Gerber Launches in AL, OH, VA, WV,TX, WA, OR, AZ, OK, NE, LA

[Daytona_Guy]

Who is this company? Who is their underwriter?

For the Medicare supplements, Mutual of Omaha handles the underwriting and administration.

Q. Is Gerber Life affiliated with Gerber Products?

A. Yes. Gerber Products, the baby food people, founded Gerber Life Insurance Company in 1967. Gerber Life is an affiliate of Gerber Products and has shared in their tradition of helping parents to raise happy, healthy children.
Q. How long has Gerber Life Insurance Company been in business?

A. As stated above, Gerber Life Insurance Company was founded in 1967.
Q. How large is Gerber Life Insurance Company?

A. Gerber Life, which does business in the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Canada, has more than $37 billion of life insurance in force and insures more than 3 million policies. Source: Gerber Life 2009 Annual Statement.
Q. How does Gerber Life Insurance Company stack up against other insurance companies?

A. Gerber Life is rated "A" (Excellent) by A.M. Best, the impartial reporting firm that rates insurance companies based on financial stability, management skill and integrity. The rating refers only to the overall status of the Company and is not a recommendation of specific policy provisions, rates or practices of the Company.
Q. Where is the company located?

A. The home office of Gerber Life Insurance Company is located in White Plains, New York. The Operations Division, responsible for issuing all policies and processing benefit payments is in Fremont, Michigan…home of the Gerber Products Company.
Q. What is the origin of the Gerber Baby logo?

A. You can read the full history of the Gerber baby logo here.

 

[HealthGuy]

How about a case of split pea babyfood with your supplement? The whole concept is ridiculous.

 

[LadyYaYa]

It might sound ridiculous but if it is a multi-billion organization with an A rating and their prices are competitive--it sounds like almost a shoe-in...or shall i say spoon-in?

 

[MrMack]

Every client I have showed it in IA say "Oh Yeah, Gerber Life, I know them". There name has never been a problem. They are not offering M or N in IA or IL. They also did not change rates between Standardized and Modernized Plans like other companies have.

 

[Frank Stastny]

Gerber has released the rates for the Modernized Med Supp plans in the new states they have released in with the exception of VA. NOTE: NE is not a new state.

Plans M&N are not among the Modernized plans being offered, yet.

If agents in those states would like a copy of the newly released rates please send me an e-mail with state you want.

 

[Daytona_Guy]

For those that haven't heard.. within the next 48 hours, Gerber Life will be launching its availability in these states:
AL, OH, VA, WV,TX, WA, OR, AZ, OK, NE, LA

Rate are now out.. you can see them here for the above listed states (except VA until June).




.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Rate are now out.. you can see them here for the above listed states (except VA until June).
.

Virginia draft rates for Gerber are here now: Click Here to see VA Rates (Plan M and Plan N not included yet.)

The Virginia release date for the above is not yet known, though.




.

 

[Tom Highway]

Rate are now out.. you can see them here for the above listed states (except VA until June).




.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


Virginia draft rates for Gerber are here now: Click Here to see VA Rates (Plan M and Plan N not included yet.)

The Virginia release date for the above is not yet known, though.




.

I'm not seeing the new plan rates for AL. I saw Plan A, F, and G, I think, and I'm just not thrilled with what I saw. It may be because of where in AL I live, with MAPD and Blue Cross Med Supps being a lot more competitive, but, overall, this is not a huge thing for me.

 

[Daytona_Guy]

I'm not seeing the new plan rates for AL. I saw Plan A, F, and G, I think, and I'm just not thrilled with what I saw. It may be because of where in AL I live, with MAPD and Blue Cross Med Supps being a lot more competitive, but, overall, this is not a huge thing for me.

What you saw is what there is - Plans A, F, and G in Alabama. That's it. They have not decided when Gerber's going to launch Plans M and N yet.

Here in Florida, MAPD is much cheaper, too, with a $0 premium plan on every street corner and in every county in the state. The challenge with any med supp agent is to find those who are in the market for that specific product, not necessarily to go head-to-head with a Medicare Advantage plan - in my humble opinion. That's precisely why 99% of my med supp sales are beyond the borders of the State of Florida. I know there are sales to be made in the rural areas of Florida, and I have made them there, but in the cities there is no "competition" to it. If their doctor is on their $0 premium plan, or even if he isn't, it's a far stretch to take those accustomed to $0 and bring them something that, here in FL anyway, averages around $175/mo.

