Med supp -need experienced view here

[Winter_123]

I have no med supp experience yet. In looking at med supp rates for my state, I see that several of the carriers are up around 2400-2600 for Plan F. At the lower end is AARP and a couple companies such as Continental General in the range of 1400-1500. Mutual of Omaha is about 2000/yr for Plan F non-smoker.

I am still uneasy about getting involved with Continental General because of mixed reviews and financial rating and lack of name recognition. Maybe those are critical factors. Maybe I just need to get over it. Have not decided yet. Mutual of Omaha (not united world, that is not approved in this state) is a very solid company not only in name recognition but in rating, and their rates are good although not excellent.

So, the question is, how price sensitive are these products in your experience? I know that everyone wants the lowest price but at some point the company presumably becomes a factor. If you were or are experienced in this area would you be more likely to want to get your arms around a solid company like Mutual of Omaha and play the strengths that go with that or would you be more likely to just say that this is a price war and get in bed with whoever has the lowest price and is not under indictment for anything Is there anyone here successful who is working primarily with a company that has rates that are moderately competitive such as Mutual of Omaha's in the scenario above but not one of the bottomfeeders.

I know you can do both and be appointed with both and every client is different and some want this and some want that blah blah blah but you get the drift of my question.

Thanks for any comments.

Mainer

 

[tommyk]

All Medicare Supp policies are standardized. In other words a F is a F is a F. Not matter what company you write for they will all cover the exact same thing. No less, no more. Now there are high deductible F plans and now an enhanced F plan (covers things live dental, glasses, etc).
So the premium will only depend on the company. Name recognition will usually be a little bit stronger and the companies that really concentrate only on MA's, will be a lot higher...they do not want Supp plans. Don't know if that helped or not.

 

[senior-advisor-indiana]

WTF. There is no enhanced F plan. Is that a Bankers Life pitch???

Winter, you can sell med supps from mutual of omaha if it makes you feel better. You will miss alot of sales though when you are trying to make people spend more money for the same plan just because it is MOO. I am sure they beat some rates though. It is a price war. I also would not look at the plan F. Go for a plan that the client pays the deductible. It saves them alot. Maybe the MOO G plan is cheap. If it is then sell that plan. The only companies that have name recognition here in IN are MOO AARP(united healthcare), and Anthem. All of those are high priced. Any other company you sell no prospect has ever heard of unless their friend,sister or brother have it. Some companies will accept different risks also. SO you definetly need a couple. CGI is great for smokers. Here in IN no one can touch Admiral and United World prices. THere is no reason not to use them here even though no one has heard of them.

 

[Frank Stastny]

WTF. There is no enhanced F plan. Is that a Bankers Life pitch???

Winter, you can sell med supps from mutual of omaha if it makes you feel better. You will miss alot of sales though when you are trying to make people spend more money for the same plan just because it is MOO. I am sure they beat some rates though. It is a price war. I also would not look at the plan F. Go for a plan that the client pays the deductible. It saves them alot. Maybe the MOO G plan is cheap. If it is then sell that plan. The only companies that have name recognition here in IN are MOO AARP(united healthcare), and Anthem. All of those are high priced. Any other company you sell no prospect has ever heard of unless their friend,sister or brother have it. Some companies will accept different risks also. SO you definetly need a couple. CGI is great for smokers. Here in IN no one can touch Admiral and United World prices. THere is no reason not to use them here even though no one has heard of them.

Yea, what Seinor said.

If you ever want to discuss it in more detail feel free to give me a call anytime. My number is shown below.

 

[senior-advisor-indiana]

Yea, what Seinor said.

quote]


Thanks Farnk

 

[Frank Stastny]

Yea, what Seinor said.

quote]


Thanks Farnk

You're doing well grasshopper.

 

[Winter_123]

All Medicare Supp policies are standardized. In other words a F is a F is a F. Not matter what company you write for they will all cover the exact same thing. No less, no more. Now there are high deductible F plans and now an enhanced F plan (covers things live dental, glasses, etc).
So the premium will only depend on the company. Name recognition will usually be a little bit stronger and the companies that really concentrate only on MA's, will be a lot higher...they do not want Supp plans. Don't know if that helped or not.

