Exclusive or shared car accident leads: what sellers should know

What exclusive and shared mean for a car accident lead

The two words describe a promise you make to the buyer about distribution. They say nothing about the crash, the injuries or the quality of the form. A weak lead sold exclusive is still weak, and a strong lead sold shared is still strong. The table sets out what each promise covers.

Neither label is a statement about the claimant. If an injured driver calls other law firms after filling in your form, your lead has not become shared. What counts is whether you delivered it to more than one buyer.

Why PI buyers usually want exclusive on auto claims

A car accident claimant has usually just dealt with a damaged vehicle, an insurer asking questions and an injury that may still be getting worse. The intakeIntakeThe process a law firm or its intake team uses to screen a potential client, collect the facts of the accident and injury, and decide whether to take the case. Glossary call that signs them is a long one: what happened, who was at fault, what treatment they have had, and what the other driver's insurer has already said.

A firm that knows it is the only one calling can run that call properly and follow up when the claimant does not pick up the first time. A firm that knows two or three others received the same name tends to cut the call short and push for a signature. Claimants notice, and many stop answering altogether.

Buyers also plan intake staff around the leads they receive. Exclusive leads let them do that with some confidence. For both reasons, exclusive is what most PI buyers ask for first, and it is Summit's default for car accident leads.

When shared car accident leads still make sense

Shared is not a lesser product, just a different agreement. It fits a few situations:

• The buyer asks for it. Some buyers run fast, high-contact intake teams and prefer shared leads. Agree it in writing during onboarding.
• No exclusive buyer covers the area. A lead from a state or ZIP code with no exclusive coverage can still reach a firm that takes shared leads there.
• The lead is missing detail. A lead with no injury description or an unclear accident date may suit buyers that do their own screening. Say what is missing rather than hiding it.

Whatever you agree, keep the number of buyers on a shared lead to that agreement, and send shared leads only to buyers that accepted shared terms.

Labelling exclusivity on every lead you send

Exclusivity only means something if the buyer can see it on the lead itself. Put it in the record at the moment of delivery, not in a later email or a monthly report. Crashes involving a rideshare car add fields worth stating alongside exclusivity, such as the driver's app status and the claimant's role; see exclusive or shared rideshare accident leads.

• Mark each lead exclusive or shared in a field the buyer's system can read.
• Keep one source of truth for status. If your platform and your spreadsheet disagree, fix it before the next delivery.
• Do not offer an exclusive leadExclusive leadA lead delivered to one buyer and not resold to others. Glossary to a second buyer later, as an aged lead or otherwise, unless the first buyer has agreed.
• Keep the TCPATCPAThe Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the federal law that governs telemarketing calls and texts, autodialers, prerecorded voice messages and the Do Not Call Registry. Glossary consent record with every lead: the opt-in text, timestamp, IP address and page URL.

What Summit agrees with you during onboarding

Before any car accident volume is sent, we agree three things with each supplierSupplierAny company that provides leads to a buyer, whether it generates them itself or brokers them from publishers. Glossary:

1. Exclusivity. Car accident leads are MVA leads at Summit: exclusive by default, shared only on request.
2. Delivery. Web form leads, sent by real-time ping/post, each with a TCPA consent record.
3. Return terms. Which return reasons are accepted and how returns are handled, written down before launch.

Rates are discussed on a call, not by email. Our team has 7 years of combined experience in lead generation. For the step-by-step setup, see how to sell car accident leads.

How exclusivity interacts with returns and attorney status

The most common reason a car accident lead comes back is that the claimant already has a lawyer. Ask the attorney question plainly on the form and do not send leads that answer yes. An exclusive lead to a claimant who is already represented is not exclusive in any useful sense; the case has gone.

Returns and exclusivity are linked in a second way. Once a buyer returns a lead for a reason the terms accept, that lead is no longer theirs. Whether it can be offered to someone else, and on what label, should be settled in the return terms rather than decided case by case.

Finally, a shared lead is still subject to returns. Several buyers receiving the same lead does not make a wrong number or a property-damage-only claim acceptable to any of them. For what makes a single lead hold up, see what car accident leads are worth.