Looking for a Mentor in Group Health Insurance

[somarco]

Re: Looking for a Mentor

I would love to meet someone who is successful in the group health insurance side of the business, to mentor me and show me the ropes. I have a few great strategies to help company's with their benefits. I find the hardest part is the marketing and getting the appointments.

Actually the hardest part can be patience.

Establishing a group block from scratch can be very taxing. Of course a lot depends on the size group you are targeting.

Small group, under 50 lives, can move much quicker. Larger groups, 200+ lives, can take a year or longer to close.

Group commissions are as earned. Many carriers are going to PEPM vs % of premium and some are not paying any commission. Rather, they want you to negotiate a fee with the employer then they will build it in to the billed premium.

With so much uncertainty in all health markets I would not start in that direction now.

Twice before I built up significant blocks of self funded cases. In both cases it took a couple of years to develop a nice cash flow and I knew what I was doing AND had contacts.

I could do it again but I won't. Not now.

 

[Ann H]

Re: Looking for a Mentor

I do quite a bit of group business. You can be mentored for free from the carrier reps. Granted, it's a limited view of the industry, but it's a good start. If I were starting out, I would contact the group reps for each major carrier and have them explain their product in detail. Have them compare their plans to their competition and tell you why theirs is better. Then have the competition do the same thing. Have them explain what niche market they serve the best. Then I would contact the case manager from each carrier, and have them explain their administration procedures, and online resources in detail. Finally, I would research the applicable laws that apply to group insurance (as opposed to IFP). And I would read the websites of all the agents in my area that did the most business in the market segment I wanted to enter. That would give you a good base of information about the products, services and laws. Finally, I would survey small businesses and ask them specific questions - like WHY did you select your current benefit plan, or WHY have you chosen to not offer health coverage to your employees, WHAT is the main disappointment with health plans, WHAT would you like to see in a health plan. That gives you an idea of the NEED. Find a need and fill it. That's the best way to make sales.

 

[somarco]

You can be mentored for free from the carrier reps.

Your area may be different, but most of the carrier reps here are inexperienced peddlers. Reps with agency's like Benefit Mall aren't any better.

 

[aflac222]

Hello,


I sold a lot of IFP business the first 6 months. I have the IFP side down pretty well, but I am of course open to criticism and ideas.

Pardon my ignorance, but what is an IFP?

I am also curious why you need a mentor? You mentioned that you worked in a couple of successful agencies.I am sure that you saw a lot of things in those agencies. What are you expecting from a mentor? I am one of the fortunate ones to have had a mentor. I hope to pass along what I know somewhere in the distant future.

 

[somarco]

IFP = individual & family plan (major medical)

Jay appears to be looking for someone to specifically mentor him in the in's and outs of group health insurance (employee benefits).

As someone who started in that field in 1975 and was trained by an agent (mentor) that was a former VP of group insurance with several large carriers before striking out on his own, I can tell you it is not something you can learn overnight or on your own unless you have a lot of patience and a steady income to carry you through. The gestation period for most group cases is anywhere from a few months to years. Commissions are as earned and lagged.

It is a tough business to learn and succeed in, but worth it if you have the drive and financial ability to stick with it.

Most of what I have learned through the years about insurance and other matters has come through mentors. I have been fortunate to find people that are willing and able to train me in new fields even though many of them never asked for or made a dime off me.

I am still on a journey to transition in to the 65+ field and have been blessed to have found many people on this site, especially Frank Stastny, who have willingly shared their knowledge.

 

[DS4]

I would love to meet someone who is successful in the group health insurance side of the business, to mentor me and show me the ropes.

You are probably not going to find someone willing to show you the ropes for free. Not in todays world.
There are many GA's in California that will hold your hand on a group case from start to finish. Word & Brown, Rogers Benefit Group, LISI, BenefitMall, to name a few. You will own the business.
As you have been in the IFP business awhile, I'm sure you have run across someone "uninsurable". Was this uninsurable person a business owner? If this person owned a business, you now have a group lead if there are 2 eligible employee's.
I recently had a lead on an uninsurable business owner. He owned a real estate business. Most all of his agents were 1099 ee's. As I was picking his brain, he says to me, "I have tried to get group coverage in the past and the other agents told me I wasn't an eligible group". I asked if he had any office staff? "Yes, 2 employee's already have group coverage through spouses and the other has Medicare".
This was a slam dunk 1 person GI group with 3 valid waivers.
Back in 1978, I first sold life only. I was company trained. My next progression was into IFP. Then group health. Then Medicare supp's. I learned all the health products by trial & error.
Since the mid 80's, I quit selling life. 5 years ago, my brother and another employee in my office now service all my group accounts.
I now focus only on IFP & Med supp's. I just started dipping my foot into the LTC pool. My problem is IFP & Med supps eat up my whole day.
I suggest you continue to sharpen your IFP sales skills. I'm sure in your daily travels, you are coming across group leads?? Get the employee census and then call one of the GA's I mentioned above. They will hold your hand through the whole process.
Good luck.
If you want to pick my brain further for free, call me at: 800.4DAYTON.
Tell the receptionist, "you are one of my car buddies". That is the secret password to get right through to me.

 

[aflac222]

You guys are an awesome resource! I am glad I found this forum.

 

[CatalinaBill]

Where in California are you?

 

[JayIvy]

Where in California are you?

I am in orange county

 

[jhuang]

Sorry to bump a month old thread but the Group Sales at Anthem was very good to work with as I wrote my first small group business and I was able to quote the Integrated Medicomp program and saved them $400 a year on their work comp.

I think to start off, just ask a lot of questions to the group sales department of the company. They can most likely guide you from start to finish.