Medicare Supplement Questions

[Guest]

You certainly lack imagination. Which will equate to (lacking) sales if you choose this path.

Russ is right.

In Ritter those rates fall under bank draft, which I assume means monthly bank draft.

I can't imagine seniors spending that kind of money on a med supp, when some MA plans are $100 a month or less.

 

[Frank Stastny]

Selling 2 med-supps a week would be a good figure to shoot for. Actually you should write more then that. As far as it..."being easy"...if it were that easy there would be more folks doing it.

As far as providing service on a med-supp, very little is required. All med-supps have automatic claim filing. Yes, you should keep in touch with existing med-supp clients and let them know any time they need you, to let you know.

Just about any agent should be able to comfortably write three apps per week average without trying very hard. If an agent is writing more than an average of five a week he is really busting butt.

When I say Med Supps are "easy" to sell I say that because they are if the agent knows what he/she is doing, especially in relationship to any other kind of insurance I have ever tried to sell.

Unlike other kinds of insurance, I don't first have to convince them that having a Med Supp is a good thing. They already know that and already have a Med Supp. All I have to do in convince them that it is better to have it with me.

For agents who sell themselves as opposed to just selling insurance it really isn't all that difficult.

To a senior, staying in touch with them constitutes service. Agents who believe that there really isn't any "service" necessary because claims are automatically handled are the ones who experience the greatest amount cancellations. Call it what you will, I call it "service", "stroking" or making them feel "warm and fuzzy".

 

[YouGotMyMoney]

You certainly lack imagination. Which will equate to (lacking) sales if you choose this path.

Whoa Rob that's a pretty sharp blanket statement, dont' you agree?

I made that statement because everyone else was talking about $100-130 mo med supps, and what I pulled up was $300 mo plus.

 

[Russ]

Just about any agent should be able to comfortably write three apps per week average without trying very hard. If an agent is writing more than an average of five a week he is really busting butt.

When I say Med Supps are "easy" to sell I say that because they are if the agent knows what he/she is doing, especially in relationship to any other kind of insurance I have ever tried to sell.

Unlike other kinds of insurance, I don't first have to convince them that having a Med Supp is a good thing. They already know that and already have a Med Supp. All I have to do in convince them that it is better to have it with me.

For agents who sell themselves as opposed to just selling insurance it really isn't all that difficult.

To a senior, staying in touch with them constitutes service. Agents who believe that there really isn't any "service" necessary because claims are automatically handled are the ones who experience the greatest amount cancellations. Call it what you will, I call it "service", "stroking" or making them feel "warm and fuzzy".

True....it's best to stay in touch with your clients. Staying in touch can also equal referrals.

 

[bobgio]

I hate to burst everyone's bubble (don't kill the messenger), but CMS is about to embark on a project to replace the thousands of agents working throughout the US with a 3rd party marketer that will get to your clients before you can.
They will be calling (that's right - cold calling - which youc can't do - an unfair advantage) and mailing those about to turn 65 before they have a chance to be solicited by you. CMS will also forbid marketing in the 2 test states they choose in 2011.

They will also probably have a very select few agents or an in house FMO in the field working with this 3rd party marketer to field home appointments.

We probably have 2 to 3 years before Medicare plans agents go the way of the typewriter.

I am in this business 2 years and did approx 250 Med Supp and Med Advantage plans in the 12 months with expectations for 275 to 300 in future years. I was looking forward to making approx $200k in a few years, but now CMS has decided they will take the marketing and sales into their own hands. The experiment begins in 2011 and will probably put into full swing sometime in 2012.

Don't wait for the Titanic to hit the iceberg - bail out and plan your new career now!

I don't know why CMS has such a Hard-On for commissioned agents, but they will effectively eliminate all agents save for a select few.

Here's the link to read more:
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/DemoProjectsEvalRpts/MD/itemdetail.asp?filterType=none&filterByDID=-99&sortByDID=3&sortOrder=descending&itemID=CMS1228760&intNumPerPage=10

 

[Russ]

I hate to burst everyone's bubble (don't kill the messenger), but CMS is about to embark on a project to replace the thousands of agents working throughout the US with a 3rd party marketer that will get to your clients before you can.
They will be calling (that's right - cold calling - which youc can't do - an unfair advantage) and mailing those about to turn 65 before they have a chance to be solicited by you. CMS will also forbid marketing in the 2 test states they choose in 2011.

They will also probably have a very select few agents or an in house FMO in the field working with this 3rd party marketer to field home appointments.

