Is rebating illegal in California?

[JMO Fan]

CA court, reinforced by Prop 103, said laws against rebating were unconstitutional. However, rebating always causes a violation of laws against unfair discrimination, which are still on the books, albeit inconsistently enforced. Most carriers don't want to play with that kind of fire.

 

[Dave020]

It is certainly a messy situation here. I seem to remember a guy's web site a few years ago that was strictly about selling rebated term life, I believe.

 

[rocketboy]

I really need to look into the affiliate thing ehealth does. They pay per application and I want to pay per approved application.

 

[TXINSURANCE]

They pay per application and I want to pay per approved application.

That you can not do unless they are licensed.

 

[djs]

I really need to look into the affiliate thing ehealth does. They pay per application and I want to pay per approved application.

If you could do this, everyone would do it, and it would be a bidding war to buy business.

The pay per application is a reasonable compromise. It doesn't go to the consumer, it is consistent, and not discriminatory.

Of course, if you have an affiliate that sends you bad referrals, you simply cut them off. It isn't that big of a deal. It's a waste of your time anyway.

Dan

 

[CorinneM]

Is the practice of paying admin fees for Cobra Administration for a small group client considered rebating? Or is it a value added feature as it is being touted?

 

[tryan326]

My advice would be if you want to do something like this...take it another direction. For instance offer gift cards to existing clients who refer a friend, this will help you get refferals from some clients that may be stuborn in reffering their family or friends. Check with your DOI to be sure. But its perfectly legal in my state b/c its not rebating and its not splitting commissions.

 

[darnardo]

I really need to look into the affiliate thing ehealth does. They pay per application and I want to pay per approved application.

Gieco pays affiliates $25 if the affiliate's customer clicks a link from the affiliates site and goes on to calculate a quote. This is without any application.

 

[GreenSky]

Must be a slow week. Lots of replies to very old threads.

Rick

 

[Thatguy]

Rebating is perfectly legal in CA, contact DOI if you want to hear it yourself. The precaution is that if you are going to rebate, you need to rebate "across the board" and make it part of your SOP (standard operating procedure) so that you don't get blasted with a discrimination suite.