Group Health Industry Benchmarks
Group health insurance leads run from a few dollars for aged data to several hundred for a verified employer appointment. Here is what each lead type actually costs in 2026, what you get at each price point, and the commission math that decides whether any of it pays.
Group health is the most expensive lead category in insurance for one reason: The account value. A single 20-life employer group runs roughly $200,000 to $400,000 in annual medical premium, and broker commissions on group medical typically run 2% to 8% of premium, renewing every year the account stays on the books. That economics is why vendors can charge $100+ for one exclusive lead and still sell out of inventory.
The table below sets a price baseline for every common way to buy group health demand, drawn from published 2025 and 2026 vendor pricing. Use it to sanity-check quotes before you commit budget.
Recurring annual commission from a single closed 20-life group (2–8% of a $200K–$400K premium). One close typically pays for months of lead purchases at any price tier on this page, and the commission renews every year.
Group health insurance lead costs by type
| Lead type | Typical price | What you get | What moves the price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged group leads (7–90 days old) | $3–$20 | Employer contact data from an older inquiry, usually sold in volume | Age of the lead, volume purchased, prior resale count |
| Shared real-time web leads | $25–$65 | Fresh inquiry sold to multiple agents at once | Number of buyers sharing the lead, state, group size |
| Exclusive real-time web leads | $40–$80 | Fresh inquiry sold to you alone | Territory, employee count, day-parting; self-reported form fills with 30–50% typical contact rates |
| Exclusive group health data leads (vendor rate card) | $90 – $150+ | Exclusive lead with employee count and decision-maker contact details | Group size, state, and filters push well above the band; you are paying for contact data, not verified intent |
| Live transfers / inbound calls | $120 – $250+ | Employer on the phone, routed to you live | Duration billing and group size; calls are unscreened for intent – you pay for every connect, qualified or not |
| Verified employer appointments | $300 – $600 | Scheduled meeting with a decision maker, screened for needs and intent | Qualification depth, group size, guarantee terms; sub-$300 offers are typically offshore setters with high no-show rates |
Reading the table: Price tracks certainty. At $3 you are buying a name that inquired months ago; at $400 you are buying a confirmed conversation with an employer who has been screened for intent. Every tier in between trades money for filtering work you would otherwise do yourself.
Sticker price is not cost per conversation. Self-reported web leads connect at roughly 30–50%, and only a fraction of connects are decision makers with a renewal in play. An $80 exclusive web lead at a 40% contact rate is $200 per reached employer – and $600–$800 per employer with an active need. Inbound calls bill on connect, not on intent, so the $120 floor buys the smallest groups and every unqualified caller in between. The appointment tier costs more per unit because the screening waste is already paid for – you are buying the conversation, not the raffle ticket.
Why group health leads cost what they do
Account value sets the ceiling. Group medical commissions of 2–8% on six-figure premiums mean an average closed case is worth $2,000 to $10,000+ in annual renewals. Vendors price against that lifetime value, not against the cost of generating the click.
Exclusivity is the biggest single multiplier. The same real-time inquiry roughly doubles in price when it is sold to one agent instead of four. Shared leads look cheap until you factor in the contact-rate penalty of racing three other brokers to the phone.
Verification is the second multiplier. A raw call or web lead tells you an employer exists. A verified appointment tells you the employer has a renewal date, a headcount, and an agreed time to talk. The $300–$600 appointment tier is priced for the screening labor, and it is the only tier where you can meaningfully return units that do not match spec.
Group size moves every tier. A 5-life group and a 100-life group cost different amounts at every vendor, because premium scales with headcount and so does your commission.
The break-even math
At a 2–8% commission on group medical, average U.S. premiums of roughly $9,000–$12,000 per single employee and $22,000–$28,000 per family put even a small group into four-figure annual commission territory. Work backwards from that: If one in ten $60 exclusive web leads becomes a quote and one in three quotes closes, your acquisition cost is $1,800 per closed group against $4,000–$16,000 in year-one commission, before renewals. The same math at the appointment tier: One close in six $400 appointments is $2,400 acquisition cost, with far less of your week spent dialing.
Frequently asked questions
- How much do group health insurance leads cost in 2026?
- Aged group leads run $3–$20, shared real-time leads $25–$65, exclusive real-time leads $40–$80, vendor-exclusive data leads $90–$150, inbound calls run $120–$250+, and verified domestic employer appointments run $300–$600.
- Why do group health leads cost more than individual health leads?
- Account value. A 20-life employer group generates $200K–$400K in annual premium and a 2–8% commission that renews yearly, versus a few hundred dollars of commission on an individual policy. Vendors price the lead against the commission it can produce.
- Are $300–$600 appointments worth it compared to cheap leads?
- Compare cost per closed group, not cost per lead. One closed 20-life group returns $4,000–$16,000 in year-one commission, so an appointment channel closing one deal in six units is competitive with a web-lead channel closing one in thirty, once your dialing hours are priced in.
- What is the difference between a lead, a transfer, and an appointment?
- A lead is contact data from an inquiry. A transfer or inbound call is an employer live on the phone, unscreened. An appointment is a scheduled meeting with a decision maker that has been verified for needs and intent before it reaches your calendar.
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Sources & methodology
- Benepath, Lead Pricing (2026): Exclusive group health data leads $90–$150 per lead; aged overflow leads from $3; inbound calls from $119.95, priced by employee size and call duration.
- Aged Lead Store, How Much Do Health Insurance Leads Cost: Aged group leads $8–$20; average case values of $2,000–$10,000+ in annual renewals.
- GetInsureLeads, Insurance Leads Cost Per Lead (2026): Shared group leads $25–$65; exclusive real-time web leads $40–$80; live transfers from $40.
- Benefeature, Broker Commissions, Fees & Benchmarking: Group medical commissions typically 2–8% of premium, varying by carrier, plan type, and group size; single coverage premiums $9,000–$12,000 and family $22,000–$28,000.
- B2B appointment-setting rate surveys (2026): Pay-per-appointment pricing of $150–$600 per qualified appointment (domestic, screened providers cluster at $300–$600) depending on qualification criteria and deal size.
- Note on figures: These are market ranges aggregated from published vendor pricing, not a single primary survey. Individual quotes vary by state, group size, filters, and volume.