Insurance Agency Lead Generation Checklist

Pick one primary line for the campaign — commercial package, BOP, workers comp, professional liability, personal auto, or homeowners. Cross-line campaigns dilute messaging and make hit-ratio analysis impossible at the end of the cycle.

Pull each appointed carrier's current appetite guide and binding authority letter. Confirm class codes, hazard grades, premium size, and states authorized. Generating leads outside of your binding authority wastes producer time and creates E&O risk if a producer binds anyway.

Map the chosen line to specific SIC/NAICS codes inside carrier appetite. For workers comp, also map to NCCI class codes (or the bureau equivalent in NY, NJ, DE, PA, CA, MA, MN, MI, WI, TX). Use ZoomInfo, D&B Hoovers, or Reference USA to pull the prospect list.

Pull quote-to-bind ratio from Applied Epic or AMS360 for the last four quarters, segmented by class code and premium size. Segments below a 15% hit ratio rarely justify outbound spend; reallocate to higher-converting classes.

Write down the ideal customer profile — revenue band, employee count, states, prior carrier types, loss history threshold — and the hard disqualifiers (e.g., trucking radius over 200 miles, prior cancellation for non-payment, open WC claims over $100K). Share with producers before any outreach.

Write a one-paragraph value prop tied to a real underwriting concession or carrier program — e.g., a contractor program with payroll-based premium reporting, a cyber program with included IR retainer, a habitational program with deductible buybacks. Generic "we save you money" copy converts at noise-floor rates.

Build the gated asset — coverage gap audit, loss-run review template, certificate compliance checklist, or industry-specific exposure guide. Avoid a generic "insurance 101" PDF; the practitioner downloading it should immediately recognize their exposure.

Form fields should match what a producer needs to indicate — entity name, state, FEIN, current carrier, expiration date, prior losses, headcount or payroll. Pre-populate ACORD 125 fields where possible. Add the GLBA privacy notice and (for CA prospects) the CCPA/CPRA disclosure to the form footer.

Configure a 5–7 touch sequence in HubSpot, Mailchimp, or AgencyZoom. Tie touches to the prospect's renewal window where known — most commercial accounts decision 60–90 days before expiration. Include CAN-SPAM physical address and unsubscribe in every email.

Verify each producer's NPN on NIPR is active in every state in the prospect list, with the correct lines of authority and current CE. Marketing into a state where the producer is unlicensed creates an unauthorized-transaction risk if the prospect responds and is bound.

For each gap, either submit a non-resident license application via NIPR (typical 2–10 business days) or remove that state from the campaign. Do not launch outreach with unresolved gaps; restate the prospect list and re-confirm before launch.

Send to no more than 50–100 prospects per producer per day to protect deliverability. Reference the prospect's renewal month or a public exposure (new location, new fleet, new lease) — not generic copy. Every reply gets a same-day human response.

Target the CFO, controller, or risk manager — not the CEO — for mid-market commercial. Reference a specific exposure (cyber breach in their sector, OSHA citation trend, court ruling on their liability class) rather than asking for "15 minutes to discuss insurance."

Bid on bottom-funnel terms (e.g., "contractor general liability quote Texas," "workers comp audit dispute") rather than head terms like "business insurance." Geo-fence to states where producers are licensed; exclude states where you are not appointed with a market.

Brief CPAs, attorneys, bankers, and PEO partners on the cycle's target segment so they know which referrals fit. For any referral fee or commission split, confirm the state allows the arrangement (many require the recipient to be licensed) and document under NY Reg 187 / equivalent disclosure rules.

Pick a trade association event aligned with the target segment (AGC, NAHB, restaurant associations, ASHRM, HFMA). Bring a producer with the correct line authority, not just a marketer. Capture badges or business cards into the AMS within 48 hours of the event.

Speed-to-lead matters: response inside one business day roughly doubles connect rates versus 48 hours. The CSR or marketing assistant confirms the prospect is in appetite, has a real expiration window, and is in a licensed state before passing to a producer.

Screen the entity name, FEIN, and any disclosed principals against the OFAC SDN list before any quote work. A hit halts the workflow until cleared by compliance — do not bind, do not collect premium, do not provide an indication.

If any name or alias matches the SDN list, freeze the lead in the AMS, document the screening result, and route to the agency's compliance officer. Do not contact the prospect about the hit until compliance clears or directs reporting to OFAC.

Score on premium size, segment fit, expiration window, and loss history. A/B/C tiers route to senior producer / mid-level producer / nurture sequence respectively. Tier-D leads (out of appetite) get a referral to a wholesaler or polite decline rather than a stalled file.

Create the prospect record in Applied Epic, AMS360, EZLynx, or HawkSoft. Tag with the campaign source, ICP tier, target line, and renewal month. The producer owns first contact within 24 hours of assignment.

Report MQL count, SQL count, quotes issued, bound count, written premium, and quote-to-bind ratio split by channel (email, paid, referral, event) and by segment (class code or NAICS). Channels under 10% conversion or with negative ROI get cut next cycle.

Run an aging report on assigned leads. Anything sitting more than 5 business days without a touch needs producer feedback — usually a sign the lead was out of appetite or the producer is buried. Reroute or close-lost rather than letting leads stale.

Two-question survey to clients bound during the cycle: how they first heard of the agency and what nearly stopped them from completing the quote. Patterns from 5–10 responses tell you more than vendor analytics dashboards.

The agency principal reviews the report with the marketing lead and producer team. Decide which channels to scale, which segments to drop, and the line and target premium for the next cycle. Document decisions so next cycle's run starts from a real baseline.