Colorado Bankers Life?

[Guest]

http://www.cbl-life.com/

Anyone ever write these folks... or know anything about them?

I'm offered an opportunity with them... but don't know a thing about them.

Any help or comments appreciated.

Thanks,

Al

 

[GreenSky]

I seem to recall they wrote a decent critical illness plan some years ago. Never wrote anything with them and I thought they just faded away.

Rick

 

[Guest]

I seem to recall they wrote a decent critical illness plan some years ago. Never wrote anything with them and I thought they just faded away.

Rick

Here is where I'm going with this. I met with the 'head guy" from a local agency (PM me if you want their URL. I don't want to make it public.)

The agency has about 30 agents in Sacramento and the San Francisco area combined.

Their market, so they tell me, is unique. They sell (mostly) worksite (voluntary) benefits to the very-small business... like the small auto mechanic shop with 3 or 4 people. They sell to a lot of blue-collar sole-props... painters, landscapers, handimen, mom/pop retail etc.

According to them, this is a market that Aflac and Colonial and others don't bother with as they are too small. (As a Colonial agent I can verify some of this. While we can write whatever group we want, Colonial tells us not to bother with groups under 15 lives, 20+ being an even better cut-off.)

Their crit illness, accident, and term life plans are not subsitutes for a major med... but they tell me most of these companies don't have (can't afford) MM. The average YEARLY premium collected for a case is around $500. This is penny-ante stuff but it is payroll-deduct and simp-issue.

OK, I'm skeptical, but these guys have been selling the Colorado Bankers http://www.cbl-life.com/ stuff for 15 years and they do several million a year of permium (so they say.) They also sell Nationwide MM, but it's not their primary focus.

Their agents are not captive unless they take leads (appointments)... and only captive for work-sups... nothing else.

They do the UA model of setting appointments for their agents. They do not sell the leads. They tell me they close 3 out of 10 appointments. 25% of all appointments are no-shows. (Not sure how to reconcile the above stats.)

Commisisons are not great... around 40 to 50% of AP so we're talking about $250 per deal. But they say their agents do volume. They go to a 4-person biz and will write $900 to 1500 yeary prem total. They only write businesses that can show they've been around for 2 years and only employees who have been with company for 6 months. They say that really helps insure persistancy. They advance 9 months of the commission.

They run their own call center (I saw it... about 20 gals and a few verification people) and these folks have a good reputation in this area. I don't know if the CBL products are any good, which is why I posted this.

I'm not saying I'm going to sign on with these folks, but one thing I know for a fact. No one is calling on the micro groups, and these groups don't want nor can afford group MM, and none of the large work-sup houses (Aflac, et.al) want to mess with them either. These guys claim that they 'developed' the 'system' for this market (they explained to me their process.... from tele-lead to verif to sale) and it works for them. (You don't stay in biz for 15 years unless it does.)

As I see it, going after group MM in my area is a waste... the big brokers have them. Neither Colonial nor Aflac have a lot of traction here (this is a government town and the gov has great benefits). Individual health is crap-shot in CA (but still doable for the sole prop agent). Here looks like a market that is under everyone's radar... no underwriting, low cost items, etc.

I have the rate chart for their term life with crit. illness program. A 40 year old non-smoker can get $50,592 term life with a "living benefit" lump-sum critical illness rider (which pays a percentage (100%) of the DB for a whole bunch of bad things... heart attack, cancer, stoke, renal failure, etc.) for $10 a week ($520 a year).

Is that a good rate? Beats me. But having known tons and tons of micro businesses (dry cleaners, painters, yard men, small retail, etc.) I can see where this would interest them.

This agency has developed a market and system that seems to make money if it is 'worked.' That's all I know about it.

Are they taking a big piece of the AP? Yes they are because they secure the lead and they pay the telemarketer a bonus if a sale is made. Is this a good 'deal' for an agent? I have no idea. All I know is that they make money (they showed me the production stats and they have no reason to lie to me) and.... well I'm always open to something different.... selling into a market were there isn't as much competition.

That's it. Anyone working this micro-market?

Al

 

[somarco]

The CB product (unless they have modified it) is a 10 year term policy with a CI rider. Personally I am not a fan of this approach but if it works for you, go for it.

