Buying insurance leads vs running your own Google Ads

Buy leads when you need volume this week and your office can call every one within minutes. Run your own Google Ads when you want inquiries that came to your agency first and an account you keep. Judge both on the same number: what you spent for each policy sold.

Key facts

• An EverQuote shared lead goes to at most three agents, and 1.7 on average (EverQuote).
• QuoteWizard sells each lead to at most four agents, and "under two agents on average" (QuoteWizard).
• Auto shoppers collect 3.5 quotes on average, a record in J.D. Power's 2026 study (J.D. Power).
• None of EverQuote, QuoteWizard or SmartFinancial publishes a price list for agents.

Who did the shopper contact?

With a bought lead, the shopper contacted the vendor. They filled in a form on a comparison site, and the vendor sold the inquiry to one or more agents. With your own ads, the shopper searched, saw your ad and called or wrote to your agency.

That changes the first call. A lead buyer calls someone who may not know the agency's name. An ad inquiry already chose you, at least for that moment.

Neither one means the shopper asked only you. J.D. Power found that 48% of new auto policies are now bought online, and shoppers collect 3.5 quotes. Expect to compete on every inquiry, whatever its source.

What is the difference between shared and exclusive leads?

A shared lead is sold by one vendor to several agents. An exclusive lead is sold by that vendor to you alone. The caps differ by vendor:

Exclusive costs more, and it doesn't stop the vendor or the shopper from contacting others. Our guide to shared and exclusive leads quotes each vendor's definitions.

How is each one priced?

Lead vendors charge per lead, call or click, at prices they set. Google charges per click, and you pay for management on top.

• EverQuote may use "variable pricing models, algorithms, machine learning, and/or AI to set prices" (Pro terms).
• QuoteWizard prices on "special carrier discounts, risk category, product type, and current promotional offers," according to its agent page.
• SmartFinancial recommends a bid, and its terms bill you at the winning bid (FAQ).

All three use a prepaid balance that refills from your card. The vendor reviews go further: EverQuote leads, QuoteWizard leads and SmartFinancial leads.

With Google Ads, you set the budget and Google runs an auction for each click.

LocaliQ's 2026 benchmarks put the average cost per lead at $74.44 for "Finance & Insurance" (LocaliQ). The category is broad and not broken down further, and its leads are whatever conversions advertisers tracked. Treat it as a rough check. Our Google Ads management is 10% of total monthly ad spend, with ad spend paid to Google.

Who is responsible for consent?

You are, either way. The vendor collects consent on its form. Each vendor's terms still make the agent follow the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and Do Not Call rules when calling.

A Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rule would have required consent for each seller by name. The Eleventh Circuit struck it down on January 24, 2025, days before it took effect (Morrison Foerster). Vendors still write consent into their terms. SmartFinancial's say its consents "apply only to the company(ies) specifically identified by SmartFinancial for each Lead or Call" (terms).

With your own ads, the form is yours. Add a clear consent checkbox for texts, and keep the record.

Why does speed matter more with bought leads?

A shared lead goes to other agents at the same moment. The shopper usually talks to whoever calls first. Your own ad inquiry still has rivals, because the shopper may have called two other agencies.

Speed decides both. Our guide to speed to lead shows what the research says and how a small office can reply in minutes. If nobody can call a bought lead within minutes, cap your daily volume before you buy more.

Who owns the customer and the data?

You keep the customers you write either way. The lead record is another matter.

Read the data clause before you buy: EverQuote's terms say it owns "all Lead Data" on its service. They also let EverQuote remarket every lead, shared or exclusive (Pro terms).

SmartFinancial's terms say it keeps "sole ownership of all Calls/Leads" and licenses each lead to you for 90 days.

With Google Ads, the account is yours. You add a manager as a user, and an Admin controls who has access (Google Ads Help). The search terms, conversions and call history stay in your account if you change managers.

How do you compare cost per sale?

Track one month of each source the same way. Mark every inquiry as reached, quoted, sold or returned. Then fill in your own figures:

Then compare each cost per sale with what one customer is worth. The newest National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) data puts the average combined auto premium at $1,438 per insured vehicle for 2023 (NAIC). LexisNexis puts average auto retention at 78% (LexisNexis).

Kept for three years, one vehicle at that premium brings in $1,438 + ($1,438 × 0.78) + ($1,438 × 0.78 × 0.78) = $3,435 of premium. At a 12% commission, that is about $412 to you. Use your own commission rate, because no reliable source publishes a typical one. The break-even worksheet runs the same steps with your figures.

Should you run both?

Many agencies can. Leads start in days and need no website. Your own ads take a few weeks of setup and tracking, and then build data you keep. Running both for a month gives you two cost-per-sale figures from the same staff and the same quarter.

Bring both numbers to a Google Ads strategy call, and we will go through them with you.