Insurance Lead Follow-Up by Text: Lead Types, Scripts and Compliance

Text every internet insurance lead within a minute or two of it arriving, ask one easy question about the coverage they asked for, gather quote details in three to five texts, and hand the lead to a licensed agent as soon as they want a price or a call. Leads who don't buy now get texted again around the date that matters to them: their renewal, their 65th birthday, or an enrollment period.

Lead types and how to work each

Lead type	What you're buying	How to work it by text
Shared real-time	The same person sold to several agents at once, so whoever reaches them first has the edge	Text in the first minute, call right after if you can. Get one quote detail in the first exchange so they have a reason to keep talking to you.
Exclusive real-time	Sold to you only, usually for a limited window the vendor sets; ask how long, and what happens to the lead after it	Same speed, then follow up for weeks: you have the lead to yourself for the window, then someone else may get it.
Aged	Leads resold weeks or months after the person filled out the form; ask for the original form date on each one	No race, so open by naming when they asked and whether they still need it.
Live transfer	A caller connected to you on the phone, already talking	The call does the selling. Texts confirm the next step after the call, send what you promised, and re-engage people who hung up or missed the appointment.

Consent language on a form you control, as an example:

By submitting, I agree that Pine Street Insurance and its licensed agents may text and call me at the number above about insurance quotes, including with automated technology. Consent is not required to buy. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out.

If a lead arrives with no consent record, or consent language that doesn't cover your agency, don't text it: ask the vendor for the record or a replacement. "Exclusive" has no standard meaning: one vendor means sold to one agent ever, another means yours for a short window and resold afterward. Ask every vendor four things before you pay a premium for it: sold to how many agents, resold after how long, generated on whose website, and what consent language the person agreed to, with a record of it.

First texts by line of business

In each example below (illustrative, not real messages), the text names you and your agency, says what the person asked for, and asks one question. Leave out links and prices in the first text, and add "Reply STOP to opt out" to it.

• Auto: "Hi Dana, this is Sam with Pine Street Insurance. You asked for an auto quote a few minutes ago. Is it just the one car, or are there other vehicles and drivers on the policy?"
• Home: "Hi Marcus, Sam with Pine Street Insurance about your homeowners quote. Is this for a home you're buying, or are you shopping your current policy?"
• Term life: "Hi Priya, Sam with Pine Street Insurance. You asked about life insurance. Do you have a coverage amount in mind, or would it help to talk through what you need it to cover?"
• Final expense: "Hi Ruth, this is Sam, a licensed agent. You sent in a request about final expense coverage. Is this for yourself, or for someone in your family?"
• Medicare: "Hi Walter, this is Sam, a licensed agent. You asked for information about Medicare plans. Are you turning 65 soon, or already on Medicare and looking to change?" Then the disclaimer, covered below.
• Aged lead: "Hi Kim, Sam with Pine Street Insurance. You looked into auto insurance back in the spring. Did you find a policy, or are you still shopping?"

Qualification questions

Before the first text, check the lead's state against the licenses of the agent who will get the handoff, and route it to someone licensed there. Then ask one question at a time, in this order, and stop as soon as you have enough to quote.

Line	Questions
Auto	Vehicles and drivers; current carrier and renewal date; tickets or claims in the last few years; the coverage they want
Home	Buying or switching; closing date if buying; year built and roof age; current premium and renewal date
Life	Coverage amount and what it's for; age and tobacco use; major health conditions; monthly budget
Final expense	Who it's for; age; monthly budget; any existing policy
Medicare	Birth date or Part B start date; current coverage (Original Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medigap); a time for an appointment. Leave doctors, drugs and plan comparisons for the appointment itself.

Example replies to the answers you'll get most:

• "I already have insurance": "Makes sense. When does your current policy renew? I'll check back a few weeks before so you can compare." Save the date for the nurture plan below.
• "Who is this?": "Sam, a licensed agent with Pine Street Insurance. You asked for a life insurance quote on Tuesday. Still want one?"
• "Just send me a price": "Happy to. I need two things to get it right: your date of birth and whether you use tobacco."
• "Wrong number" or "not interested": stop, mark the lead, and don't text that number again.

When to hand to the agent

• They ask for a price, or give enough detail to run one.
• They ask to talk, or reply with a time.
• They mention a deadline: a closing date, a policy lapsing, a birthday next month.
• They ask about a claim, a cancellation or anything on an existing policy.
• They ask a health or underwriting question that needs a licensed answer.
• A Medicare lead agrees to an appointment: the agent records the Scope of Appointment first.

A handoff text with the agent on the thread, as an example: "Dana, I'm adding Alex, the agent who'll run your quote. Alex, Dana has a 2019 Camry and a 2022 RAV4, two drivers, renewal with her current carrier on the 14th."

Keep the texts to scheduling and gathering facts. Recommending a policy or a plan is the licensed agent's job, so that's the point to hand off.

Follow-up for leads who don't reply

A workable cadence for a new lead who goes quiet: day 1 (two texts, a few hours apart), day 2, day 4, day 7, then every two to three weeks until the next date in the table below. Change the question each time instead of repeating "just checking in", and stop for good at any opt-out. Examples for an auto lead:

• Day 2: "Hi Dana, Sam again. Did you get a quote from anyone else yet? I can compare it line by line."
• Day 4: "Quick one: any tickets or accidents in the last three years? That's the last thing I need to price it."
• Week 3: "Hi Dana, still shopping for auto, or all set? Either answer helps."

