They Want Enrollers, Not Agents

[KennyWest]

To an extent ACA is causing a consolidation and culling.
- Fewer carriers since little companies who did health plans before have dropped out or vanished
- Agents dropping out while others are going all in (applies to agencies/call centers as well)
-Fewer agents getting into the health side than prior (due to compliance, complexity and fewer players)

Normal business cycles and economic principles really.

 

[somarco]

A lot of us made a conscious choice to change it up.

That includes me.

I am not angry or bitter. It was a conscious decision on my part to have limited engagement in Obamacare and none at all after this year.

Had I wanted to pursue that market, I would have.

My earlier point is this.

If MOST agents are making more money than before then why have so many moved on to other things and why have the number of agents approved to write exchange business dropped?

Why are people like MaryDallas considering leaving the health insurance side, or at least curtailing their focus, if this new market is so great? Cadylou is another and there are others on the forum who have expressed similar sentiments.

Are these people dumb? Are they lazy?

Probably not. I can't speak for them.

I have weathered probably more changes than most of the agents on this forum. For me, 40 years and Lord knows how many makeovers, it is time to make another change and this one does not include Obamacare.

No, I am not lazy and I don't think I am dumb.

I was selective in what I wrote.

And I am not jealous of those who stayed in the game and plowed forward. Good for them. I hope it works out for you.

 

[FLM2]

That includes me.

I am not angry or bitter. It was a conscious decision on my part to have limited engagement in Obamacare and none at all after this year.

Had I wanted to pursue that market, I would have.

My earlier point is this.

If MOST agents are making more money than before then why have so many moved on to other things and why have the number of agents approved to write exchange business dropped?

Why are people like MaryDallas considering leaving the health insurance side, or at least curtailing their focus, if this new market is so great? Cadylou is another and there are others on the forum who have expressed similar sentiments.

Are these people dumb? Are they lazy?

Probably not. I can't speak for them.

I have weathered probably more changes than most of the agents on this forum. For me, 40 years and Lord knows how many makeovers, it is time to make another change and this one does not include Obamacare.

No, I am not lazy and I don't think I am dumb.

I was selective in what I wrote.

And I am not jealous of those who stayed in the game and plowed forward. Good for them. I hope it works out for you.

I don't always agree with you but this is also, like Lakshmi, very well said.

I made a decision to stay with health insurance after a one year switch to financial services in 2010-111 because I wanted the residual income stream. I started a Medicare segment as well in 2011 and it has worked out really, really well in spite of the challenges.

If market conditions change and there is a need to change focus it will be much easier for me now than in 2011 because of my much larger book of business-I could easily maintain my revenue at current levels by marketing other products to my client base if I so choose, I just have no financial need to do so in the current environment.

 

[Dave020]

I apologize. I didn't mean that towards people who chose not to do it or chose to go another route.

I directed it towards people who are saying "those who chose to stay" aren't making any more money than we were prior to 2014. Those of us who stayed are seeing a significant increase. IF you stayed AND you didn't see a significant an increase THEN its lazy.

If you chose to get out, that's not lazy. That's your business plan. And that's OK. I certainly have a Plan B, in case commissions crash.

Again, I apologize.

Be very careful with statements like this. If you want to say agents in TX.... that's one thing, but Rick's comment was specific to his market (and mine), California. Not sure what you guys are getting in TX but in CA avg FYC has dropped from 20% down to avg 1.5% on IFP (1.1% on renewals). Add to that a state exchange (Covered CA) which no WBE including Kenny and Ning has any access to and watch the magic of your information getting scrubbed off the data push to the carrier or, better yet since we can't embed it anywhere, they never appoint you in the first place. We have no Sherpa link to send anyone, we have to try and explain how to do it on Covered CA and it is and was always designed to be counter-intuitive and confusing, leading the public to pick enrollers/navigators over agents.

I stayed and I am making less that I did before. I am certainly not lazy, our CA ACA system is rigged against the agents. Please don't generalize. You would certainly have a different opinion if you were selling in a state like CA.

