Celtic

[TXINSURANCE]

I have no concept how the mandates work or are applied. MD has 58 mandated benefits and not a single indie carrier - not even BX complies with all of them.

Another great post - shows how we need FREE MARKET and elimination of costly, worthless socialized mandates. Well intended by politicians to get elected - it is a complete failure.

Eventually this "could" lead to "standardized" plans A, B, C, D , E with individual plans - I do sense my clients frustration shopping around and the only gauge they have to shop is the slime ball agent trying to get the most commission out of them.

If they did a A-F on the mandates, it might work... Ohhh wait 58 mandates, we might have to use the chinese alphabet then....

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

I really feel for clients. No one buys an auto policy to find out it only covers their trunk and half of the right front door. No one buys a homeowners policy and finds out after a fire that only the kitchen is covered and $5,000 towards the rest of the house.

But you can imagine someone getting hit with a $20,000 bill on a Right Start. You can picture someone sinking into their chair after calling Assurant - just knowing the bill is a mistake.

BX has a $500 drug cap in my state. I can't imagine getting put on $1,000 a month for of meds and finding out it's not covered.

I guarantee you our clients think "a policy is a policy" and if they have a major event they'll be just fine. I actually can't believe Dateline and 60 Minutes hasn't picked up on the individual health industry.

 

[CHUMPS FROM OXFORD]

"I actually can't believe Dateline and 60 Minutes hasn't picked up on the individual health industry."

Actually...as we speak, there is a piece that is being worked on...perhaps near completion.

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

It's incomprehensible to me that someone can sell the products of any company without an hour of training. I'd like to see mandatory carrier training where each agent has to pass an online test and sign a document stating that they have received product training. It's equally as incomprehensible that carriers allow GAs who may never have written a single deal and themselves don't know the plans.

I find this to be the most unregulated industry around. I have never witnessed anyone getting away with what some agents have gotten away with even after getting reported to the carriers and DOI.

The car industry gets a bad rap? Go lie to clients selling new cars and see how long your last. Your CSI (customer service score) will be horrible and if the dealership doesn't fire you the regional director will.

 

[TXINSURANCE]

I find this to be the most unregulated industry around. I have never witnessed anyone getting away with what some agents have gotten away with even after getting reported to the carriers and DOI.

Be careful what you wish for my friend. It is all very subjective.

Every agent thinks they are smarter than the next guy, truthfully I know some agents that are as dumb as dirt - and some that blow circles around me.

And who is going to give this training you speak of? Not the DOI - they don't know the plans, they just make sure the plans are semi legal.

This leaves the carrier to do the training... Don't get me started on this one. The ones that know the LEAST about the product is the carrier. Have you ever been to a new product roll out training? Did you leave feeling fulfilled?

How many agents have ever read the actual policy front to back that they are selling? For that matter will the carrier even give you a copy of the policy? What items are cut out of the policy that other policies may or may not cover? What items have specific waiting periods? What is considered medically necessary? What is a complication of pregnancy? Are waivers permanent or do they fall off after XX years? What RX needs pre authorization? Why?

And if you think that is bad - the people that design the plans, administer the clients, and administer the claims - none of them talk to each other or have any consistency at all!

I have a new plan in TX that rolled out over a year ago, the brochure says an item is not covered, the policy says it is covered, and claims - well they just deny everything until it is appealed.

Until plans are A-Z and standardized benefits nationwide - no dice on your request for minimum uniform training, it's not happening because even the carrier has no idea the benefits they are wanting you to sell out on the street.

 

[J.R.]

Be careful what you wish for my friend. It is all very subjective.

Every agent thinks they are smarter than the next guy, truthfully I know some agents that are as dumb as dirt - and some that blow circles around me.

I have to realize two things in the last year.

1) All plans are not created equal and 99.99999999% of agent do not go over this stuff, myself included...W/out looking at aou policy tell me what GR's position is on Home Health Care or Assurant's.......

