Any Group Health Agents Work Successfully With An Aflac Rep?

[Full Throttle]

For a broker, Colonial is willing to bend over backwards (and even eat some premium) to make the broker happy and keep the relationship moving forward. Aflac doesn't give a f&@$ whether the broker is happy or not, and they're willing to cut the broker out once they've gotten positioned into a case.

Allstate has been great to work with for me. Competitive product line, plus they have a true wholesaler who will come out and do enrollments for smaller groups. With AFLAC and Colonial, there was always another agent's hand in pot. With Allstate, I am vested immediately, no production requirements to keep the contract, the payout is twice as much, good wholesaler support, and competitive products.

 

[ABC]

Allstate has been great to work with for me. Competitive product line, plus they have a true wholesaler who will come out and do enrollments for smaller groups. With AFLAC and Colonial, there was always another agent's hand in pot. With Allstate, I am vested immediately, no production requirements to keep the contract, the payout is twice as much, good wholesaler support, and competitive products.

How does Allstate compare from a price point?

I assume they are selling the same type of plans as colonial and Aflac?

 

[bill3173]

The plan for the H.S.A plan is horrible the client is better off putting that money into the HSA account.

just my .02

I completely agree. I've got a new small group client right now, that came to me, after speaking with another agent that doesn't sell group but made both a carrier and supplement reccomendation. I know, it's ridiculous.

Neither were good ideas for this client and I have to spend time with new illustrations to explain. Not complaining, it's all part of it, but just to give my $3. Other than pure sales, I think the coupling of group hdhp and supps are horseradish, in most cases.

 

[Josh]

I completely agree. I've got a new small group client right now, that came to me, after speaking with another agent that doesn't sell group but made both a carrier and supplement reccomendation. I know, it's ridiculous.

Neither were good ideas for this client and I have to spend time with new illustrations to explain. Not complaining, it's all part of it, but just to give my $3. Other than pure sales, I think the coupling of group hdhp and supps are horseradish, in most cases.

I think the real value in the voluntary benefits is mostly a psychological option for employees who can't stand the thought of losing first dollar coverage and can't wrap their heads around an HSA. An HSA just makes sense, but indemnity type plans give the employer the ability to say "if you want it, here it is".

 

[RscMaine]

I'm a 15 year Aflac veteran (both management and sales) and have a fair understanding of the problems posed in this thread.

First, not all agents are equal.

Before you work with an Aflac agent, make sure that they have been around for a few years. If they are an "Associate" ask to meet their District or even their Regional manager - if you are a broker with lots of groups, you are usually too big for a single agent to handle - you can and should get a team assigned to work with you and that can only come from a smart Regional Coordinator.

Second, if your group is over 500 emloyees you can get a dedicated Account Specialist at Aflac HQ assigned to handle the group directly. They will handle any billing or change issues and allow your HR contact to have a 'one stop' contact.

Third, unless an Associate has BOTH 3 years experience AND a minimum of $150,000 in annual sales every year - get a new agent. They are hobbyists, not professionals.

Aflac is a great company, but like any sales operation, we don't know until they have business cards that any given agent is a dud.

Brokers deserve to be treated like customers.

 

[Benefits Man]

My parent company is a privately owned independent enrollment company.
See post here.
TX - No Strings Attached GA Level Voluntary Benefits Contract

We have taken several large i.e. 500 to 5000 life cases from Allstate and AFLAC in the past three years. Both were because of major billing problems, however the problem was not so much AFLAC or Allstate but the client's HR department's ineptness. The Allstate/AFLAC account reps basically give up, because it's "not their job". We ended up basically holding HR's hand step by step by step and have very happy clients. Once we get a client we rarely lose them. Our enrollers are also very good at what they do. Our participation in product and FSA accounts go up between 30%-60% when we get involved with a case.

About us: We have been in the voluntary benefits business for 30 years. Our largest case is 50,000 lives which we've kept for ~20 years, a large portion of our book of business are hospitals, and we also do the voluntary benefits for many Raymond James FA's clients. We have exclusive contracts that are underwritten by large carrier paper such as Humana, Manhatthan Life, American General, Assurant and others. We are also licensed in ~45 states.

Please, if you have a large case and don't want to worry about mess ups or look over your shoulder because of competition contact me. However, we are primarily an enrollment company so don't expect us to do all the selling for you. We do the enrollment, provide the best products possible, and keep the case for the long term for YOU. The most difficult time we've had competing with AFLAC etc for us has been when the CEO's brother is an AFLAC rep. We can't beat that...