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How to buy insurance leads: a step-by-step guide for agents

Updated October 7, 2026

To buy insurance leads that pay off, decide what you want before you talk to a seller: which lines, which states, and whether the lead is yours alone. Then check the seller's proof, set up delivery so you can call fast, and start small. Judge every source by what it costs you per bound policy.

How to buy insurance leads in eight steps

1. Pick your lines and states.
2. Choose exclusive, shared, or aged leads.
3. Pick the kind of seller.
4. Vet the vendor in writing.
5. Check consent and Do Not Call basics.
6. Set up delivery to your CRM and call fast.
7. Start with a small test batch.
8. Judge the source by cost per bound policy.

Step 1: Pick your lines and states

Start with what you can quote and bind. Buy auto leads, home leads, or both, and only in states where you're licensed. Auto shoppers may rent, so don't count on a home quote from every auto lead.

If you write both lines, see auto and home insurance leads for how bundled leads work.

Ask each seller whether you can filter by state and ZIP code, set delivery hours, and cap how many leads arrive each day. Set the cap at the number your team can call the same day.

Captive agents have one more check: some carriers limit which outside vendors their agents can use. Read buying leads as a captive agent before you buy.

Step 2: Choose exclusive, shared, or aged leads

This choice decides how many other agents call the same shopper.

"Exclusive" isn't a legal term, so ask how many agents get each lead and whether a realtime lead is ever resold as aged. Our guide to exclusive vs. shared leads covers the trade-offs.

Aged leads cost less and need a longer follow-up plan. Before you dial one, read can you call aged insurance leads.

Step 3: Pick the kind of seller

Where to buy insurance leads comes down to four options. Each has a trade-off.

• Shared lead marketplaces. Low price per lead and steady volume. The same shopper goes to several agents, so you're racing their dialers.
• Exclusive lead vendors. One agent per lead, so contact rates are usually better. Proof varies: some send the full consent record, others send a spreadsheet row with a timestamp.
• Aged-lead sellers. Lists of shoppers who asked for a quote days or weeks ago. Good for a dialer, but check whether each lead was shared and whether its original consent came with it.
• Running your own ads. You control the source and the consent wording. You also build the landing page, get the consent language reviewed, pay for every click, and clean out form spam.

The best place to buy insurance leads

There's no single best place, and a ranked list from a lead seller wouldn't be neutral, so we don't publish one. The best place for you is a seller whose leads you can check yourself, and whose leads pay off when your own team works them and you measure cost per bound policy.

The tests are the same whether you buy auto insurance leads, home insurance leads, or both, and they apply to every seller, including us.

Step 4: Vet the vendor in writing

Send each vendor the same questions by email and compare the written answers. The ones that matter most:

• How many agents get each lead, and is a realtime lead ever resold later?
• What kind of page did the shopper fill out? You want an insurance quote form, not a survey, sweepstakes, or free-sample page.
• Does each lead come with its consent record? That means the exact consent text, the time, IP address, and page URL, plus a third-party record such as a TrustedForm certificate or Jornaya LeadiD.
• Does the consent cover your agency, by name or through a partner list linked from the form?
• What's checked before a lead is sent: phone number, duplicates, Do Not Call flags, and known TCPA litigators?
• What can you return, how long do you have, and how are returns credited?
• What are you committing to: contract length, minimum spend, and how billing works?

The full list, with what to look for in each answer, is in 12 questions to ask an insurance lead company.

Step 5: Check consent and Do Not Call basics

You need the shopper's consent before you call or text, and it has to cover your agency. Under the TCPA, each call or text without valid consent can cost $500, and up to $1,500 if a court finds it willful or knowing (47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(3)). Claims are often filed as class actions.

A few basics before you dial:

• Read the consent text on the lead. Check that it covers calls and texts, and autodialed or prerecorded calls if you use them.
• Check the Do Not Call flag. Federal rules bar sales calls to numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry unless an exception applies, such as written consent that covers you.
• Keep your own do-not-call list. When a shopper asks you to stop, stop calling and texting, and note it in your CRM.
• Keep the consent record for every lead you work. TCPA claims can be filed years after the call.

For the court cases behind these rules, read TCPA risk in purchased insurance leads. This is general information, not legal advice. Ask your own counsel about your calling and texting practices.

Step 6: Set up delivery to your CRM and call fast

Realtime leads should land where your team already works. Ask how leads are delivered (API post, webhook, or email) and connect them to your CRM before the first lead arrives. Send a test lead and confirm each field lands in the right place: name, phone, current carrier, renewal date, and the vehicle or property details.

Then call as soon as a lead arrives. With shared leads, the first agent to reach the shopper usually gets the quote. With exclusive leads you aren't racing anyone, but a shopper who asked for a quote a few minutes ago still remembers asking. Set delivery hours for when someone can pick up the phone, and plan follow-up for the shoppers you miss.

Step 7: Start with a small test batch

Don't sign a long contract or prepay a large balance before you've worked a single lead. Ask for a small test batch and work it the way you work every lead: same callers, same scripts, same follow-up.

Track each lead in your CRM: reached, quoted, bound, or returned. Give it a few weeks, since some shoppers bind at renewal.

Step 8: Judge the source by cost per bound policy

Price per lead is the easiest number to compare and the least useful.

Cost per bound policy = price per lead ÷ (contact rate × quote rate × bind rate)

A cheap lead you rarely reach can cost more per policy than a pricier one you reach often. Run the numbers for each source side by side, then move budget to the one that wins. Our guide to cost per bound policy has a calculator that uses your own numbers.

Where VeroQuote fits

VeroQuote sells insurance leads for agents: exclusive auto leads and exclusive home leads in realtime, plus aged leads for follow-up. Each lead comes with the consent text the shopper agreed to. There's no contract, and you can start with a test batch.

This guide is general information, not legal advice.