Help With Group Insurance - Any Advice ?

[manny0129]

I live in Florida. I have a pretty good lead on a group insurance policy as my first customer. The company is 100+ employees and they need the policy done preferrably with Blue Cross Blue shield.

I currently work at a captive company, and wasn't looking to become independent unless I had some start up capital.

The lead would generate the much needed capital to venture into independent P&C business.

Question:
How does it work with group insurance? IS there a limited market for this, or are there many companies willing to do it?

I would love to be under a GA to start with since I get the support and no sale requirements right off the bat.

Please advice. Thanks

 

[manny0129]

Re: Help With Group Insurance - Any Advice?>

well I assume not many people know the answer to this one?

 

[Ann H]

Re: Help With Group Insurance - Any Advice?>

I live in Florida. I have a pretty good lead on a group insurance policy as my first customer. The company is 100+ employees and they need the policy done preferrably with Blue Cross Blue shield.

I currently work at a captive company, and wasn't looking to become independent unless I had some start up capital.

The lead would generate the much needed capital to venture into independent P&C business.

Question:
How does it work with group insurance? IS there a limited market for this, or are there many companies willing to do it?

I would love to be under a GA to start with since I get the support and no sale requirements right off the bat.

Please advice. Thanks

I know that there are Florida agents on this board who sell Individual/Family health plans, but I don't know of any that sell group. There's a thread on here that's about finding agents in other states. Search for that and PM them for help. They may tell you about a good GA that could give you valuable guidance with all aspects of the sale and the installation.

In the meantime, I'll tell you the way it is here in AZ. In AZ you send an RFP (Request for Proposal) to the major insurers and you get their quotes back. There are only a handful of group health insurers in AZ, and I think FL is the same. Then, you should find comparable plans for all carriers and compare them for your client. For a group of 100 employees, I would start with a PPO copay plan, with a $500 deductible and 80% coverage. That's a standard plan. Most of your carriers, if not all of them, will have that plan design, which will enable you to make a great comparison of price.

Next, you would present this comparison to your client, along with any suggestions you have for deviating from that "standard" plan into something with richer benefits and/or something with lower premium (like an HSA). You should also be prepared to answer questions about network of providers and details about the benefit plan.

Next, you would enroll it by having an employee meeting to explain the benefits, and helping the employer gather employee enrollment forms. You would also need to complete an Employer group application, get a check for the first month's premium, and most likely a copy of a quarterly wage & tax statement that documents the list of employees.

That can be pretty daunting for a first-timer. Getting a GA to help you would be ideal, especially if they receive an override and allow you to keep the agent's share of the commission. If they also cover you for E&O, that's a plus. If there's no GA to help you, or not another FL agent that you trust, you could always go to the carriers. For instance, call the carrier and ask a sales rep if they contract with independent brokers and what their rules are. Then ask them if they will help you do an RFP, and help you understand their plans. You could do this with each major carrier, and also ask the rep to explain why their plan is better than the competitor's plan. When you've selected the carrier and plan designs you feel are the best, you may find that the carrier rep will go on the appointment with you.

In AZ, all of these options would work. I don't know the FL broker market, though... Good luck

 

[manny0129]

That answer was very informative. I really appreciate your time and answer. I will start with blue cross.

Thanks, I will post as I progress so others like me can find use this thread as a guide. This forum is fantastic, but there are still grey zones for newbies like me.

Thank you Ann. If anyone else has some good input, please reply on this thread. I can't be the only one wondering about group insurance.

Will be back in a few days with updates.

 

[TwiLight]

I am also a FL non-resident agency and have hundreds of groups in FL. The best bet is to go through an experience GA and they will help with every step of the sales process and you will still get full commission.

I would recommend Benefitmall.com as they have a couple of FL offices N and S FL and have all the main carriers, including BCBS.

100+ groups are very time consuming and you will need their assistance as this would be your first case. Just remember, Obama Care will kick in and you might loose the case due to it. So don't count on the revenue for long term unless major changes occur this year.

 

[manny0129]

Checking Benefitmall.com now. Will send them a request and see how it goes. Thanks for the lead Twilight.

 

[TwiLight]

Checking Benefitmall.com now. Will send them a request and see how it goes. Thanks for the lead Twilight.

You are very welcome.

 

[b61mack]

It will be very hard to steal the account, unless you are tight with the owner. You will do the leg work, the agent of record will just match the offer. You have to approach it with - if i can save you money, are you ready and willing to move your business to me. Share it with someone experienced, you can't show any weakness.

 

[TwiLight]

It will be very hard to steal the account, unless you are tight with the owner. You will do the leg work, the agent of record will just match the offer. You have to approach it with - if i can save you money, are you ready and willing to move your business to me. Share it with someone experienced, you can't show any weakness.

I would just have him first sign an AOR transfer prior to the work. If the prospect is willing to boot them by having another agent quote than they will sign. If not, than they are just using you for leverage and do not get into that game.

Once you have the AOR you can then lock out the quotes with most carriers and they will not be able to get quotes, Ex: UHC or Aetna. Some carriers will even require the AOR prior to quoting groups of 100+

 

[manny0129]

It is a brand new company. They are starting the process of hiring just now. I will be the AOR. I am not stealing anyone's client. The company was trying to approach BLue Cross directly. I simply offered to be their agent.

Thing is I am new to this game. Just got my L&H license 3 months ago and have never dealt with this side of the industry. I know P&C backwards and had my 220 since 2008, and 440 since 2006. Not much compared to many of the forum members here, but is something.

Applied to Benefitmall for registration and a call back, still no word. Faxed my license to them yesterday.

Is there another GA in this area that anyone can point me to? Also, how long does it take between inquiry and appointment?

I haven't mentioned at my job that I have this prospect, and plan on going independent. My current boss relies on me and I would hate to up and leave without much notice.

Since I work for a captive company atm my appointment with any GA would over-ride it, so I have to time it well. Any comments on this?

*** Note: On a separate note, will obama care screw agents that bad? I have read about the MLR and broker comissions being part of it. But as far as I read the NAIC had proposed an amendment that was currently under review to free up the broker's comission from the MLR.