Gerber's launch is good for rates and comp, though.

 

[Tom Highway]

What you saw is what there is - Plans A, F, and G in Alabama. That's it. They have not decided when Gerber's going to launch Plans M and N yet.

Here in Florida, MAPD is much cheaper, too, with a $0 premium plan on every street corner and in every county in the state. The challenge with any med supp agent is to find those who are in the market for that specific product, not necessarily to go head-to-head with a Medicare Advantage plan - in my humble opinion. That's precisely why 99% of my med supp sales are beyond the borders of the State of Florida. I know there are sales to be made in the rural areas of Florida, and I have made them there, but in the cities there is no "competition" to it. If their doctor is on their $0 premium plan, or even if he isn't, it's a far stretch to take those accustomed to $0 and bring them something that, here in FL anyway, averages around $175/mo.

Gerber's launch is good for rates and comp, though.

Yup.
With the way you do things, you're relying exclusively on selling over the phone. You have some links on your info section too, about desktop sharing and PDF, right?

So, I'm just curious. How has your experience been with working with seniors doing things exclusively by phone and internet? Have you seen a certain age range, area, or demographic that is more comfortable on the computer?

I know that my parents are in that baby boomer generation, and my dad HATES using the computer, and would struggle with that. My mom uses the computer and the internet regularly, but too much beyond email and looking at shopping websites, and she gets on overload. And a lot of people in their 70s and beyond just refuse to use a computer. There are a good number of seniors who love the internet, I know.

But, overall, what has your experience been doing things this way? It looks to me like, as the people who are in their late 50s now age in to medicare, using things like this technology will be much more used, and the f2f selling may be dropping.

 

[Daytona_Guy]

Yup.
So, I'm just curious. How has your experience been with working with seniors doing things exclusively by phone and internet? Have you seen a certain age range, area, or demographic that is more comfortable on the computer?

I started in insurance with seniors doing final expense in person.
Then, I started doing final expense over the telephone and, eventually moved up into the higher income homes by doing Medicare supplements, only over the phone and through the mail.

My agents and I are only talking to seniors that have submitted their information via the internet and are at least familiar enough with it to go to a web site. That's all they have to do in order to sign up for a Medicare supplement. My new client watches "over my shoulder" by simply going to a very easy-to-find website. That's all they have to do. They then click on one "SUBMIT" button to complete the electronic application.

More and more seniors are now online

See these recent articles about this growing trend:

Senior Citizens Becoming More Net-Savvy

Senior Citizens Surfing the Internet

As for their resistance to it, I hardly ever see that. Through the screen share, I can show them brochures, compare company to company and it really gives them a sense of security when asking personal questions - to be able to see the application on the screen and, thereby, know why I'm asking that particular question. They see the company's logo at the top of each page, I show them the secure link icon at the bottom of the browser window, etc.

This is FAR easier than the old days of selling final expense over the phone sight-unseen. They would have a much higher threshold of trust to gain before turning loose with the banking information needed to do the enrollment. That issue is eliminated with the screen share.

As to the question of which demographic group is better suited for the internet sale - I can't tell you - because all of the internet leads I've spoken with have been receptive to it. When they are internet savvy, they are expecting information, right now. When I am able to provide that for them, and put it right on their computer for them, they are both impressed and quickly develop the trust needed to secure a transaction. There is really no "overload" taking place at all when I'm on the phone with these folks. They just sit back and watch as I lead them through the presentation and the application. It's very easy. They just simply type in my website and that's it. If they can't do that, I send them an e-mail with the link and walk them through just clicking the link in the e-mail.

As to the internet as a medium for selling, I see far more benefits in the opposite direction of their reluctance. That is, I have clients all the time telling their brothers, sisters, etc. to call me because of how quickly they were able to sign up and save money over what they had been paying before. The ease and simplicity of it is generating referrals all by itself, as the process is as easy as it can be - without the need to entertain an agent in their living room.




.