Aged leads vs fresh leads in 2026: cost per placed policy after a full quarter

Fresh leads cost more every quarter and aged leads are cheaper than ever, so the question comes up constantly. The only honest comparison is cost per placed policy over ninety days. Here's the shape of what agents report.

Fresh. Higher contact rate, higher price, and the prospect remembers asking. Close rate on contact is the best you'll get. Cost per placed policy depends almost entirely on how fast you reach them; a fresh lead worked an hour late is an aged lead you paid full price for.

Aged. Lower contact rate, much lower price, and the phone room that called first is gone. The ones who answer still care, and close rate on contact is closer to fresh than most agents expect. Cost per placed policy often lands close to fresh, sometimes better, with more dialing per policy.

The mix that works. Fresh leads dialed the minute they arrive, aged leads as the fill between them so the dialer never sits idle. The aged list is where multi-line dialing belongs; the fresh list is where it doesn't.

The trap. Treating aged leads like fresh ones. Different opener, different expectation. 'You sent this in a while back' beats pretending it's new.

Post your quarter: source, cost per lead, cost per placed policy. The numbers are the thread.