Florida Agents, How do you sell against BlueCross?

[liquidblue33]

Since BlueCross does not appoint brokers in Florida, i don't know much about their plans yet. I have been working on a case with a guy, emailing him quotes from all of the big carriers. I finally hook up with him today and he tells me he got quotes from BlueCross. If his numbers are correct, their HSA plans kill (in price) everything i have. This is an older guy and his wife, both 62, non smokers. He sais The Bluecross HSA he was quoted, $3,000 deductible was only around $484 per month. That beats everything else by well over $150 per month. What am i missing here? Is BlueCross really priced that low? Are there holes in their plans? Or does this guy not know what he is talking about? Here is what i got:

Goldren Rule HSA100 5k Deductible $809
Humana Autograph Total 4k Deductible $646
Aetna Open Access 5K Deductible $668

 

[moonlightandmargaritas]

BCBSFL has excellent rates - provided you have a squeaky clean risk.

They're very easy to sell against.

Not many qualify without a 25% and sometimes 50% rate-up. That brings them down-to-earth.

Their u/w is slooooooow...and they really don't want anyone over 50, and will look for ways to avoid those risks.

Would need to know more about your prospect to be more specific...pm me if you like.

 

[liquidblue33]

BCBSFL has excellent rates - provided you have a squeaky clean risk.

They're very easy to sell against.

Not many qualify without a 25% and sometimes 50% rate-up. That brings them down-to-earth.

Their u/w is slooooooow...and they really don't want anyone over 50, and will look for ways to avoid those risks.

Would need to know more about your prospect to be more specific...pm me if you like.

Ok, thanks. I sent you a pm

 

[shauny2k3]

BCBS FL contracts directly through their website, but charges around $180 in appointment fees. I was only interested in their Med Supps because AETNA and Humana are working out well for me, so I never bothered.

 

[Blue]

Actually, Blue Cross does not contract directly through their website. You either have to contract under a Contracted General Agency and work under the control of that General Agency or if you are your own agency you may contract as that. You would need to go through an Managing General Agency. In either case you are contractually bound to only offer Blue Cross unless the client is a decline. Our agency is both a CGA and an MGA for Blue Cross. Concerning the mention of slow underwriting, that was true a few years ago but they are quick.

 

[STIBROKER]

can't beat them......join them..........

 

[jbage007]

Actually, Blue Cross does not contract directly through their website. You either have to contract under a Contracted General Agency and work under the control of that General Agency or if you are your own agency you may contract as that. You would need to go through an Managing General Agency. In either case you are contractually bound to only offer Blue Cross unless the client is a decline. Our agency is both a CGA and an MGA for Blue Cross. Concerning the mention of slow underwriting, that was true a few years ago but they are quick.

I do not see how they can do this, legally, without making you a de facto employee for whom they pay taxes. This is precisely the type of agent arrangement the big New York life insurers have. When you contract with them, you are their "exclusive" agent, and in return, you are what is called a statutory employee for tax purposes.

For what it's worth, I have long thought about contacting the IRS about this bozo company (BCBSFL)


If my position is correct (and trust me, I have reason to believe it is) then BCBSFL could be in a world of hurt over back taxes it owes to Uncle Sam.

Now there's one way to generate some money to pay for reform.

 

[AllenChicago]

I saw a husband/wife yesterday who dumped their Blue Cross HSA and went with a more expensive I showed them for two reasons...

1. Even though their BCBS-IL HSA says $2,600 deductible, when the husband hurt himself hiking this Spring, his deductible was doubled...so he paid $5,200 for the medical treatment.

(The BCBS HSA deductible is doubled if there is more than one insured on the policy. Check out the "Outline of Coverage" at this link: http://www.bcbsil.com/producer/pdf/30206.pdf What the large print giveth, the asterisks take away!)

2. The Blue Cross agent didn't tell him that the deductible was $2,600 x 2 because of his wife being on the policy. In other words, he didn't want to have anything to do with BCBS any longer.

To the person who started this thread... Does your potential client understand that he and his wife will have at least double the deductible that BCBS-FL quoted him? Also, he needs to know if it's a 100% policy post-deductible, or is there 80/20 cost sharing added to the deductible.

If he's aware of the above items and still wants the BCBS policy, you should follow the advice of other contributors to this thread and get licensed with BCBS-IL. Doing so will probably come in handy for you at a later date as well. Good luck!
-Allen