- 1,912
Anytime you have a product that will be exploited loopholes, the product is not viable, unless the book of business is getting all the business (healthy and not so healthy).
United Life is a goner (Graded Life)
- Thread starter mudhound
- Start date
Yes, the FE product starts at 50. This is a brand new product.
- 4,307
I agree, but I would suggest the problem isn't with the agents. It's with the company and their actuaries. Modified/graded/GI can all be profitable, just ask Alex Trebec!
Last year, Gerber apparently discovered their margins were too thin on the GI product. But did they scrap it? No! They tweaked the pricing to make it more viable.
When Settlers closed, it was suggested by many that it was due to an inordinate amount of Bronze being placed by agents who weren't writing any Silver or Gold. My own Bronze placement was high (about 35%). I had a much longer history with Settlers (about 25 years) than most of the agents on the forum. I had a very good contract with them. So I tried really hard to place more standard/preferred business with them. But in the past few years, I was writing significantly more with other companies because there was nearly always a better option than Settlers. Was that my fault? Was I exploiting loopholes?
United only had one product that was attractive to independent FE agents. Not our fault. But just like we tell prospective agents, selling FE isn't for everyone. United apparently just figured out it's not for them, either.
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- 15,041
Yes and no. Using a company for only their unprofitable product is problematic.
That said, when I posted this Settlers and 5 Star are two companies that quickly came to mind where the self-inflicted injuries outweighed the adverse selection problems. They had made themselves all but unusable and were doomed.
Companies that adopted well include Royal Neighbors, Gerber, Aetna, Foresters and many more I'm sure I can't even think of. Most are no longer the low price leader that gets a ton of volume that they use to be, however they all remain viable companies with a viable product.
- 5,309
I talked with a guy who worked for a call center specializing in offering UL to AIDS/HIV prospects. Wrote lots of business with them.
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- 15,041
I don't think it necessarily is in the traditional market. But for FE, yeah it needs to be GI. How it progresses has a lot to do with how well it is managed. Sadly, too many FE prospects have shown they aren't all that great at managing their health.
I suspect it will move to table ratings, and more favorable ratings at that, with time in the traditional market. This will be even more true for permanent products.
- 5,073
and sold their company I believe. maybe they saw the writing on the wall of what they have on the books, etc. Seems a lot of GI & final expense companies selling their company or segments of their existing policies.
- 4,307
That's true. I forgot they sold out!
- 1,912
Yup. And when W&S finds out they've been dumping their broker biz into the same book as their direct to consumer biz, they're gonna pull their GI from indy agents.