Most folks do not actively work the under 10 market for the simple reason there isn't much money to be made per call. You can spend the same amount of time opening & closing a 3 life group as you can a 20 life group.

The difference is you earn 6 - 7x more on the 20 life group.

Since you have already made up your mind that major medical is circling the drain you might as well jump ship to this. It can't be any worse.

 

[dmiller90]

Here is the link to download the brochure for review.

http://www.cbl-life.com/pages_cbl/lp.html

http://www.ameri-choice.com/pdf/LSP-205.PDF

 

[Guest]

The CB product (unless they have modified it) is a 10 year term policy with a CI rider. Personally I am not a fan of this approach but if it works for you, go for it.

I'm just doing reseach at this point. I've not been able to get the EOC but from what I see of the rates and the plan, it seems OK. They hae a few other plans... an accident-only DI, and a WL with annuity rider. They tell me there is a demand for these plans in this market... customer acceptance. But then again people will sometimes buy anything!

Most folks do not actively work the under 10 market for the simple reason there isn't much money to be made per call. You can spend the same amount of time opening & closing a 3 life group as you can a 20 life group.

Well, in my area of CA where there are a lot of pretty good (and rather large) broker firms, group is a long sale cycle, a huge paper-chase, and no one wants to talk to you unless they have a crappy broker... and (even in the work-sup) market no one wants to see you until two days before their OE! (And everyone OEs in Nov or Dec.!) And with Colonial/Aflac, you often have to go through the broker... and give them up to half your commission... for making a phone call! (Of course if it is a large group, it can be well worth the split.)

The difference is you earn 6 - 7x more on the 20 life group.

Very true, but out here that 20 life group will leave you in a heartbeat if a new broker comes in and offers them a dollar a month less in prem! Not that much loyalty from what I hear.

Since you have already made up your mind that major medical is circling the drain you might as well jump ship to this. It can't be any worse.

Well, I wouldn't go that far but with the two major carriers here backing away from IFP via APSing everything that comes in (or doing post-claim recinds) I simply am not sure about the future. What I see is IFP as 'possible' only for those with absolutely zero health problems AND under 30. My bet is that Blue Cross makes far, far more money on their $40/month Tonik plans sold to the under 30 segment than they do on the $250/month plan sold to those in the over 40 segment. It would be interesting to find out!

At this point I'm simply looking at this (CBL via this agency) from a business standpoint, not a consumer one. What I see on upside is:

1. An under-served market segement (less competition?)
2. No or little underwriting (faster turnaround, fewer declines?)
3. Possible opening for cross-selling MM or FE.
4. Little prospecting (they have their own call center)
5. Simple products, short sale cycle... they do a donut-coffee or pizza-lunch enrollment one week after owner agrees to letting the agent in the door.

The downside is:

1. You could end up driving all over the county for zippo.
2. You could end up working 5 hours (driving, selling, etc.) writing one guy for one $5/wk ($250/yr) prem ... on which you get 40% ($100)

It might be worth a try. It cost me nothing but a week of training to find out. It might be an 'adventure.' I'm not captive (except to the leads they give me... which is fair.) Anyway, if anyone is working this market, please contact me via PM.



Al

 

[Triplegray]

I know this is a little late in the game for this post, but I just wanted to clarify that Aflac actually does focus on the small groups (as low as 3 people) for the cheaper premiums. The smallest groups are some of the best.
Obviously, a large group would be great anytime, but the more small groups I have, the better.
Just my two-cents....

 

[BKrocko]

If you want to offer Colorado Bankers products, they require you to take E&O through them. I don't know what the price is - I already have E&O at a good price and don't feel like changing just to be able to offer their product.

 

[nate124]

If you want to offer Colorado Bankers products, they require you to take E&O through them. I don't know what the price is - I already have E&O at a good price and don't feel like changing just to be able to offer their product.

It's $39.50/year and unfortunately they make you take it. I have an E&O policy through NAPA and that didn't matter. Still had to take their E&O.

I just got appointed with this product so I don't have a lot to say about it. It does seem like a good company to me though from what I can tell.

 

[BKrocko]

$39.50/yr isn't as bad as I thought it would be - still seems like a strange twist for them to require it. Sounds like the same product as GTL CI(as Somarco described). Did you get appointed via AHCP?