August is now complete and the summer window is still the strongest on record by lead volume, though the margin has narrowed. Jun 1 through Sep 8 brought 156 new leads, five ahead of the 2023 high. August itself tied the best August in the dataset at 54 leads. The open question from the previous snapshot is answered: August did convert.

Same-window comparison (Jun 1 → Sep 8)

• 2026: 156 new leads, the highest in the dataset
• 2023: 151 leads  ·  2024: 140 leads  ·  2025: 116 leads
• August in full: 54 leads in 2026, tied with 2023 for the best August on record, ahead of 50 in 2024 and 38 in 2025
• September days 1 to 8: 16 leads, the best opening in the dataset (2023: 15  ·  2024: 8  ·  2025: 11)

Where the closes stand

• August signed 17 cases on 54 leads, a 31% close rate. Above July's 27%, still well short of the 67% in May
• September has 1 signed case on 16 leads so far. Signing lags intake by several weeks, so this number is not readable yet
• Year to date: 382 leads / 180 signed, a 47% close rate across 2026
• Cross-year close rates are not comparable. The Signed column was barely used before 2026, so prior seasons show almost no tracked closes. Only lead volume can be measured against history

Correcting the August 6 snapshot

The previous snapshot recorded August at 15 leads and 0 signed cases through Aug 6, and flagged that zero as the number to watch. August finished at 54 leads and 17 signed. The zero was intake lag, exactly as that note allowed for, not a conversion failure. Worth remembering the next time an early-month reading looks alarming.

Every one of those leads was unpaid

No Google Ads money was spent in July or August, and Meta Ads recorded zero paid views in the same stretch. August tied the all-time August record with no digital ad investment at all, on organic reach and partner referrals alone. Counted straight from the CSV, Otaola accounts for 36 of the 70 August and September leads, referrals for 23, Google for 6 and other sources for 5. The Lead Sources chart above shows a different split, because it reassigns a share of the referral leads to Google Organic. September spend is not confirmed yet and renders as a dash until the client verifies it.

Season context

August through October is the active stretch of the Atlantic season, and claim volume historically follows storm activity rather than the calendar. The current intake pace is running above every prior year, so nothing in the data points to a demand problem. The open question is conversion, not acquisition.