Well, I do understand that they are standardized and "will cover the exact same thing." Sometimes, though, companies vary considerably in their reputation or experience in paying claims so it is good to know that up front regardless of the fact that they are all supposed to cover the exact same thing. Companies dont always do what they say their going to do so you have to ask those who have experience. Since claims paying is not being mentioned as a factor here, should I presume that there are no major losers in the crowd of carriers? If there are watch-outs with some of these companies I would like to know. If not, then I am not looking for issues where there are none. In other words if a company such as Continental General is the lowest cost but they dont pay their frigging claims then I need to know that and move further up the food chain. If that is not an issue with them, then that is fine too.

Winter

 

[Frank Stastny]

Well, I do understand that they are standardized and "will cover the exact same thing." Sometimes, though, companies vary considerably in their reputation or experience in paying claims so it is good to know that up front regardless of the fact that they are all supposed to cover the exact same thing. Companies dont always do what they say their going to do so you have to ask those who have experience. Since claims paying is not being mentioned as a factor here, should I presume that there are no major losers in the crowd of carriers? If there are watch-outs with some of these companies I would like to know. If not, then I am not looking for issues where there are none. In other words if a company such as Continental General is the lowest cost but they dont pay their frigging claims then I need to know that and move further up the food chain. If that is not an issue with them, then that is fine too.

Winter

When I talk to a prospect the number one objection they have to changing companies is that their company pays real well. I tell them that all of them do, they have to or they will be out of the supplement business.

That is 100% correct. All companies who sell Med Supp insurance pay like clock work. The company rating is almost something that is on the bottom of the list of things to be concerned about, and whether or not they are going to pay claims isn't even an issue.

All claims are automatically filed with Medicare by the doctor, Medicare then sends the claim to the insurance company. If Medicare approves the claim the insurance automatically pays its portion.

I have represented a number of different companies and they all pay without any problems.

Of greater concern is their premium increase history and the health questions on the app. Any company that has easy to answer health questions or a very few questions is going to have some huge premium increases in the near future.

Seniors buy two things, price and the agent who gives them the best service after the sale.

 

[Winter_123]

Alright. Thank you indeed. I have one follow up question and then will give it a rest. You are saying that with a med supplement the bill goes from the doctor to medicare and then medicare reviews and approves and sends it along to the insurance company? Did not know that. Do I have the right understanding there?

Winter

When I talk to a prospect the number one objection they have to changing companies is that their company pays real well. I tell them that all of them do, they have to or they will be out of the supplement business.

That is 100% correct. All companies who sell Med Supp insurance pay like clock work. The company rating is almost something that is on the bottom of the list of things to be concerned about, and whether or not they are going to pay claims isn't even an issue.

All claims are automatically filed with Medicare by the doctor, Medicare then sends the claim to the insurance company. If Medicare approves the claim the insurance automatically pays its portion.

I have represented a number of different companies and they all pay without any problems.

Of greater concern is their premium increase history and the health questions on the app. Any company that has easy to answer health questions or a very few questions is going to have some huge premium increases in the near future.

Seniors buy two things, price and the agent who gives them the best service after the sale.

 

[GreenSky]

Alright. Thank you indeed. I have one follow up question and then will give it a rest. You are saying that with a med supplement the bill goes from the doctor to medicare and then medicare reviews and approves and sends it along to the insurance company? Did not know that. Do I have the right understanding there?

Winter

It's now after 5pm in Missouri so Frank is busy starting his weekend drinking binge - allow me to answer for him. It's only 3pm in California.

Virtually all Med Supp carriers receive information directly from Medicare. The doctor really has no reason to bill the carrier.

I find it interesting that many providers recommend AARP to their patients because of this automatic billing. They don't seem to care that other companies do the same at a lower price.

Rick