We probably have 2 to 3 years before Medicare plans agents go the way of the typewriter.

I am in this business 2 years and did approx 250 Med Supp and Med Advantage plans in the 12 months with expectations for 275 to 300 in future years. I was looking forward to making approx $200k in a few years, but now CMS has decided they will take the marketing and sales into their own hands. The experiment begins in 2011 and will probably put into full swing sometime in 2012.

Don't wait for the Titanic to hit the iceberg - bail out and plan your new career now!

I don't know why CMS has such a Hard-On for commissioned agents, but they will effectively eliminate all agents save for a select few.

Here's the link to read more:
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/DemoProjectsEvalRpts/MD/itemdetail.asp?filterType=none&filterByDID=-99&sortByDID=3&sortOrder=descending&itemID=CMS1228760&intNumPerPage=10

That's for MA plans. It doesn't say anything about med-supps...

"Section 4018 of The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 authorizes a demonstration to evaluate the use of a third-party contractor to conduct Medicare Advantage plan enrollment and disenrollment functions."

 

[Professor Leads]

LOL. That's okay, I will go in when they are 67 and clean up the mess that some government employee made.

I hate to burst everyone's bubble (don't kill the messenger), but CMS is about to embark on a project to replace the thousands of agents working throughout the US with a 3rd party marketer that will get to your clients before you can.
They will be calling (that's right - cold calling - which youc can't do - an unfair advantage) and mailing those about to turn 65 before they have a chance to be solicited by you. CMS will also forbid marketing in the 2 test states they choose in 2011.

They will also probably have a very select few agents or an in house FMO in the field working with this 3rd party marketer to field home appointments.

We probably have 2 to 3 years before Medicare plans agents go the way of the typewriter.

I am in this business 2 years and did approx 250 Med Supp and Med Advantage plans in the 12 months with expectations for 275 to 300 in future years. I was looking forward to making approx $200k in a few years, but now CMS has decided they will take the marketing and sales into their own hands. The experiment begins in 2011 and will probably put into full swing sometime in 2012.

Don't wait for the Titanic to hit the iceberg - bail out and plan your new career now!

I don't know why CMS has such a Hard-On for commissioned agents, but they will effectively eliminate all agents save for a select few.

Here's the link to read more:
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/DemoProjectsEvalRpts/MD/itemdetail.asp?filterType=none&filterByDID=-99&sortByDID=3&sortOrder=descending&itemID=CMS1228760&intNumPerPage=10

 

[VaDwayne]

I hate to burst everyone's bubble (don't kill the messenger), but CMS is about to embark on a project to replace the thousands of agents working throughout the US with a 3rd party marketer that will get to your clients before you can.
They will be calling (that's right - cold calling - which youc can't do - an unfair advantage) and mailing those about to turn 65 before they have a chance to be solicited by you. CMS will also forbid marketing in the 2 test states they choose in 2011.

They will also probably have a very select few agents or an in house FMO in the field working with this 3rd party marketer to field home appointments.

We probably have 2 to 3 years before Medicare plans agents go the way of the typewriter.

I am in this business 2 years and did approx 250 Med Supp and Med Advantage plans in the 12 months with expectations for 275 to 300 in future years. I was looking forward to making approx $200k in a few years, but now CMS has decided they will take the marketing and sales into their own hands. The experiment begins in 2011 and will probably put into full swing sometime in 2012.

Don't wait for the Titanic to hit the iceberg - bail out and plan your new career now!

I don't know why CMS has such a Hard-On for commissioned agents, but they will effectively eliminate all agents save for a select few.

Here's the link to read more:
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/DemoProjectsEvalRpts/MD/itemdetail.asp?filterType=none&filterByDID=-99&sortByDID=3&sortOrder=descending&itemID=CMS1228760&intNumPerPage=10

Yeah, right.

 

[Chazm]

Whoa Rob that's a pretty sharp blanket statement, dont' you agree?

I made that statement because everyone else was talking about $100-130 mo med supps, and what I pulled up was $300 mo plus.

Your area is definitely more expensive here in FL but you can do better than RNA and Sterling. AARP's "J" plan is $229 for male or female, smoker or non smoker and MoO is 231 for a female "F" plan, which is a lot better than your $100 MA plan.

Just to compare, here in central florida they are $161 and $153 respectively
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I really need to get better commissions though, I only get $150 ONE time for AARP and only 10% for MoO with residuals

 

[YouGotMyMoney]

Thanks Chazm, I appreciate it.