Selling outside of AEP can be challenging, especially when you have been grinding from October 15th through December 7th (AEP or Medicare season as we all call it). But, some agents have to figure something out to keep busy.
AEP is right around the corner and for agents selling Medicare Advantage, there’s never been a time of more uncertainty.
If you’re a loyal Medicare Advantage agent and you regularly wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat then read on.
Is Medicare Advantage in the cross hairs?
Go back a decade and Medicare Advantage was the place to be: high need, high commissions, and great renewals. An agent could work from dawn to dusk for a few months and make a year’s worth of income during AEP. Those were the good old days. Healthcare in general is changing and taking a historically lucrative category of insurance and rapidly morphing it into something unrecognizable.
You only have 6 weeks of AEP now right? Not nearly what it used to be.
My question: how many of you have been seriously planning your exit strategy? For those who raised your hand, please read on.
There are many restrictions associated with selling Medicare Advantage plans, specifically cross selling and enrollment periods. Due to the changing nature of the Medicare Advantage business we are showing agents today how to transition and create new revenue streams to drive their business. Do you really want to just rely on making money during AEP?
Ultimately, we’re suggesting you turn your business from a one trick pony into a relationship-building machine that will give you customers for life.
Alternative sales models to Medicare Advantage
Medicare Supplements
The Medicare Supplement market is begging for good agents. As you all know, Medicare pays 80% and leaves a 20% liability on your client. Medicare Supplements fill the 20% gap Medicare doesn’t cover, such as major medical bills due to an accident or illness.
And, it doesn’t require nearly the amount of preparation to sell every year like it does during AEP.
This is a great product for clients and it is not limited to the enrollment periods associated with MA plans. Additionally, selling Medicare Supplements is typically a one-call close, has competitive commissions, fantastic renewals, and, most importantly I believe, endless ancillary opportunities for cross selling such as annuities, accident insurance and final expense. Remember, about 10,000 seniors turn 65 every day.
What we usually do not hear is that the boomers will continue to retire at this pace for the next 19 years!
This is a great alternative to continue serving the senior market without falling victim to the overhaul of the Medicare Advantage business.
We have a proven Medicare Supplement sales process which creates consistent weekly sales and unlimited cross selling opportunities.
Final Expense
Selling final expense is a highly underestimated opportunity.
Costs of funerals are continuing to rise and interest in cremations has exploded. This is a great time to be offering low face amount whole life policies, also known as Final Expense (FE). The FE market is booming as people are beginning to see the value of having a dedicated policy to cover their final expense. These policies are ranging from $2,500-$25,000 and have very liberal underwriting for individuals who have pre-existing conditions such as Diabetes, Emphysema, Parkinson’s, COPD, Depression, Hepatitis, Kidney Disease, wheel chair confinement, heart stents, cancer, and others.
This is a great solution to be able to go back and present to your existing book of business! Issue ages 25-90 make this an unbelievable opportunity to anyone with a life insurance license. And, it’s a great door opener to start building that long term relationship.
International Health Insurance
Selling international health insurance and travel health insurance seems to be the upcoming trend!
It’s easier to connect with people using social media which means it’s easier to prospect and expand your natural network. What I like most about international health insurance and travel health insurance is that the commissions are like the good old days. Yes, selling international health pays as good as health insurance used to , and you get renewal commissions just as strong.
This is a great opportunity for agents who live in border states such as CA, NM, AZ and TX. Or, those who live in cities with high concentrations of foreign nationals, non-resident aliens, and resident aliens.
You can sell to Americans traveling abroad, foreign nationals visiting the US, foreign exchange students, employers with international contracts, the list is endless. If you have any connection the the markets I just described, selling international health insurance might be a great fit for you.
Other opportunities we will cover in coming blogs:
- Accident Insurance
- Tax Free Retirement
- Employee Benefits
- Voluntary Benefits
- Key Man Insurance
- Buy Sell
- Fixed Indexed Annuities
- Wealth & Income Planning
- Wealth Transfer
Change is right in front of you so why not embrace it and help clients at the same time? Call me at any time and I’ll be happy to talk you through how to get started.
Product of the week: American Continental Final Expense
More than 10,000 people retire every day and projections are this will continue for nearly two more decades. Couple that with a recession that brought many to their knees and there’s a great opportunity to help seniors with a product that could be a life saver for their families.
Final Expense is a growing category of life insurance and, not surprisingly, there are many agents out there today preying on this vulnerable group of consumers. The American Continental product is solid and from a great carrier (Aetna).
Take the time to dig into this. Call 866-547-8780 and talk to Drew Gurley, ext. 102.
Benefits:
- A-rated
- Issue ages: 45-89
- $2,500 – $35,000
- No medical exams
- Preferred plan
- Graded 40/75 split
- Modified ROP
- Accepts Depression and Bi-Polar
- No height-weight chart
- Accepts wheel chair dependency
- Many pre-existing conditions accepted
Redbird Chirps
- Request a quote from Redbird. Did you know you can get a quote through Redbird by simply going to https://redbirdagents.com/quote/ – and asking us? Make things a little easier on yourself and click on this useful tool.
- Become a “Connector”. What’s scarier than making a speech? It’s approaching someone you don’t know at a party and starting a discussion. Networking is an important component of new business generation and there are many more opportunities to do this other than parties. Take a look at this article and the suggestions on how to network more effectively. You’ll have to join, but we like what we see with the website: startupcollective.com. Read more.
- Keeping a balanced view of the roaring markets. We try to keep an open yet positive view of the markets, but as you know, we’re concerned about a correction that will surely catch many clients off guard. This recent story in the New York Post highlights some of the issues you should be sharing with clients. And, ask us about our “Moving Money, Wealth Transfer” process. Read more.
