How to get Home Insurance Leads from Realtors and Lenders

Working closely with realtors and lenders is a proven way for agents to find and close more home insurance leads. By focusing on these high-intent referrals, you can steadily grow your business for long-term success. 

For proof, look no further than Firefly Agent, Evan Gibson, of Gibson Insurance Solutions. He has 10-15 referral partners sending him monthly leads. Evan sat down with Sam Nudelman to discuss how he develops lead-producing relationships with mortgage lenders and realtors. Learn Evan’s techniques and how Firefly supports him with every deal.

Watch the Interview to Increase Your Insurance Leads 

At the time of the interview, Evan had been with Firefly for less than 2 years. He runs a solo agency with 426 clients, of whom 375 have homeowners, condo, or dwelling fire insurance with him. In the interview below, you will:

• Learn his process of building relationships with realtors and mortgage brokers.
• See how he manages new leads and converts them to sales.
• Get FREE access to the exact resources he uses so you can apply them to your agency.

Evan’s Process for Getting Referral Partners

Step 1: Demonstrate Your Value

What is your value add? The first step is to clearly articulate why realtors and lenders should refer business to you. Create a concise and well-organized resource that you can share with potential referral partners, such as Evan’s “Loan Officer” document below.

Step 2: Identify Referral Partners You Want to Work With

Search locally using Google, LinkedIn, or other social media. You can get a free 30-day trial to LinkedIn Pro and use its Sales Navigator to identify local referral partners by sorting for “job” or “company.”

Also, network through non-digital channels. You never know who might be a good resource. Contact connections in home-buying fields and ask friends if they know anyone who sells homes or writes mortgages. With persistence, you’ll begin to build an insurance lead generation network. 

Step 3: Create a Program to Reward Referral Partners

In his interview, Evan emphasizes the need to nurture partnerships with referral partners. For example, he gifts them with a custom bag of coffee when a home closes. Determine what you want to offer so that both you and your lender or realtor benefit from the relationship. In this way, you’ll build trust and loyalty. 

Step 4: Connect with Potential Referral Partners

This is where you do the groundwork. Call, email, or set an in-person meeting with a new contact every day. If your potential referral partner is on social media, like and engage with their content to foster a connection. It’s important to identify your referral partners’ pain points and tailor your value document to each one. 

Step 5: Manage Your Relationships 

Reach out to referral partners regularly and encourage them to send you leads. Be sure to thank them when they do. These relationships require constant care so that the people in your network have you top-of-mind when a new customer needs a home insurance quote. 

Step 6: Create a Feedback Loop with Referral Partners

Leverage the referral relationship when you connect with a prospective client. A friendly phone call or email that mentions the referring party can bring you greater credibility. Evan uses the email script below when he connects with a loan officer referral:

Hi (Input customer’s name),

Congrats on the new contract on your home! Like [input lender’s name] mentioned, I work in conjunction with him and [input loan processor’s name, if available] on your loan in order to get the proper homeowners insurance in place. I have included all the info below for us to get started finding you the best value on insurance for your new home.

To make it simple for you, all I’ll need for quoting is: [send something like the below or some iteration of it within the email, you can include a short one page quote collection form instead, or send them to the consumer quoting portal link in EZLynx.]

-The address of the new home:

-What year was the current roof put on the home?

-Any other updates to the home in the last 10 years such as new plumbing, HVAC, etc?

-Are there children on premises?

-Are there dogs on premises? If so what breed, and do they have a bite history?

-Names and birthdates of all those to be listed on the mortgage, including your spouse (if applicable) even if they are not on the loan:

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SAVE EXTRA MONEY AND HAVE YOUR HOME AND AUTO IN THE SAME PLACE, PLEASE FILL OUT BELOW INFO FOR BUNDLING:

-The legal names and birthdates of every driver in the home:

-Driver’s License numbers of all drivers:

-Your current auto and home insurance declarations pages OR VIN numbers, coverage, and pricing details:

I look forward to working with you!

(Input your Email Signature)

Step 7: Follow Up

After you’ve sold a new policy, follow through on the referral program you’ve created by thanking the referral partner. Don’t hesitate to ask if they need help with their next client.

Download the Referral Partner Dashboard

Working with referral partners like realtors and lenders is a great way to grow your business, but you must stay proactive and organized. To help you get started, we created a spreadsheet to track your interactions and record the results of each meeting. 

With this tool, you can:

• Track the contact information for all lead sources.
• Record your last contact with each of your referral partners.
• See how many referrals each partner has sent you.
• Calculate the total premiums you’ve written from each referral partner.
• Remind yourself to follow up each referral with a thank you contact.

Download the Referral Partner Dashboard Spreadsheet: Excel format

The short video below walks you through the features of the spreadsheet. Some columns may change, but the tips here should always apply. If you don’t have Excel, watch until the end of the video. We’ll show you how to use the Firefly dashboard for free with Excel online.

A Final Tip

How you treat a referred client affects their feelings about the lender or realtor who referred them. If you want to continue to receive referrals, you need to ensure each new prospect has a positive experience with you–whether or not they end up insuring with you. Here are additional tips:

• Follow up promptly with each customer 
• Be helpful, not pushy
• Keep communication professional
• Speak favorably of the referring party

Watch the Entire Webinar on Leads for Insurance Agents

We discussed insurance lead-producing tactics with our Firefly agents as part of our Modern Agent program. There are plenty of good questions and answers included in this recording of the session:

Use Firefly to Grow Your Insurance Agency

Getting referrals from realtors and lenders is one of many great ways to get in front of prospects. You can discover more proven paths to success in Firefly’s modern agent resource center. If you’re looking for more carriers to close your leads, consider that with Firefly, you:

• Never use us as a middleman
• Get 12+ carriers in your first month
• Get paid 90% splits on all business
• Can leave anytime you want
• Get a Risk-Free, Money-Back Guarantee

Contact us today to learn more about how a partnership with Firefly can boost your conversion rate and grow your insurance agency!