How much do insurance leads cost?

December 28, 2015

The answer to the question, how much do insurance leads cost?, is a question that doesn’t have a simple answer. The price of insurance leads vary based on a number of factors. The factors that impact the price of a leads are type, level of exclusivity, delivery method, geography, filters and competitiveness. Below is a description of the factors that impact the price of insurance leads.

1. Type: The type of insurance policy the consumer is looking to purchase.

Auto Insurance Leads - Consumers who are looking for auto insurance for the first time, to move to a new provider, to save money or someone looking to purchase insurance on a new auto. To get the best pricing, insurance agents should take leads in the largest geography possible, without filters and for as many hours as possible. The volume of auto insurance leads available tend to be the highest of all the types.

Home Insurance Leads - Homeowners who are looking for home insurance for the first time, to move to a new carrier to save money or for a second home. These are usually high intent buyers and in general they are in very high demand. Many insurance agents are successful in bundling home insurance with auto insurance.

Commercial Leads or business insurance leads - There are 5 types of commercial leads; business owners property, general liability, commercial vehicle, commercial property and workers compensation. These commercial leads may be for a new business, an existing business or an expansion or add-on coverage.

Renter Insurance Leads - Renter insurance is becoming more and more common as many landlords are requiring renters to have insurance prior to moving in. Renter insurance may be for a house, condo, or apartment. Renter insurance leads may be for first time renters or renters looking to switch carriers.

Condo Insurance Leads - Condo insurance is usually required by homeowner associations and lenders. In some areas, condo insurance leads might also be called co-op insurance leads. Leads are generally people looking for insurance for the first time or someone looking to switch carriers. Like home insurance leads, condo insurance leads are generally in high demand.

Life Insurance Leads - Life insurance or final expense insurance leads are in very high demand and tend to be the most expensive lead type. In general, most of the leads are consumers looking for life insurance for the first time. The volume of life insurance leads available is minimal compared to other types.

Health Insurance Leads or Medicare Supplement Insurance Leads - With the passage of the Affordable Care Act and the Federal mandate that everyone have health insurance, the demand and availability of health insurance leads are on the rise. Many of the leads are people looking for health insurance for the first time, are looking to switch to save money or change their policy to add or remove coverage for someone in their family.

2. Level of Exclusivity: Insurance leads can be exclusive or shared. Exclusive leads are sold to only one agent and tend to be more expensive. Shared leads are sold to multiple agents and tend to be less expensive. Insurance calls or inbound insurance leads are usually exclusive.

3. Delivery Method: Insurance leads can be either sent to an agent as a data lead or a phone call. Insurance agents need to contact data leads by phone or email, speed is essential when agents purchase data leads, especially if they are shared and will be competing with other lead purchasers. Insurance calls or inbound insurance leads are usually exclusive. Insurance calls can be sent to agents as either a warm transfer or a live transfer. A warm transfer include an introduction or hand-off and a live transfers is a lead that is transferred to an agent’s phone without an introduction.

4. Geography: Insurance leads can be purchased from a small or a large geography. The smaller the geography, the more competitive and more expensive insurance leads can be. To get the best price on insurance leads, it is generally recommended that agents purchase leads from the largest geography possible, which is usually the state they are licensed in or several states if they are licensed in multiple states.

5. Filters: The fewer filters that are on a lead, the less expensive they are. Unless there are restrictions on what agents can write or where they are competitive, agents should try to get leads without filters.

6. Competitiveness: Most of the best insurance lead companies operate lead marketplaces. A lead marketplace allows agents to purchase leads based on supply and demand, thereby paying market prices for the leads they purchase. This allows agents to pay lower prices for leads during off-peak days, hours, and for leads that might be in lower demand.

To get a better idea how much insurance leads cost, it is recommended that you call or email a lead company directly, set-up an account and work with their platform to determine the leads that will work for you and then use their marketplace to optimize what you pay.

How to get insurance leads?

December 21, 2015

Many new and long time insurance agents want to know, “how to get insurance leads?”. This is especially true for auto and life insurance agents. Auto insurance is extremely competitive and most agents have a regular quota to meet. The same is true for life insurance. Home insurance leads are also extremely lucrative due to their premiums. Insurance leads are the best ways to grow an agency and book of business..

There are a number of ways to get insurance leads. The easiest way to get leads or calls is from insurance carriers. Carriers will often send leads that are generated from their marketing initiatives to local agents to write. These are extremely valuable, however, not all carriers send them to agents, some fulfill these insurance leads through their in house call centers and/or staff. Insurance agents wanting leads from the carriers they represent should contact their manager to see if that is an option.

A second way agents can get insurance leads is from their own marketing initiatives. If they have a website, they can get leads from visitors. Agents can generate insurance leads via direct mail or even mass media radio and television. The problem with many of these tactics is there is no guarantee how many leads will actually be received since they are not pay per performance based. Additionally, since most agents are not experts at auto insurance lead generation, it may cost them more per lead than they ideally would like to pay.

The best way to get insurance leads is to work with a company like Contactability to purchase auto insurance leads and auto insurance calls on a performance basis. All leads are consumer initiated and qualified to make sure they truly want to receive a quote. Agents only pay for the leads and calls they get. The best insurance lead companies, like Contactability, do not have a long term agreement and have clearly stated policies.

To purchase insurance leads or calls, all an insurance agent has to do is call the insurance call or lead company or visit their website. Agents just need to tell the insurance lead company the type of leads they are looking for, what geography they want the insurance leads from and where to send them to. Agents should also ask about return policies and how best to handle the leads or calls that come in. The leads or calls can be sent to an agent's email address or phone number. If the agent has a lead management system or quoting program, they should check to see if they can get the systems integrated. Most lead or call companies, like contactability have their own management platform, so agents should make sure they receive training on it, so they can maximize their utilization.

The important thing to remember is getting insurance leads is easy, working them successfully takes work. Agency owners need to have their best people receive and work insurance leads they purchase. Agents or producers need to be aggressive in asking for the sale and following-up until they get the sale. Agent and producers also need to ask for referrals, even if agent doesn’t initially get the sale, if the agent or producer does a good job building a relationship, the prospect will want to help.

The answer to the question, “how to get insurance leads?”, is just a click of the mouse or a phone call away.