CONTRACTING WITH CARRIER

[billyb]

Not many of the FMO's on this forum offer both Medicare products and FE. Some do, but only a few. If you are going to target FE and purchase 20 leads or so a week you will have little time to think about anything else.

 

[OttoGraf]

Not many of the FMO's on this forum offer both Medicare products and FE. Some do, but only a few. If you are going to target FE and purchase 20 leads or so a week you will have little time to think about anything else.

FE and Medicare work well together and it's not too difficult to do because they fit hand-in-hand.

 

[billyb]

I concentrate on Medicare Supplements and most FE leads are not prospects. They are for MAPD, but too many agents changing AOR or replacing for it to be worth my time.

 

[Newby]

Because the answer ISN'T always going to be yes. If the prospect doesn't qualify, why would the company want to waste the money to process the app. Also, not every company has Graded or Modified. Oxford for example only has Level. You either get it or you don't.

Newby was just trying to sell the need/value for a FMO using "marketer speak". I believe that FMO's can have value, but that statement is off. You should be able to do your own underwriting after you've been in the field for a bit.

You are missing the point. Maybe some companies don't offer graded or modified but others do. If an agent calls Settlers for instance they are going to accept every case except with AIDS/ HIV or current confinement. TransAmerica will accept nearly everything. But do you think they are going to be the best company for all of those cases?

New agents need much more underwriting assistance than any company is going to give them. I have never in my life heard of an agent calling TransAmerica for an underwriting assement and getting answer Yes we will take it graded but that is a better case for XYZ company that would take it standard. It ain't going to happen with any company. Yet that's what FE agencies do all day every day.

New agents have a much higher rate of becoming successful under a good IMO than hey do company direct. Ask any company and they will tell you that. If it wasn't true why would companies even use IMOs? It wouldn't make sense.

When you are experienced and doing well you can be direct and be fine. But new agents need help with leads, underwriting, sales training, and peer groups to have the best chance to make it.

 

[goillini52]

You are missing the point. Maybe some companies don't offer graded or modified but others do. If an agent calls Settlers for instance they are going to accept every case except with AIDS/ HIV or current confinement. TransAmerica will accept nearly everything. But do you think they are going to be the best company for all of those cases?

New agents need much more underwriting assistance than any company is going to give them. I have never in my life heard of an agent calling TransAmerica for an underwriting assement and getting answer Yes we will take it graded but that is a better case for XYZ company that would take it standard. It ain't going to happen with any company. Yet that's what FE agencies do all day every day.

New agents have a much higher rate of becoming successful under a good IMO than hey do company direct. Ask any company and they will tell you that. If it wasn't true why would companies even use IMOs? It wouldn't make sense.

When you are experienced and doing well you can be direct and be fine. But new agents need help with leads, underwriting, sales training, and peer groups to have the best chance to make it.

You made it sound like the companies just say yes, then surprizes them with a Graded plan after the fact. In most cases, they'll tell you whether it's going to be Level, Graded or Modified. I can't speak for Tranny, because I never picked them up because of the hassles and and the uncertainty of which you speak.

I agree that a good FMO can be a positive thing, I just thought you were putting too much importance on being with a FMO.....making it sound like you can't succeed without being tied to a FMO.

 

[Newby]

You made it sound like the companies just say yes, then surprizes them with a Graded plan after the fact. In most cases, they'll tell you whether it's going to be Level, Graded or Modified. I can't speak for Tranny, because I never picked them up because of the hassles and and the uncertainty of which you speak.

I agree that a good FMO can be a positive thing, I just thought you were putting too much importance on being with a FMO.....making it sound like you can't succeed without being tied to a FMO.

Not my intention. My point s a new agent with no experience. Won't recognize good or bad underwriting information. They have no frame of reference. If they call a company to see how they would take something, unless the company says yes that will be Prefered approval, they would need to keep calling more companies to compare.

Trans has a four year lookback on some things that others have two. Settlers takes Lou Gehrig's Disease at preferred but not if they also have insulin diabetes. It's like an Easter Egg Hunt for a new agent. Where if they have a good Upline they have a much better resource that will help them much more than calling a company could do.

 

[goillini52]

Not my intention. My point s a new agent with no experience. Won't recognize good or bad underwriting information. They have no frame of reference. If they call a company to see how they would take something, unless the company says yes that will be Prefered approval, they would need to keep calling more companies to compare.

Trans has a four year lookback on some things that others have two. Settlers takes Lou Gehrig's Disease at preferred but not if they also have insulin diabetes. It's like an Easter Egg Hunt for a new agent. Where if they have a good Upline they have a much better resource that will help them much more than calling a company could do.

I can agree with that.

Finding the right fit is like a puzzle and sometimes the companythat takes someone is the last one that you might've thought would take them because of those niches.

 

[PA Bill]

Doesn't really matter so long as assigning commissions isn't part of the equation. Why would an agent forgo all the free, potential added value of a good IMO relationship? Most companies use IMO's anyway so the point is mostly moot. Even guys like Newby often have to go through a bigger fish.
Not really something I would lose sleep over one way or the other. Because it don't matter!

 

[shonceman]

I'm a true independent. That's mainly because when I first left a captive company to become independent in the mid '90's, the IMO system for FE we have today was in its infancy. If it existed at all, I didn't know about it. But I researched, and cobbled together an agency using direct contracts.

But when I moved to another state, I had to replace my main FE company because they didn't operate here. So I called a similar company to get a contract, but was told I had to go through an IMO. That's when I got introduced to the system. Now they didn't really have a lead program, or cheat sheets, or training, or anything else you would get from an IMO relationship nowadays. But my upline (who has since retired, and the whole agency merged into a big NMO) proved to be an invaluable resource for picking his brain on the right carriers, marketing methods etc.

I still consider myself independent, and I still have direct contracts with my main companies. But I also have contracts through 3 different IMO's. I don't need much help these days, so they rarely hear from me. But just yesterday, I ran into a case that had me stumped, so I called a couple of them. One hasn't called back yet (they lose!), but the other one had a great recommendation that I'll probably sell. If the guy buys, I'll make close to 5G in FYC.

So, while being independent gives me the freedom I value, having an IMO relationship can be really valuable, too.

 

[Life Hawk]

I've been in the business 8 years. Started out at AIL, Northwester Mutual. Mass Mutual dived into the FE side of things been in it about 2 years now as a captive agent who is now transiting to independent. So I am a well rounded seasoned agent.

New agents need much more underwriting assistance than any company is going to give them. I have never in my life heard of an agent calling TransAmerica for an underwriting assement and getting answer Yes we will take it graded but that is a better case for XYZ company that would take it standard. It ain't going to happen with any company. Yet that's what FE agencies do all day every day.

It's good to see that Kayla has some tread on her tires... I think she is just looking for some good advice in her transition...