2) You get what you pay for. When people realize that insurance is designed to pay for CATOSTROPHIC ISSUES and not somebody's doctor visit, hearing aid, walker, etc. then things will get better.

And who is going to give this training you speak of? Not the DOI - they don't know the plans, they just make sure the plans are semi legal.

Anytime I talk to the DOI about questions that pertain to mandates, plans, etc. they either refer me to the legal department or recommend I talk to a lawyer or the insurance company. HaHa, they should try and talk to somebody over at an insurance company (claims department excluded in my experience) to get those answers.

Excuse me for asking, but why do you have a job? Oh, I know, because we need people to administer licenses and get coffee, and...oh yeah...consumers can come to us and we can take action because even though we know what SHOULD be covered, insurance carriers DON'T ALWAYS cover those items, but we cannot tell you that becuase then we look like an organization that essentially is a tool used to impose another TAX. 21000 agent in MD X $100ish a pop is good money. Who the hell decided that hair transplants need to be covered?

How many agents have ever read the actual policy front to back that they are selling? For that matter will the carrier even give you a copy of the policy? What items are cut out of the policy that other policies may or may not cover? What items have specific waiting periods? What is considered medically necessary? What is a complication of pregnancy? Are waivers permanent or do they fall off after XX years? What RX needs pre authorization? Why?

All good questions....

Until plans are A-Z and standardized benefits nationwide - no dice on your request for minimum uniform training, it's not happening because even the carrier has no idea the benefits they are wanting you to sell out on the street.

All we can really do is talk about the pros and cons of a plan/company, network etc. and let the client choose. The rest of it is Sales Training 201. Most of them won't use much of their plans and the ones that do will hopefully have a plan from one of the top carriers and not some BS discount card program.

 

[James]

How come I get the feeling things are only going to get worst in the Health Insurance Field??? Why I try to stay on the life side for the most part! Pretty easy, you DIE you get paid, LOL.

 

[GreenSky]

How come I get the feeling things are only going to get worst in the Health Insurance Field??? Why I try to stay on the life side for the most part! Pretty easy, you DIE you get paid, LOL.

I wasn't sure about this, but I guess you can take it with you!

Rick

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

While I'm not a huge fan of government regulation imagine no regulation in other industries. Cars for example. Are government regulations a problem there?

Pre-Nadar, cars were made like crap. They were death traps. So when the gov't finally stepped in to regulate that industry what did we hear?

"If the goverment regulates us the price of cars will go crazy and no one will be able to afford them."

Hmmm....seems to me you can still buy many new cars for the $10,000 range.

Just like car companies can design whatever they want but it has to have air bags I'd like the same to apply to health insurance companies:

"Design any plan you want but it can't have drug caps."

The result? Insurance companies would lie, say the rates would go nuts and thousands would be uninsured. The truth? Well, we know the truth.

What industry isn't regulated. Can you make a cheaper toy with lead paint? Can you make a cheaper toy where the buttons pop off?

If you build a cheap house can you avoid inspection?

 

[GreenSky]

While I'm not a huge fan of government regulation imagine no regulation in other industries. Cars for example. Are government regulations a problem there?

Pre-Nadar, cars were made like crap. They were death traps.

John -

While I agree with you on some things, here you are wrong. Govt. regulation ALWAYS screws things up.

You assume that public pressure on auto companies wouldn't have caused change without government intervention.

What has happened here is that I have lost the freedom to buy the car I want. I cannot buy a car without airbags. If I never carry a passenger, I am still forced to pay for an airbag on that side of the car. All that does is add to the price of the vehicle.

There is always a tradeoff with mandates. Mandate stronger bumpers, airbags, etc. and you add weight to the car. We use more gas and there is more pollution. Pollution causes lung problems. People die.

Govt. regulations did not mandate radial tires or disk brakes. How many years did the Euros have halogen headlights before we did.?

Govt. regulations has kept us from having a 50mpg diesel with 130 hp as they have in Italy. Again, we use more gas, etc.

If you want to really discuss govt. regulation just ask how many people have died because of the FDA.

Rick