Sometimes I get health or Medicare leads from other states. Most of the time I know an agent in that area but sometimes I have to rely on the forum to provide a name.
I try to check out the agent as much as possible before passing their contact information along. I also tell the prospect to keep in touch and feel free to bounce any recommendations off me before buying.
As far as I know, most of the "stab in the dark" referrals work out. I rarely hear back from the agent that took the referral which I find odd.
Recently a local agent used the forum to refer a client that was moving to another state. I know this local agent very well and we have similar philosophies on product recommendations.
He called me after passing along the name, wanting information on an Assurant product. Neither of us write with Assurant except an occasional STM but he wanted to know if I had info on a Core Med plan.
Seems this agent in another state recommended Core Med copay with 50/50 coinsurance + accident rider and CI rider.
The premium was around $180/mo.
For another $20 or so the individual could have bought a real major med from Blue with full Rx coverage and less OOP.
I am sure the agent was going to make more off the Assurant plan but runs the risk of having a very unhappy client if his health changes.
Having spent enough time on this forum I know there are a lot of agents that are still learning the business but there are also a handful that are true experts in their market.
Sadly, there are some agents with a lot of time in the industry that don't know much more than the day they started.
Those are the ones I avoid at all costs.
Do you do anything to vet an agent before referring? How do you handle these things?
I try to check out the agent as much as possible before passing their contact information along. I also tell the prospect to keep in touch and feel free to bounce any recommendations off me before buying.
As far as I know, most of the "stab in the dark" referrals work out. I rarely hear back from the agent that took the referral which I find odd.
Recently a local agent used the forum to refer a client that was moving to another state. I know this local agent very well and we have similar philosophies on product recommendations.
He called me after passing along the name, wanting information on an Assurant product. Neither of us write with Assurant except an occasional STM but he wanted to know if I had info on a Core Med plan.
Seems this agent in another state recommended Core Med copay with 50/50 coinsurance + accident rider and CI rider.
The premium was around $180/mo.
For another $20 or so the individual could have bought a real major med from Blue with full Rx coverage and less OOP.
I am sure the agent was going to make more off the Assurant plan but runs the risk of having a very unhappy client if his health changes.
Having spent enough time on this forum I know there are a lot of agents that are still learning the business but there are also a handful that are true experts in their market.
Sadly, there are some agents with a lot of time in the industry that don't know much more than the day they started.
Those are the ones I avoid at all costs.
Do you do anything to vet an agent before referring? How do you handle these things?