Cost by supply model — exclusive vs shared vs pay-per-call
| Model | Per-lead cost | Contact rate | Signed rate | Cost / signed case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exclusive (one firm only) | $250–$500 | 75–90% | 10–18% | $1,800–$3,000 |
| Shared (3–8 firms) | $40–$120 | 25–35% | 3–6% | $1,500–$3,500 |
| Pay-per-call | $80–$250 / call | ~100% | 14–22% | $1,500–$2,800 |
Exclusive almost always wins on cost-per-signed-case despite the higher headline CPL. The reason is the contact-rate floor: with shared, the same prospect is being called by seven other firms inside 90 seconds, and contact rate craters. We covered the full math here. Pay-per-call breakdown lives here.
Cost by case type — 2026 benchmarks
| Case type | Exclusive CPL | Shared CPL | Cost / signed case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard auto | $250–$400 | $40–$90 | $1,800–$2,800 |
| Motorcycle | $300–$450 | $60–$120 | $2,200–$3,500 |
| Pedestrian injury | $320–$500 | $80–$150 | $2,500–$4,000 |
| Commercial truck | $450–$900 | $120–$300 | $5,000–$12,000 |
| Wrongful death | $600–$1,200 | $200–$500 | $8,000–$15,000+ |
Cost by state — selected markets
State-level cost variation comes from three sources: market-CPC density, language demand (bilingual supply prices ~20% higher), and statute-of-limitations urgency. High-cost markets sit at the top of the CPL range, low-cost markets at the floor.
| State | Exclusive CPL | Note |
|---|---|---|
| California | $280–$450 | Bilingual demand; LA premium |
| Texas | $220–$380 | Bilingual; truck-corridor heavy |
| Florida | $240–$400 | PIP state; bilingual S. FL |
| New York | $260–$420 | No-fault, serious-injury threshold |
| New Jersey | $260–$420 | PIP / verbal-threshold |
| Ohio | $200–$320 | At-fault; lower-cost market |
| Pennsylvania | $230–$380 | Full-tort vs limited-tort split |
| Illinois | $240–$380 | Chicago dominates |
| Georgia | $220–$360 | 2-year SOL — speed matters |
| Oregon | $180–$290 | Smaller pool — exclusivity matters |
The cost the price tag doesn't show
The number on the invoice is only part of the actual cost of MVA leads. The hidden costs that move the per-signed-case math more than the per-lead price:
- Intake speed-to-lead. A 2-minute first-call response signs at 2× the rate of a 20-minute response. If your team isn't covering the calling windows the supply runs in, the cheapest CPL is a tax, not a bargain.
- Bilingual coverage. Across CA, TX, FL, AZ, NV — about 22% of MVA inquiries prefer Spanish. English-only intake on those leads converts at roughly 31% the rate of bilingual intake. The CPL stays the same; the signed-case rate halves.
- Script and qualification flow. A 90-second qualification call signs at 14% on the same leads where a 4-minute screening flow signs at 6%. Pure operational. See the intake-script field note.
- Server-side conversion tracking. If you're optimizing your paid acquisition on a browser pixel only, you're missing 25–35% of your match signal. The cost shows up as paid-acquisition CPL inflation, not as a line item.