has offered something different in the insurance industry. As a specialty insurer designed for high-net-worth individuals, the company’s mission is simple: create a membership experience so exceptional that members never want to leave. With more than 100,000 members, that promise depends on delivering outstanding service at every touchpoint.

But leadership at PURE knew that kind of white-glove service care shouldn’t be limited to its customers. In order to sustain its boutique service model company-wide, it needed to offer that same level of support for its employees.

“We’re a service organization that happens to sell insurance,” explains Ryan Easton, AVP and Head of Technical Support at PURE Insurance. “We needed to find a partner who could deliver the same caliber of service internally that we promised our members.”

That search led PURE to Zendesk. What began as a focused IT service desk deployment soon evolved into a platform powering employee service across teams—from HR and Facilities to Finance and beyond.

Solving IT first, then scaling across the business

Before partnering with Zendesk, PURE’s internal support model was fragmented. IT, HR, and other teams managed requests through shared inboxes and disconnected tools, making it difficult to track issues, prioritize work, or deliver consistent service.

“When I joined PURE Insurance about 10 years ago, I quickly saw that the support we provided our employees wasn’t living up to the same standard of service we set for our members,” says Easton. “I was determined to change that.”

Without a centralized system, internal requests were often duplicated, dropped, or delayed. Employees were often unsure where to go for help, while service teams struggled with outdated tools that slowed response times and created unnecessary friction.

PURE decided to fix the problem at its source—starting with IT.

Drawn to Zendesk’s intuitive interface, strong reporting, and ability to deliver value quickly, Easton rolled the platform out to the IT team in 2017. Moving requests out of email and into Zendesk immediately created visibility, accountability, and consistency.

“Macros enabled the team to resolve routine issues faster while still keeping responses personal,” Easton explains. “Automation also reduced manual work, freeing agents to focus on higher-impact initiatives.”

For the first time, IT had reliable data to understand performance and identify trends—and that success didn’t go unnoticed.

“In the early days, I was the one reaching out to teams recommending Zendesk,” Easton says. “Now, they come to me asking for it.”

From IT win to company-wide standard

As other departments at PURE saw how efficiently IT was operating, interest in Zendesk spread organically. HR was among the first to follow, adopting Zendesk to manage employee requests with the same structure and visibility. Additional teams soon followed.

Today, 16+ teams across eight departments at PURE use Zendesk, all operating on a single platform while maintaining workflows tailored to their unique needs. Zendesk’s flexibility allows each team to configure processes without adding complexity or burdening IT.

Scaling proved fast and repeatable. After a single demo, most teams were ready to move forward. On average, new teams go live within a month and become fully self-sufficient by month three.

The benefits compound with every new team onboarded. Leadership gains enterprise-wide visibility and reduced tool sprawl. Departments get workflows that adapt to how they work. And employees benefit from one central place to get help—no matter the request.

Optimizing and expanding with expert support

To continue maximizing value as adoption grew, PURE partnered with Zendesk Assist.

“Our Zendesk Assist consultant helped us uncover the ‘why’ behind our processes so we could implement new functionality and corrective measures using Zendesk to its fullest potential,” Easton says. “Our metrics and reporting have become significantly more robust with their guidance.”

That expertise has proven especially valuable in an industry where complex issues often take time to resolve.

“As heavy adopters of Zendesk, we added Assist to generate more reliable metrics and more efficient workflows,” explains Howard Muhlstein, Chief Technology Officer at PURE Insurance. “The secret is having the right macros and triggers guiding the process.”

Building a foundation for what’s next

Standardizing on Zendesk has delivered measurable results across PURE. Employee satisfaction now stands at 100 percent. First response times are 86 percent faster, dropping from more than 24 hours to just 3.5 hours. Resolution times have improved by 41 percent thanks to clearer processes and automation.

“These results tell us we’ve built a support model our employees trust,” says Muhlstein. “When internal service works this well, it directly strengthens how we serve our members.”

Reporting has also transformed how leaders operate. Reports that once took a full day to compile are now delivering real-time insights. During a recent Windows 11 migration, that visibility helped the team identify bottlenecks early and complete what was originally planned as a year-long project in under five months.

Looking ahead, PURE is continuing to expand its Zendesk footprint. The team plans to deepen automation through the Zendesk and Workday integration, streamlining HR processes like benefits elections and new hire onboarding. The company is also preparing to roll out Zendesk Copilot, using AI to help the IT support team refine tone, suggest responses, and maintain a high standard of empathetic service at scale.

“Zendesk has been a game changer for our internal support,” says Easton. “We went from chaotic email inboxes to a streamlined system that our employees love. Achieving 100 percent satisfaction shows we’re living up to our promise of delivering exceptional service, both internally and externally.”