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By Benchmarketing Research Team Reviewed by Performance Marketing Editorial Reviewed March 2026 · observations Q1 2023 – Q4 2024Insurance Google Ads averages · all types · 2026
2.14%
Avg CTR, all insurance Google Ads
Pet insurance achieves the lowest CPA ($44 median) due to low competition and impulse-adjacent purchase behavior. Medicare and senior insurance has the highest CPA ($136 median) but also the highest LTV — clients renew annually and rarely churn. Evaluate CPA against lifetime customer value for each line.
| Segment | Median CPA | P25 | P75 | Elite |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auto Insurance | $68 | $44 | $116 | <$32 |
| Home / Renters Insurance | $58 | $38 | $98 | <$28 |
| Life Insurance | $84 | $52 | $144 | <$40 |
| Health Insurance | $104 | $64 | $176 | <$48 |
| Business Insurance | $116 | $72 | $196 | <$54 |
| Medicare / Senior Insurance | $136 | $84 | $228 | <$64 |
| Pet Insurance | $44 | $28 | $76 | <$20 |
Lower CPA is better. Elite = top 10% of accounts by CPA efficiency. All figures are cost per qualified lead.
P25
$44
Median
$68
P75
$116
Elite
<$32
Home / Renters Insurance $58 medianP25
$38
Median
$58
P75
$98
Elite
<$28
Life Insurance $84 medianP25
$52
Median
$84
P75
$144
Elite
<$40
Health Insurance $104 medianP25
$64
Median
$104
P75
$176
Elite
<$48
Medicare / Senior Insurance $136 medianP25
$84
Median
$136
P75
$228
Elite
<$64
Pet Insurance $44 medianP25
$28
Median
$44
P75
$76
Elite
<$20
Local Services Ads and branded search deliver the highest CTR in insurance by a wide margin. Non-branded search at 2.14% median is where most budget is spent but where competition is fiercest. Display retargeting has very low CTR but re-engages quote-abandoners cost-effectively.
| Segment | Median CTR | P25 | P75 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Branded Search | 7.2% | 4.8% | 12.4% |
| Non-Branded Search | 2.14% | 1.4% | 3.8% |
| Competitor Targeting | 1.4% | 0.8% | 2.6% |
| Local Services Ads | 9.4% | 6.2% | 16.2% |
| Display Retargeting | 0.16% | 0.08% | 0.32% |
Higher CTR is better. LSA CTR is measured as click-to-call rate from the LSA unit.
Insurance is the most expensive Google Ads category by CPC
Insurance keywords sit at the top of Google Ads CPC across all industries because the lifetime customer value (LTV) is enormous: a retained auto insurance customer is worth $800–2,000/year, a life insurance policy $1,500–8,000 in commission, and a commercial policy significantly more. High LTV justifies aggressive bidding from carriers like GEICO, Progressive, State Farm, and Allstate, inflating auction prices for all advertisers. Independents must compete on service quality, local presence, and niche specialization rather than raw spend.
Phone calls close insurance leads far more reliably than web forms
Insurance is a high-consideration, trust-dependent purchase. Conversion data shows phone call leads close at 3–5x the rate of web form submissions in insurance. Call-only ads, call extensions, and Local Services Ads (which route to phone calls by design) are disproportionately valuable in this vertical. Advertisers who measure only form fills dramatically undercount their true lead volume and make incorrect bid decisions as a result. Implement call tracking from day one.
Branded search is non-negotiable for agencies with an existing book of business
Insurance customers comparison-shop heavily — 68% get quotes from 3+ providers before deciding. When existing customers search for your agency by name, competitors are bidding on your brand terms. Without defensive branded campaigns, you lose quote requests to competitors at the moment of highest intent. Branded campaigns in insurance average 7.2% CTR and CPCs 60–80% lower than non-branded, making branded defense one of the highest-ROI insurance ad investments available.
Lead value varies dramatically by insurance type — bid accordingly
Not all insurance leads are equal. A life insurance appointment is worth 3–5x an auto quote request because commission structures differ dramatically. Pet insurance leads have the lowest CPA ($44 median) but also the lowest LTV. Medicare and senior insurance leads have the highest CPA ($136 median) but extremely high LTV due to sticky annual renewals and ancillary product cross-sell. Smart insurers use target ROAS or value-based bidding — assigning different conversion values to each insurance type — rather than optimizing all leads equally.
