shifting to health

[nobody]

thank you all ,
are there any restrictions about selling both individaul and group?
I belive in speciality ,that is why I started my thread with Shifting to health .
I had enough selling life ....

 

[djs]

are there any restrictions about selling both individaul and group?

Nope, a lot of people do both. Many avoid group like the plague, mostly because the commissions are either lower (small group) or the work to get the account is overwhelming when your new (large group).

Writing a small group of 3 doesn't pay much, but it's actually very easy to do (California rules apply to this statement). No underwriting, lots of paperwork, owners don't have their business papers together, etc, but, it gets done. You then plug along at 7% for forever. Same policy in individual would pay 20% first year.

To me, I write the business liability/owners policy first along with the workers comp. Write the business benefits (health / life / 401K / etc), and then work on the remaining individual accounts. I actually prefer to sell the health as a group policy, so I don't have to deal with underwriting, or having one employee (or usually a spouse) that can't get insured.

I get account value, due to the volume of business I write. I would go broke if I wrote 2-5 life small group policies by themselves.

Small business owners like having 1 agent to deal with. Larger businesses prefer having specialists in every area. I'll leave the larger businesses to someone else.

Dan

 

[moonlightandmargaritas]

A lot of agents in my area (Northern CA) are walking (not running) away from health because our five major carriers ( Both blues, Aetna, Kaiser, and HealthNet) have tightened up on UW and don't want to take much (ie. older) risk these days.

Hmmm. I may be a contrarian, but to me this would look like "opportunity".

 

[djs]

Al is right in some respects on this. Unfortunately, it doesn't really generate the opportunity you might think.

With the real estate crash and burn in Northern California (and other places), realtors and mortgage brokers left the real estate industry in droves, and many of them packed their bags and became insurance agents. We've seen a lot of this on the board here.

They are now leaving the insurance industry, realizing it doesn't have the big paydays of real estate.

I don't think there are to many long time agents leaving, outside of retiring. At the same time, I don't see a lot of new agents coming in and being successful either. Nothing stops them, just this isn't the easist career to get going in. It's one the best after you get established.

I also agree with Al, that individual policies are something strange with underwriting. Your health history is much more of an open book than it used to be, with instant online access to so many records, it's easy to find a reason to decline. No waivers in California, rate or decline. Doctors are quick to pass out anti-depressants, which makes it tough for coverage.

Health insurance is one of those things you have to get it when you don't need it, don't anticipate a need for it, pay for it, and then hope you never use it.

Dan

 

[nobody]

thank you Dan ,and thanks for evrybody ..
I have A question Dan ..to sell A packakge (full benefit like health&401k&worker's comp ,..etc)
how I can get appointed with those providers ,and how much E&O i should carry?
I realy appreciate the idea of selling packages like group and 401 k and worker's comp..
thanks

 

[djs]

If you are just starting out, pick one area, and master it, then grow one area at a time. Group health is an easy entry.

You'll need at least a $1M of E&O, probably more if you start doing large group. You'll need commercial broker E&O, which can get to be a bit pricey.

Getting appointed is an easy thing. You'll need all of the appropriate licenses, which vary somewhat from state to state. To get the series 6 & 63, you'll have to find a broker dealer that you want to work with (and that wants to work with you).

Dan

 

[somarco]

To get the series 6 & 63,

Unless CA is different, you don't need these to sell health in other states.

I may be a contrarian, but to me this would look like "opportunity".

I would agree.

The years when I made the most money were while working niche markets that no one else wanted. If you want to work where everyone else is, you really need to be good at differentiating yourself from the masses.

 

[norcalinsurance]

Interesting question. A lot of agents in my area (Northern CA) are walking (not running) away from health because our five major carriers ( Both blues, Aetna, Kaiser, and HealthNet) have tightened up on UW and don't want to take much (ie. older) risk these days. They want the 30 year old woman all done with maternity who will take a HDHP-HSA.

The only agents I know out here who do $100K or more are those who sell group. (That does not mean there aren't any... I just don't know them!)

You want to get more into health, and I want to get into life and annuity and DI products. I'm just tired of taking apps only to have them denied by the health carriers for trivial reasons.

My suggestion is that you do group or the senior market and try to stay away from anything that has to go through UW. However, as always YMMV.

Al

Hey Al3,
I went to your link above, and YMMV?

I found YMMV to mean, Your Mouth, My Vagina. I think your in the wrong forum

 

[norcalinsurance]

Or is what you were meaning was YMMV = Your Mileage May Vary?

Is that the one?

 

[nobody]

OK,here we go again ,the last 2 days calling on those insurance companies offerring E&O policy ...WAWOOOOOOOOO...
the min premieum is 1,200 ...
dose any body has any recommendation for E&O and commercial brokerage to sell small group health?