Rent A Rep?

[workingstiff]

Hello Insurance Forums members and fellow agents. I am a new member and first time poster, although I have been lurking for a while.

I hope you can help with a question. I work for a MA plan in the Great Lakes/Midwest region and we are looking to "staff up" for open enrollment. I have been asked to find out if there are any agencies or agents that could provide the services of a licensed (health) agent on a contract basis. I don't have any specifics on how much we'd pay but presume that we could work out a per-day rate as well as a commission. I guess you could say the financial arrangement would be negotiable. We'll be hosting enrollment workshops and will also be generating leads for one-on-one presentations.

Please post any ideas you might have on resources that might be available to help with our staffing needs during open enrollment. We'd need the help from October 1 thru mid December. We are currently not working with any FMO's or MGA's. We are contracting directly with independent agents.

PM me if you'd like more detail. I'd prefer that the plan name remains confidential for competitive reasons. Thanks for any ideas.

 

[Frank Stastny]

First of all MA plan doesn't tell me very much. Exactly what are you talking about? HMO's are MA plans and PFFS are MA plans. Are you talking about HMO's?

"Staff UP" is also a very generic term as is "services of a licensed (health) agent".

You go on to add, " I'd prefer that the plan name remains confidential for competitive reasons". This sounds very suspicious.

I don't know about other agents here but if you cannot be more specific then I for one would not even be remotely interested in taking the time to PM you unless you can provide all of us with detailed information.

 

[Guest]

First of all MA plan doesn't tell me very much. Exactly what are you talking about? HMO's are MA plans and PFFS are MA plans. Are you talking about HMO's?

"Staff UP" is also a very generic term as is "services of a licensed (health) agent".

You go on to add, " I'd prefer that the plan name remains confidential for competitive reasons". This sounds very suspicious.

I don't know about other agents here but if you cannot be more specific then I for one would not even be remotely interested in taking the time to PM you unless you can provide all of us with detailed information.

Hear hear!

 

[workingstiff]

Wow, sorry to set off the parnoia bells, although I'm not sure what I posted that would cause anyone to be highly suspicious.

I'm not trying to recruit agents on this board. I'm asking if anyone knows of an outfit that provides licensed agents on a contract basis. There were some firms that did this several years ago, but none that I've heard of lately.

My plan sells a full array of medicare products, MA-HMO & PPO, Medigap and stand-alone PDP. No PFFS.

I prefer not to publish the name of my plan on a public discussion board because I don't want my competitors to know that I'm looking for additional sales talent. That's the competitive reason.

Sorry to those who were inconvienced by having to waste their time by reading my original post. For those who PM'd me, thank you.

 

[midwestbroker]

Coventry in Kansas City does just that.

They will staff up their sales force by adding about 10 agents from September to Jan / Feb. They make then full time employees for that time, then let them loose.

They sent mailers out to independent agents in KC to find them.

 

[Kimber]

Don't take it personally WorkingStiff, I worried everyone too at first (who knows, maybe I still do...Evil Laugh...) but for the most part, people on this forum are very nice and also a great resource. I think that some people have just been too agressively marketed.

 

[Frank Stastny]

Don't take it personally WorkingStiff, I worried everyone too at first (who knows, maybe I still do...Evil Laugh...) but for the most part, people on this forum are very nice and also a great resource. I think that some people have just been too agressively marketed.

You are exactly correct and I am one of the ones who is constantly bombarded by people who "have this great offer" for insurance agents.

Not that he claimed we could get rich sitting at home in our underwear but without specific details it sounded like a lot of the other crap that is out there.

Sorry, WorkingStiff, if I over reacted. I guess it is a flaw in my character that has developed during the years I have be hustled by those who believe that insurance agents were born last night.

Let's start over. Welcome to the forum.

 

[policy doctor]

Those are insurance enrollers that you are referring to. There are companies who have a team and send them out.....to find them, try calling one of the insurance publications, like Insurance Selling. or Broker World

 

[Frank Stastny]

Those are insurance enrollers that you are referring to. There are companies who have a team and send them out.....to find them, try calling one of the insurance publications, like Insurance Selling. or Broker World

So it is kind of like a turn and burn restaurant. The main purpose is to see how many people you can "throw food at" in a given period of time without a whole lot of service.

Hire a bunch of agents, most probably "new kids" since I doubt that well established agents would be interested. All business they write is in the agencies name. Give them a couple of hours of "training", sub standard commissions, make sure there is some kind of contest so they can all be in competition with each other and on the appointed date open the gate and "turn em loose".

When the "ride" is over they pack up their gear, the winner gets a big fancy belt buckle and they all head home, never to be seen or heard from again. Sounds very similar to what Humana did by putting agents in Wal-Mart who didn't have a clue what they were doing. I stood and listened to a couple of them.

And the client benefits from this how?

 

[workingstiff]

Thanks ladies and gentlemen for the tips and kind welcome. I've been in the insurance business for 18 years or so, both on the plan side and the agent side, so I understand the skeptical nature of those who have been doing this for awhile. (That zero premium life insurance sure does sound tempting though.)

If I think back to my first days as an agent, listening to my MGA, I was going to work 3 days a week and would be retired in 10 years. I'm still working harder than ever.

Best wishes to all during the upcoming Annual Election and Open Enrollment Period.