LSA, call-centric measurement, and value-based bidding are the highest-leverage levers in insurance.
01Use Local Services Ads (Google Guaranteed) for local agents
LSA is the highest-CTR format in insurance (9.4% median) and charges per-lead rather than per-click, which eliminates wasted spend on curiosity clicks. Local agents and independent brokers who qualify for LSA typically see it become their top-performing Google channel within 60 days. Complete the Google Guaranteed verification (background check, license upload, insurance upload) and launch LSA before scaling standard search campaigns. LSA ads appear above all standard search results.
02Bid aggressively on branded terms — insurance customers comparison-shop
68% of insurance buyers get quotes from 3+ providers. When a customer who knows your agency searches your name, competitors are actively bidding on that term to intercept your lead. Branded search protection is non-negotiable: branded CPCs are 60–80% lower than non-branded, and branded CTR averages 7.2% — making branded defense one of the highest-ROI investments in your account. Budget at least 15–20% of your total Google Ads spend on branded campaigns.
03Use lead value bidding — insurance leads are not created equal
Set different conversion values for each insurance type based on average policy commission: auto insurance ($200–600 commission), life insurance ($1,500–8,000), Medicare ($500–1,200/year recurring), commercial ($500–5,000+). Switch from Target CPA to Target ROAS bidding and assign these value weights so Google's Smart Bidding allocates budget toward the highest-value lead types, not just the easiest-to-generate ones. This single change typically improves revenue-per-ad-dollar by 30–50%.
04Test quote calculator landing pages vs. standard form
Insurance shoppers are motivated by price. Landing pages that offer an interactive quote estimator ('Get an estimate in 30 seconds') or 'See your rate' consistently outperform generic 'Get a free quote' forms by 40–80% on CVR. A/B test a quote calculator tool (even a simple multi-step form that reveals a price range) against a standard contact form. Pair the calculator with urgency signals ('Rates valid for 24 hours') and a phone number prominently displayed for callers.
05Use call ads for Medicare and senior insurance
Older demographics — the primary audience for Medicare supplement and senior insurance — have significantly higher phone preference than digital form completion. For Medicare and senior insurance campaigns, switch to call-only ads during business hours (Mon–Fri 9am–5pm) and use call extensions on all other campaigns. Conversion data consistently shows call-only ads generate 2–3x more qualified leads per dollar in senior insurance than standard search ads sending traffic to a landing page.
Insurance CPCs vary widely by type. Auto insurance median CPC is $22.40, health insurance runs $15–28, life insurance $18–35, and home insurance $12–22. These are among the highest CPCs on Google Ads across all industries. A 'good' CPC is contextual: if your auto insurance policy closes at $1,200/year and you retain clients for 4 years, your customer LTV is $4,800+ — a $22 CPC is entirely justified at reasonable conversion rates. Evaluate CPC against LTV, not in isolation.
Every statistic on this page traces to a named source below. Benchmarketing does not publish anonymous "studies show" figures. Rows labeled Benchmarketing are our own aggregated, curated benchmark data.
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These benchmarks are drawn from a multi-source benchmark cohort aggregated across industries and regions, covering the period Q1 2023 – Q4 2024. Figures on this page come from the Benchmarketing benchmark dataset: thousands of curated benchmark observations spanning channels, industries, and US metro areas, refreshed on a published schedule. Every statistic traces to a named source — no anonymous “studies show.” Data is sourced from:
The Benchmarketing 4-Band Method reads every marketing metric against four percentile bands — P25 (bottom quartile), median, P75 (top quartile), and elite (top ~10%) — for a specific industry and channel, instead of a single cross-industry average. Averages blend brand and non-brand campaigns, $500/month and $500,000/month accounts, and unrelated industries into a number almost nobody actually has.
Benchmarks reflect median values across large sample sets. Your industry, business model, and account maturity will cause variation. Use P25/P75 ranges to understand realistic distribution.
Read full methodologyWritten by
Benchmarketing Research Team
Data & Analytics
Reviewed by
Performance Marketing Editorial
Senior Review
Last updated
Reviewed March 2026
Observation period: Q1 2023 – Q4 2024
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