In Florida and Maryland, also stop by 8 p.m. and keep to three messages in 24 hours; both state rules are covered below.

Long nurture: the dates that matter

Line	Date to plan around	When to text
Auto and home	Their current renewal date	Ask for it in qualification; text a few weeks before it
Medicare, turning 65	Initial Enrollment Period: 7 months, from 3 months before the month they turn 65 to 3 months after (Medicare.gov)	Before the window opens
Medicare Advantage and Part D	Open Enrollment, October 15 to December 7, coverage starting January 1; Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment, January 1 to March 31, for people already in a Medicare Advantage plan (Medicare.gov)	Early October, then before December 7
Medigap	A one-time 6-month window from the first month they're 65 and signed up for Part B; after it, options may be limited and cost more (Medicare.gov)	As soon as you know their Part B date
ACA (under 65)	For 2027 coverage, open enrollment on HealthCare.gov runs November 1 to January 15, and December 15 is the last day to enroll for coverage starting January 1; state exchanges set their own dates (HealthCare.gov)	Late October and early December
Life and final expense	No window; life events and their next birthday	Every month or two, plus when they mention a change

A nurture text should give a reason for the timing, as in this example: "Hi Marcus, Sam again. Your homeowners policy renews next month. Want me to quote it against your current premium before then?"

Measure it per lead source

Track five numbers for each vendor: leads bought, leads who replied, leads quoted, policies bound, and lead spend. Divide spend by policies bound for your cost per policy. As an illustration only: 200 shared leads at $25 is $5,000; if 6 bind, each policy cost about $833 in leads. Compare vendors on that number, not on price per lead.

Compliance for insurance texting, as of October 2026

• Consent: Marketing texts sent with an autodialer need prior express written consent (47 CFR 64.1200(a)(2)): a signed agreement, electronic signatures included, that authorizes the seller to send them to that number ((f)(9)). Damages are $500 per violation, up to three times that if willful (47 USC 227(b)(3)).
• One-to-one consent is not in effect: The FCC's 2023 rule would have required consent to one seller at a time, for calls "logically and topically associated with the interaction that prompted the consent." The Eleventh Circuit vacated it on January 24, 2025 in Insurance Marketing Coalition v. FCC (opinion), and the current definition in 64.1200(f)(9) has no one-to-one requirement. The consent still has to cover you, so check the form's language.
• Hours: No telephone solicitation before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. in the recipient's local time; the rule covers solicitations you initiate, measured at the called party's location, so go by the lead's address or area code, not yours (64.1200(c)(1)). Florida is stricter for unsolicited sales calls: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and no more than three in 24 hours on the same subject (Florida Statutes 501.616(6)), and that subsection applies to licensed insurance agents even though they're exempt from most of the act (501.604). Maryland's Stop the Spam Calls Act sets the same 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. window and three-per-24-hours limit for telephone solicitations (Maryland chapter 413 of 2023).
• Opt-outs: Replies of stop, quit, end, revoke, opt out, cancel or unsubscribe revoke consent; any other reasonable request counts too, and it must be honored within 10 business days. One confirmation text without marketing is allowed (64.1200(a)(10) and (a)(12)). The rule that a STOP covers all your unrelated messages too is delayed to January 31, 2027 (FCC DA 26-12).
• Medicare Advantage and Part D: Unsolicited texts are banned; contact isn't unsolicited when the beneficiary gave consent or reached out first (42 CFR 422.2264(a)). Record the Scope of Appointment before the appointment, in writing if it's in person; it's valid for 12 months, and you can't market non-health products such as annuities in that appointment (422.2264(c)(3)). The 48-hour wait after the Scope of Appointment was removed by the Contract Year 2027 rule, effective June 1, 2026 (Federal Register).
• The TPMO disclaimer: An agent who sells for more than one Medicare Advantage organization must convey it in email, chat and other electronic communication: "We do not offer every plan available in your area. Currently we represent [number] organizations which offer [number] products in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE to get information on all of your options." (422.2267(e)(41)). Check that any texting tool can send it word for word before you load Medicare Advantage leads.
• Resold Medicare leads: Data a marketing organization collected can go to another one only with the beneficiary's written consent, given through a disclosure that lists each receiving entity (422.2274(g)(4)). Ask your vendor for that disclosure.
• Registration: Every 10-digit business number needs an approved A2P 10DLC registration before carriers deliver its texts; see A2P 10DLC registration: cost, timeline and rejections.

If you use Out Nurture

Out Nurture texts each lead within seconds during texting hours, which are 8 AM to 9 PM in the lead's time zone, every day. It reads the details your lead vendor sends (source, line of business, notes, custom fields), decides when to follow up, and hands ready leads to the agent you choose by group text or email summary. It doesn't make calls or live transfers. Leads come in by webhook or CSV, STOP is honored across every campaign, and Out Nurture files your A2P registration from the app. The plan is $25 a month with $5 of usage included, then about $0.025 a text; the cost calculator works it out for your lead volume.