Short answer: the earliest source of new-business leads in Florida is the state's own daily filing data from the Division of Corporations (Sunbiz), which lists roughly 2,527 new companies every business day. It is free but raw: no phone numbers, no county, no industry. Agents either work the raw files themselves, buy older compiled lists, or use a filtered daily feed by county with the owner's phone number, which is what FiledToday sends.
New business filings are the earliest public sign that a company exists. For a commercial agent, that timing matters: the owner is choosing a bank, a payroll provider, and an insurance agent in the same few weeks. The agent who calls first with something useful to say often gets the account.
Where the leads come from
Every new Florida corporation and LLC is filed with the Division of Corporations, known as Sunbiz. The state publishes each day's filings in a free daily file. That file is the raw material for nearly every new-business list sold in Florida, including ours.
What the filing gives you:
- Business name and entity type
- Principal and mailing address
- Filing date and document number
- Registered agent
- Managers, members, or officers named on the filing
What it does not give you: a phone number, an email, the industry, or whether the business is already insured.
How much volume to expect
Statewide, the daily files averaged about 2,103 usable new filings per business day between August 17 and October 9, 2026. Most of that volume is in a few metro counties:
| County | New filings per business day | Total, 39 business days |
|---|---|---|
| Miami-Dade | 374.0 | 14,587 |
| Broward | 222.6 | 8,683 |
| Palm Beach | 158.8 | 6,192 |
| Orange | 141.8 | 5,529 |
| Hillsborough | 127.4 | 4,967 |
| Lee | 75.5 | 2,946 |
| Duval | 73.1 | 2,850 |
| Pinellas | 70.0 | 2,729 |
| Polk | 61.5 | 2,399 |
| Pasco | 47.8 | 1,863 |
If you work a smaller county, expect a handful a day. That is often plenty: five good calls a morning is a solid prospecting habit for a producer who also services accounts.
Which new filings to call first
Not every filing is a prospect. Before you research a single phone number, sort the list:
- Drop the shells. Holding companies, real estate title LLCs, and investment vehicles rarely buy commercial coverage beyond a landlord policy.
- Drop filing-service records when no owner is named. The registered agent company will not buy from you.
- Prioritize trades, transportation, food service, cleaning, and health services. These owners hit hard insurance requirements early: contractor licensing, workers' comp thresholds, commercial auto, and lease requirements.
- Prioritize local principal addresses. An owner working out of your county is easier to meet and easier to write.
Our guide to what coverage new Florida businesses need covers the requirements that make certain owners buy sooner.
Finding the owner's phone number
This is the slow part. For each filing you need a number that reaches the person named on it. Agents usually check, in order:
- The business website or Google Business Profile, if one exists yet
- State license lookups for licensed trades (DBPR)
- LinkedIn and other professional profiles
- People-search databases, using the owner's name and the filing address
Expect 5 to 10 minutes per record when you do it by hand. The full process is in how to find the owner of a Florida LLC.
What to say on the first call
Keep it honest and short. You saw the registration, you work with new businesses in the area, and you have one useful thing to offer. For example:
"Hi, is this Maria? This is Sam with Gulf Coast Insurance in Fort Myers. I saw Maria's Cleaning Co. registered with the state last week. I help new cleaning companies get set up with liability and workers' comp before their first commercial contract. Do you have two minutes, or is there a better time this week?"
More openers, voicemail scripts, and follow-up cadences are in our cold calling guide for new businesses. Before you dial, read the calling rules that apply in Florida.
Doing it yourself vs. buying a list
Doing it yourself is free and works well if you have time and some comfort with data. A prepared list makes sense when your bottleneck is the research, not the calls.
FiledToday does the filtering and the phone research. Each weekday we take new filings for your county, remove the shells and filing services, find the owner's phone number, and send the list by email, Google Sheets, or CSV. Every delivered lead has a phone number. Plans start at $99 a month, and you can get a free county sample first.
Common questions
Where do insurance agents get new business leads in Florida?
Most use one of three sources: the state's free Sunbiz daily filing files, local business tax receipt records, or a prepared list that filters new filings to their county and adds owner phone numbers. Referrals and inbound quote forms are separate channels.
Are new business filings good leads for commercial insurance?
They are good prospecting signals, not quote requests. A new owner often needs general liability, workers' comp, commercial auto, or a BOP within weeks. But the owner did not ask to be called, so the first conversation is an introduction.
How many new businesses register in my county?
It depends heavily on the county. Between August 17 and October 9, 2026, Miami-Dade County averaged about 374.0 filings per business day, while many rural counties averaged fewer than one. Each county page shows current numbers.
Do Sunbiz filings include the owner's phone number?
No. Filings list names, addresses, the registered agent, and managers or officers. Phone numbers have to be researched from other public sources.
Updated October 12, 2026 · By Ben Thalmann, founder of FiledToday