Zen Loses It's Zen...80% of Sales Not Sold by Licensed Agents

[YouGotMyMoney]

So what's the problem? You don't need a license to sell health insurance anymore when you can speak to Elmer Fudd, Shanika, or Bill from India regarding your health insurance needs at the marketplace

 

[RayNY]

You can speak with unlicensed people at agencies as well, and they're allowed to do basically every part of the sale except for "recommend" a selection, receive binder check (not needed now anyway), and put their name down as BOR.

Same limitations as the non-licensed navigators. Nothing stops a person off the street from reading the published information to someone who asked for it-rates, plan descriptions, networks, etc.

If Zen just put valid brokers as BOR on those cases, it never would have been caught.

So, Yagents, that's the difference. Zen made the mistake of putting invalid BOR's on the apps. If it wasn't for that, (assuming they didn't recommend product) they would just basically be navigators.

 

[Tkruger]

If Zen just put valid brokers as BOR on those cases, it never would have been caught.

Question, If Zen put invalid BOR's then how were they expecting to get comped on those transactions? I mean BOR is what tells the carriers that "Hey we need to pay this person."

It would seem to be a very naive mistake if they were sending in sales with no valid BOR that was appointed by the carrier...wouldn't it?

 

[scagnt83]

You can speak with unlicensed people at agencies as well, and they're allowed to do basically every part of the sale except for "recommend" a selection, receive binder check (not needed now anyway), and put their name down as BOR.

Same limitations as the non-licensed navigators. Nothing stops a person off the street from reading the published information to someone who asked for it-rates, plan descriptions, networks, etc.

If Zen just put valid brokers as BOR on those cases, it never would have been caught.

So, Yagents, that's the difference. Zen made the mistake of putting invalid BOR's on the apps. If it wasn't for that, (assuming they didn't recommend product) they would just basically be navigators.

That is not exactly accurate. It can be state specific as to what an assistant can do. Sure anyone off the street can read out loud publicly published info. But when it comes to filling out apps, explaining things beyond what is publicly published or how those things relate to the clients situation, and even delivering policies, are all things that are not allowed by an assistant in many states. Sure assistants often do that kind of stuff, but that doesnt make it legal.

The Navigators had a federal exemption to be able to take apps, but not to make recommendations.


More to the point of this thread; Zen did put valid Agent Numbers on those cases. How do you think they got paid??

It was the fact that the client had never seen, spoken, or even heard of the BOR on most of the policies sold that caused the red flags.

It would be the equivalent of one of us hiring a non-licensed hourly worker to go do literally every part of the sale but put then our agent # on the apps.

 

[LGilmore]

This will be interesting as WA OIC can be extremely harsh, and since Zen's message to business really has been how to get around Obamacare, in a state where the OIC embraced Obamacare, I don't expect it to end well for Zen.

We're up there with NY on insurance regs. So yea, this could be millions in fines based on first glance.

 

[RayNY]

More to the point of this thread; Zen did put valid Agent Numbers on those cases. How do you think they got paid??

It was the fact that the client had never seen, spoken, or even heard of the BOR on most of the policies sold that caused the red flags.

From the article:
"83% of the insurance policies sold or serviced by the company through August 2015 were peddled by employees without necessary state licenses"

Doesn't sound like a valid agent number to me, doesn't sound like they're getting paid.

Nothing in any article says anything about a different BOR showing up than the one that serviced the client (if that was the case, they'd just use someone with a license!). A BOR change isn't a red flag by any means.

At the end of the day, EVERYTHING we need to know, every detail, every term and phrase, is available in an official reference.

Outside of saying "I think this plan best fits your needs", everything else I do can be done by anyone with Google and the ability to read.

Please don't say "they can't take an app". In my entire career, I've never taken an app or check a single time. There's no reason to physically take an app these days.

 

[scagnt83]

From the article:
"83% of the insurance policies sold or serviced by the company through August 2015 were peddled by employees without necessary state licenses"

Doesn't sound like a valid agent number to me, doesn't sound like they're getting paid.

Nothing in any article says anything about a different BOR showing up than the one that serviced the client (if that was the case, they'd just use someone with a license!). A BOR change isn't a red flag by any means.

At the end of the day, EVERYTHING we need to know, every detail, every term and phrase, is available in an official reference.

Outside of saying "I think this plan best fits your needs", everything else I do can be done by anyone with Google and the ability to read.

Please don't say "they can't take an app". In my entire career, I've never taken an app or check a single time. There's no reason to physically take an app these days.

You dont get what I am saying. They had a non-licensed sales person, who was paid hourly or salary, go out there and make insurance recommendations and close sales and do the paperwork. That non-licensed sales person would then put a licensed agents producer # on the app.

There was no BOR change. The person doing the soliciting, recommendations, and filling out apps was not licensed and had no agent number.


And this is GROUP INSURANCE that we are talking about here. That means eApps are not the norm, paper apps are. (Im talking about establishing the plan)

These non-licensed employees were prospecting, going and meeting with the prospect, presenting quotes, making recommendations on those quotes, and taking apps.

They also had licensed sales people making recommendations on 401k plans from what I hear. There is talk (or rumors) of a DOL investigation into unlicensed securities sales.

 

[Duaine]

California regulators say they're investigating Zenefits


Officials at the California Department of Insurance say they are investigating Zenefits Inc. to see whether the company is complying with California laws and regulations.

The department opened the Zenefits investigation last year, officials said in a news release.


Dave Jones, the California insurance commissioner, said he has asked the department's enforcement branch to "deploy additional investigative resources to the Zenefits investigation."

Zenefits, a human resources and benefits automation company, announced earlier this week that David Sacks, a former PayPal executive, had taken over from Parker Conrad, a company co-founder, as chief executive officer.

California regulators say they're investigating Zenefits | LifeHealthPro

 

[ryno442]

I had a Zenefits employee call me yesterday by mistake asking how to cancel an Assurant Health Illinois group plan. I informed them I was a broker and not Assurant Health. I could tell the individual was not a seasoned insurance professional and asked if they were aware Assurant Health no longer offered employee benefits and sold their partially self funded business to NG months ago.

Their response was "really, what should I do?"

 

[AllenChicago]

Their response was "really, what should I do??"

That gave me a (much needed) chuckle, Ryno442! What did you advise this clueless employee to do?