 

[Yagents]

Everybody lives in their own little bubble. Success depended on the state you were licensed. Kalifornia was Klobbered. The liberal states built their own exchanges, and most made it impossible for agents to work with it. Those in red states and used FFM, and had WBE's, and broader free markets before the law, had success.

Top states to sell the past two years is TX and FL. They had the most choice, the highest commissions, the most people who signed up.

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HAFA update. Make some noise !

http://www.icontact-archive.com/NRCTqX2Wssc73lgTvoTJUsZE_FhWWo3Y?w=7

 

[russelltw]

it definitely does depend on each state and carriers available in each state. In my state (NC), it's been a decent transition, but commissions are dropping. Each year, we have to evaluate what's best for our business....

 

[MaryDallas]

Here's what I think (not that anyone asked, LOL).

1. Those who stayed made a good choice if they made a lot of money.

2. Those who left made a good choice if they had a better Plan B for the immediate future.

3. Those who are re-evaluating this career now, should decide if they make enough money for the hassle, and if their Plan B is a good enough alternative at this point.

The only ones who did not make a good choice are those who didn't make a lot of money, or who never had a Plan B to begin with.

I will say this though, making a lot of money isn't enough. There has to be quality of life, too, which includes manageable stress levels and enough time for family and enjoyment.

Totally agree: insurance is a fluid business. There are multitudes of options. This confuses many people when they first enter the insurance industry. It's a good thing: there's a lot of wiggle room.

We are not stuck with any one decision. We can reevaluate periodically and make informed decisions about our own life. Every agent is of value no matter the direction they choose. Life is all about choices. I am all about quality of life, managing stress levels, and time for enjoyment as well. There's more to life than 100% concentration on money and even lack of money.

 

[kgmom219]

Be very careful with statements like this. If you want to say agents in TX.... that's one thing, but Rick's comment was specific to his market (and mine), California. Not sure what you guys are getting in TX but in CA avg FYC has dropped from 20% down to avg 1.5% on IFP (1.1% on renewals). Add to that a state exchange (Covered CA) which no WBE including Kenny and Ning has any access to and watch the magic of your information getting scrubbed off the data push to the carrier or, better yet since we can't embed it anywhere, they never appoint you in the first place. We have no Sherpa link to send anyone, we have to try and explain how to do it on Covered CA and it is and was always designed to be counter-intuitive and confusing, leading the public to pick enrollers/navigators over agents.

I stayed and I am making less that I did before. I am certainly not lazy, our CA ACA system is rigged against the agents. Please don't generalize. You would certainly have a different opinion if you were selling in a state like CA.

I already apologized, but I am listening.

And VERY intrigued on what you are saying about CA. Since the Sherp guru's have told me they CAN do Covered CA and I have run quotes on there for friends and tried to help them. (It wasn't tough, they all wanted Kaiser anyway). And I talked to a couple of agents in San Fran over New Years and they said they were kicking a**. Now I'm just stumped.

 

[Ann H]

It definitely is regional, and specific to one's target market. There's another factor, and that's the size of the agent's book of business in the first place.

If you have a smaller book, then change brings great opportunity to grow. If you have a larger book to begin with, change brings a lot of headaches just to assist your current clients, much less handle the volume of in-bound calls. Those with mid-size books get the best/worst of both worlds.

A single agent will come to saturation point at some time, where they must either hire staff, or stop adding clients, or become an enroller with no customer service offered. That concept (if I remember correctly) is the title of this thread, and the original post.

In addition to the issue of VOLUME and its inevitable saturation point, there's the law of diminishing returns about the compensation levels per client. Agents with small books, can add a volume of new clients at 4% commission and be happy. Agents with larger books can turnover their book at 4% (instead of 8% to 20% from prior years), and be unhappy, and the thought of more volume is only as exciting as the ability to overcome the saturation point by hiring, or becoming a call-center type of enroller.

So, I have full respect for those who have very large books of prior clients to help through this mess, and who have not doubled or tripled that large book! Also, those who chose to leave and do something with better results gets my respect. Personally, I stayed, but that was my choice.

 

[tonyisme]

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