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Nice non-article. I've come to find this recurring theme: The conviction in which a health insurance agent is sure of the demise of the industry is directly proportional to their current success in said industry.
Rumor on Assurant
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Not sure I completely agree. I'm not a big hitter, but I've done OK and I'm not excited about the industry's future. My friend in the business who got me into it in the first place does over $500,000 a year in health business (mainly group) and he's not too hot on the business at the moment either.
From a logical standpoint, there are only a few things that can happen:
#1: agents can not sell in the exchange and receive enough comp to make it worth while. Compensation will be limited to plans outside the exchange (not that we know all the details yet). That would make this a tough business to slug it out.
#2: we can sell in the exchange and receive comp to make it worth while. This could be a huge opportunity or at a minimum, a decent opportunity. Only problem in my opinion, the current system is set-up to fail from the outset. Instead of going back to the current system, universal health care (or some hybrid) will be the next step. If that happens, it will most likely be good bye health insurance agents.
So, in my opinion:
3 to 10 years out: may actually be lucrative or may become a very difficult way to make a living as a primarily health focused agent. I have no idea and neither does anyone else, but I just don't see the exchanges providing a subsidy paying much in the way of agent compensation (hope I'm wrong).
10 years out: I would guess some form of universal health care unless China tells us no. Unless they go with a "Medicare like" design, it would be bleak for the health insurance agent.
Regardless of your current production, you don't want to blue sky yourself into false hope. Look at it like a business decision, decide where to place your bets, and keep moving forward.
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John and Matt: Funny, I agree with both posts! HealthGuy
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Completely disagree. Whether or not an agent is selling in the market has nothing to do with the prediction that unless something changes quickly, we'll be out of this market.
It doesn't matter if companies stop writing IFP plans, or if the commission goes to $25-50 to write a plan. Either way, we're history.
I hope I'm wrong but the writing is on the wall. My only hope is that we can stop this partially in 2012 and for good in 2014.
Rick
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I received this in an email from Assurant today. That's all I've heard lately.
"Beginning midnight on 8/31/10, the Health Access Plan from Assurant can no longer be sold online until 9/11/10. During this short period of time, paper apps must be used and faxed in. Please note a signature will be required on each app. No apps will be processed until 9/11/2010."
"Beginning midnight on 8/31/10, the Health Access Plan from Assurant can no longer be sold online until 9/11/10. During this short period of time, paper apps must be used and faxed in. Please note a signature will be required on each app. No apps will be processed until 9/11/2010."
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That is because they redesigned the plan to take it off the grid and make it not subject to the health reform provisions.
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The Health Access is their Mini Med Plan, not major medical.
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Wait a minute, do you mean your county or the entire country.i.e., the U.S. of A?
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This is one for the rumor to reality mill:
PPACA Spurring Small Insurer Mergers: Moody
It's coming, but not to the extent we think it is. For those of us who sell other lines, we just readjust our focus, keep all our lines available, and move on.
PPACA Spurring Small Insurer Mergers: Moody
It's coming, but not to the extent we think it is. For those of us who sell other lines, we just readjust our focus, keep all our lines available, and move on.
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From everything we have been told, Assurant is not closing up shop. What they are doing is reducing the number of plans they offer in anticipation of Clarity, the "good credit plan". Clarity doesn't use rented networks, and actually appears to have some of the lowest allowable charges in the industry. I'm not a fan of many Assurant products, but this one might be brilliant.
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