The quick comparison
| Company | What you get | Exclusive? | How it's priced | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benepath | Real-time web leads and inbound calls for workers' comp, BOP, commercial auto, and P&C | Sold as exclusive; may be shared if no agent can take it promptly | Per lead or per call, by territory and filters | Agents who want owners already asking for a quote |
| SmartFinancial | Real-time web leads and live calls, commercial among other lines | Both options; inbound calls are exclusive | Per lead or per call | Agents set up to call within minutes |
| Dolead | Business insurance quote requests: general liability, workers' comp, commercial auto, property, professional, cyber | Exclusive | Pay per lead | Agencies buying across several lines |
| Lead Orchard | Booked appointments with business owners | Exclusive | Per appointment; no setup fee or long-term contract | Producers who would rather sell than prospect |
| LeO by First Connect | A prospecting platform: 150+ filters, renewal dates, DOT, OSHA, and workers' comp data | Shared database | Subscription, with a free trial | Agents building targeted outbound lists nationwide |
| FiledToday | New Florida businesses from the state's daily filings, with the owner's phone number | Public data, but you're usually the first to call | $99 to $249 a month per county | Florida agents who want to reach businesses before their first policy |
From each company's website, checked October 2026. Prices and terms change; confirm with the vendor before you buy.
Quote requests and live calls
These are owners who filled out a form or called a number because they want insurance now. They are the fastest route to a quote, and you pay for every one.
- Benepath sells real-time commercial leads and phone calls, delivered the moment they are generated. Its page lists workers' comp, BOP, commercial auto, and property and casualty. Leads are sold as exclusive, though Benepath notes a lead can become eligible for shared distribution if it can't be assigned promptly. Pricing depends on state, county, and filters, so you have to call for a quote.
- SmartFinancial sells real-time web leads and live calls across personal and commercial lines, delivered by phone, email, text, or straight into your CRM. Both shared and exclusive options exist; inbound calls are exclusive.
- Dolead sells exclusive business insurance quote requests on a pay-per-lead basis, covering general liability, workers' comp, commercial auto, commercial property, professional liability, and cyber, filtered by business size, industry, and territory.
Watch for: speed. With any quote request, the first agent to reach the owner usually wins, so these only pay off if someone can call within minutes, all day. Ask how returns work for bad numbers and duplicates.
Booked appointments
An appointment setter calls business owners for you and books the ones who agree to talk.
- Lead Orchard books exclusive commercial insurance appointments with business owners, with no setup fees and no long-term contract. It says it has scheduled over 80,000 appointments since 2010.
Watch for: what counts as a qualified appointment, what happens on a no-show, and whether you can set the industries and premium size you want.
Prospect databases and renewal dates
A database gives you businesses to target, often with renewal (X-date) information, and you do the outreach.
- LeO by First Connect is an AI sales assistant for commercial agents with more than 150 filters, including location, industry, company size, renewal dates, and DOT, OSHA, and workers' comp data. It adds email personalization and CRM export, and offers a 14-day free trial.
Watch for: how current the contact data is, and how many exports or credits the plan includes. A database is only as good as the outreach you put behind it.
New-business lists
A new-business list tracks the businesses that just registered with the state. They haven't bought a policy yet, and most haven't talked to an agent.
- FiledToday takes Florida's daily filings, removes holding companies and filing services, finds the owner's phone number, and sends each county's new businesses every weekday morning. It is Florida only, and it costs $99 to $249 a month per county depending on county size, month to month. There is a free county sample.
Where it fits: Florida agents who already call prospects and want to reach contractors, trucking companies, restaurants, and other new businesses before their first policy. A new contractor needs a liability certificate to get licensed, and construction businesses need workers' comp or an exemption from the first employee, so many of these owners decide in their first few weeks. The contractor, workers' comp, and commercial auto pages show the weekly numbers.
Where it doesn't: agents outside Florida, and agencies that only want owners who have already asked for a quote.
Filings are public, so the leads aren't exclusive. But you get each business the morning after it registers, with the owner's number already found, so you'll usually be the first to call.
How to choose
- Be honest about speed. If nobody can answer a lead within five minutes, skip real-time quote requests or buy calls instead.
- Price it per conversation, not per lead. A cheap lead that never answers is expensive. Track how many leads become a real conversation, then a quote.
- Match the source to your appetite. A contractor-heavy book wants new construction businesses and workers' comp data; a BOP book wants storefronts and offices.
- Test before you commit. Ask for a sample or a small first order, and grade it with the vendor scorecard.
Most agencies that grow a commercial book use more than one source: some inbound leads for quick quotes, and a steady prospecting list so the pipeline doesn't depend on ad budgets. The trade-offs between the two are in filing leads vs. inbound leads.
Common questions
What is the best company for commercial insurance leads?
There isn't one best company, because they sell different things. If you want owners who are already asking for a quote, look at quote-request and call vendors such as Benepath, SmartFinancial, or Dolead. If you want meetings booked for you, an appointment service like Lead Orchard. If you prospect on your own, a data platform like LeO or, in Florida, a new-business list like FiledToday.
Are exclusive commercial insurance leads worth it?
Usually, if you can call within minutes. An exclusive lead means no other agent is calling the same owner, which raises your odds of getting the quote. It costs more per lead, so it only pays if you work every lead fast and your close rate holds up.
What is the difference between shared and exclusive insurance leads?
A shared lead is sold to several agents at once, so the owner gets several calls and the first agent to reach them usually wins. An exclusive lead goes to one agent only. Shared leads cost less per lead; exclusive leads usually convert better.
What is the cheapest way to get commercial insurance leads?
Prospecting your own list is the cheapest per conversation, because you pay for data or a subscription instead of each lead. It takes more of your time. New-business lists are one version: FiledToday is a flat $99 to $249 a month per Florida county, no matter how many owners you call.
Updated October 13, 2026 · By Ben Thalmann, founder of FiledToday