Lead Quality and Compliance in Insurance

Consumer expectations for personalized, online shopping experiences have grown significantly in the past few years. The COVID-19 pandemic has only accelerated these expectations with consumers stuck at home and increasingly accustomed to shopping online with easy access to compare products and services. While this trend has been most noticeable for traditional ecommerce and retail products, it has also been true for more significant financial decisions like choosing the right auto, home or life insurance policy coverage. For example, at the onset of the pandemic — in March of 2020 — online comparison shopping for auto insurance skyrocketed by 26% in one month.

For insurance carriers, this means it is more critical than ever to take advantage of shared leads which are generated by comparison shopping websites and lead aggregators. For the majority of carriers, relying solely on direct brand marketing and a first party website presence is no longer a winning strategy. There are simply too many missed opportunities with consumers who want a comparative shopping experience online. The leading carriers have focused their performance marketing efforts in the shared lead channel where they can extend their brand presence and extend the reach of their advertising spend to meet consumers on their buying journey across comparison shopping websites.

Buying leads from comparison shopping websites — also known as lead sellers, aggregators, or lead generators — brings distinct competitive advantages to a carrier, however, it also presents a number of unique challenges to navigate.

Read more about this topic in my contributed article in ThinkAdvisor.