Can I sue my employer for misleading advertisement that lead to loss of my contract?

[Real_AMG]

This is a function of the weird relationship agents often have with their FMO's/MGA's. If you have a 1099, you're on your own and you should have the freedoms associated with being on your own. There's no salary, no benefits, no unemployment insurance if they fire you, yet you live at the mercy of their incompetence? Ridiculous.

Suing sounds like a silly idea. It won't get your contract back. The best you can probably do is quit and then report them to CMS for fraudulent marketing practices. If the carrier listened to the call and terminated you, they must know that the ad was generated by the FMO. They termed you to appear as though they were enforcing compliance laws. Is that a carrier you really want to send business to anyway?

The good news is that if you're selling over the phone, you can simply market in areas where the carriers you have are strong. I suggest going independent so you can avoid this type of thing in the future.

 

[Ronnie Carter]

I work for a large company for whom I sell multiple carriers for Medicare supplement and Medicare Advantage plans over the phone.

I had a client who called in response to one of our mailer ads that said "We have been trying to reach you about your unemployment benefits"…It says they are running out time and giving a number to call back. The company I work for is known to print and advertise on television multiple misleading ads about benefits clients are entitled to. The client stated to me she called in response to the ad and asked me why she received that notice. I informed her who I work for and my job title, and she resumed to ask me about what she currently has and how it compares to her current coverage. I ended up selling the client a new Medicare advantage plan that would save her money and provide more benefits. A week later the client complained to the carrier and said she was sold under the false pretenses that I was associated with unemployment. The major carrier listened to the call and decided to terminate my contract based on how the conversation began, despite that reason having absolutely nothing to do with me. In the termination letter the carrier stated I informed the client my role and was terminated "not for cause", but since she called believing I was unemployment, I should not have sold the client. Losing this major carrier is going to cost me tens of thousands a year. This carrier was 25% of my sales despite representing so many different carriers.

what do I do? I feel that my whole career is ruined for something outside of my control. I did my part in informing the client who I was and job title/role. I was very clear and the carrier acknowledged that. If the major carrier is upset with the reason the call began then that is entirely on my employer… I can't help but think I lost my contract with the carrier due to my employers misleading advertisement. There is no other reason she would have thought I was unemployment. I have been doing this for years and have seen a lot of people lose their jobs over stupid things. I know the calls are being recorded. I didn't and would never have lead her to believe anything of the sort. It also bothers me the company I work for will not let me listen to the call. Compliance just told me I never said anything that would lead the client to believe that we were unemployment and they would handle it. The carrier denied my rebuttal to get the decision reversed today, so they clearly didn't handle it…It feels like they're trying to hide some things to me that would be very apparent that I could sue over.

Thoughts?

Um, there's an 800-lb gorilla in the room. We'd all like to know who this carrier is. Can you at least provide initials?

OK, then, can we buy a vowel? I'd like to solve the puzzle.