Would Like Comments

[Guest]

I am a sub agent with a broker who sells group health plans. I had this idea we could quote schools, county governments, city municipalities and be successful. So I got a list of the area groups, and tried a few times, but here is where I have had failure. The schools and small governments are involved in consortiums, and the administrators tell me that the rates with the consortiums are better than just a regular group plan. I can't get most of the groups to let me in to bid the health insurance, does anybody have any comment on these organizations and how you can convince the entities to try and stand alone with their own group plans.

this was supposed to be part of my agency plan, I would have someone come in and do the P&C, x dating for me, I wanted and felt more comfortable trying to work on the group stuff. But I have had no success.

 

[Dave020]

Forget it. You have zero chance. These are mainly Taft-Hartley Union arrangements, direct with multiple carriers, governed under rules that prohibit what you are attempting to do (see PERS).

The carriers you want to quote are writing direct on a very large group arrangement and your rates will come nowhere near what they get through their union plans. The benefit construct is built on a very large pool (hundreds of thousands) in the PERS system. They can't carve out and they won't carve out.

I used to market to SAG (a very big union). No way would I ever go near the excellent health package they have. I picked up the HIPAA-eligibles at COBRA expiration, which worked very well. But one look at SAGs plan and no way any independent broker or broker group is going to touch what they have. Same with PERS plans.

 

[Guest]

Let me explain, this is a rural sector, there are no unions. these entities are probably groups of 50-85 people on the group plan. Last year I did get a chance to give a proposal with the broker who sells employee benefits packages, to a rural school district, 51 individuals, they were late in the bid process and decided to stay with the current brokerage firm.

My question is this: These consortiums come and go, school districts unite together, then disband again, it is a loose arrangement. The employee benefits firms will bid the consortium together, annually, but some of the consortiums are seeing increase in premiums of 15% annually.

I am trying to determine how to get the individual school or local city government to bid out the group health insurance as a stand alone entity, just to see what the price is compared to their pricing intheconsortium
Does this make sense