Auto Insurance Lead Generation: What Agents, Buyers and Sellers Need to Know

Auto insurance is one of the most popular and, consequently, competitive lead-generation verticals. It has undergone some notable changes in recent years, which means those on the buy and sell sides have had to adjust their strategies and perspectives.

What to know about the auto insurance vertical
“The auto insurance vertical is unique in the fact that there are state-by-state minimum requirements for auto insurance — so if you have a car, you immediately become a prospect for auto insurance agents, although not necessarily a qualified prospect,” says Julie Hsu, marketing programs manager for All Web Leads.

She adds that there’s volume in the auto insurance space, which means it’s open for marketers who want to test messages and forms to boost conversion rates. “It’s an interesting environment for true marketers, where constant optimization for quality and analyzing results and data will thrive in the end,” Hsu says.

Tips for lead generators and sellers:
Lead verification and scoring
“Auto insurance providers are more interested than ever to receive high-quality leads,” says Frans Van Hulle, CEO of ReviMedia. “It is, therefore, more important for lead-generation companies to verify leads as much as possible.”

He notes that there are several lead-verification companies out there that offer verification services like automatic address and phone number lookup. “Companies should also verify as much as they can internally — for example, by checking if correct names have been used, or if ZIP codes match phone numbers and IP addresses.”

Scoring leads can be done by looking at parameters such as time spent on a form and demographic information, among many other things. ReviMedia’s in-house scoring system, for example, scores leads based on more than 30 parameters.

“In 2012, lead quality became a top issue of some major lead providers and technologies,” says Hsu. She points to her company’s “lead-quality manifesto” and LeadiD’s #OrangeKicks movement as evidence of this trend.

“As lead generators take the necessary steps towards increasing the level of trust in the market, quality will continue to be a major area of focus well into 2013,” Hsu says.

Mobile
“The most important trend in the lead-gen business right now is mobile, so it is very important to have mobile landing pages and to optimize lead-gen forms for mobile users,” Van Hulle says.

“We also anticipate the rise of mobile phone users who search for insurance away from their desktop computers to continue to rise exponentially,” says Jaime Scott, co-founder and COO of Precise Leads. This means click-to-call options will be important features for mobile landing pages and websites.

Best channels
“Search is always the best channel for generating an online lead,” Scott says. “However, we’ve found that generating a high-intent inbound phone call from alternative marketing channels can create enormous value for our clients.”

Van Hulle says organic search traffic is the best channel for acquiring auto insurance leads, followed by search engine marketing, direct-response display advertising, email, mobile and social media, in that order.

Tips for agents and lead buyers:
Purchasing leads
Auto insurance agents should “leverage a variety of methods to create opportunities to streamline your prospecting,” according to Hsu. One of the methods agents should consider is purchasing leads.

“Purchasing auto leads can be an efficient and cost-effective way to reach consumers who have raised their hand and indicated an immediate need for auto insurance,” Hsu says. “When comparing lead vendors, it is important to understand the markets you are most competitive in and make sure the lead vendor can deliver the best filtered consumers in those markets.”

Online leads
While getting auto insurance leads may be a no-brainer to most agents out there, those who aren’t yet utilizing the Internet to generate leads are missing out on a huge opportunity. Last June, comScore found that 3.1 million auto insurance policies were sold online in 2011, up 6 percent from 2010. The Internet was also a popular place for getting auto insurance quotes, as nearly 70 percent of shoppers reported getting an online quote in 2011.

The comScore report also found that 34 percent of respondents said they would be more likely to purchase their auto insurance policies online in the future. “Having discounts offered for purchasing online, guaranteed site security, and the ability to get a quote by providing only minimal personal information ranked as the top three features that would increase the likelihood of these respondents to purchase online,” according to the report.

Hsu says auto insurance agents should be investing in their own websites while creating relevant, SEO-friendly content. “The trick is to provide quality information over quantity,” she says.

Agents should also accept the fact that ranking as the No. 1 search result for “auto insurance” is a pipe dream. Instead, they should aim to rank well for more specific sets of keywords, such as “cheap auto insurance for married couples in Dallas,” Hsu says. If an agent doesn’t have much in the way of a marketing budget to work with, they can always utilize free channels like social media or simply work on having a strong corporate Web presence.

“For those that would rather focus on email marketing, just remember to position yourself as a knowledgeable and dependable resource,” Hsu says. “Provide relevant email content