Yes, that is correct. The other option would be to withdraw the plans from the Marketplace and that results in a 5 year exclusion, right?
Q. for Assurant About 0% Commission Major Med:
- Thread starter MaryDallas
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Yes, that is correct. The other option would be to withdraw the plans from the Marketplace and that results in a 5 year exclusion, right?
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Is 0% for IFP better than $210 for UHC's commission on a Med Supp?
Rick
Rick
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I was not planning to write Assurant: premiums too high. I don't write Med Supp's either .... you go right ahead. I give my Med Supp's to my Med Supp experts and they give their health insurance to me. I write health insurance and life insurance; health supplements. I spent many years in employee benefits and like volume business. Sitting at a person's kitchen table moves too slow for me.
That's just their cover story. Perhaps they were controlling the bleeding by stopping sales, but I really doubt it was to "grow at an appropriate rate" as they said. The 4th Quarter financials show a shocking loss in their IFP business.
http://ir.assurant.com/files/doc_ne...-3Q14EarningsRelease-10-29-14_v001_g5081v.pdf
See the Health section of page 3. They had $6.6 Million in PROFITS last year by Quarter 3 of 2013. This year, by Quarter 3 of 2014, they had $17 Million in net LOSSES. Their financials state a loss of 609% over the first 9 months of 2014 versus the same 9 months of 2013. That's huge.
In the Health section of page 3, it says, "Net operating loss in third quarter 2014 was driven by increased claims from Affordable Care Act (ACA) qualified policies. Results reflect estimated recoveries from the ACA risk mitigation programs."
Later it says the "risk mitigation" was $257 million. So, in other words, they had $274 million of losses before the risk mitigation programs of $257 million, leaving them with a net loss of $17 million in the ACA qualified IFP business.
Risk mitigation programs are going away.
It states in a couple places that it was Individual insurance sales that increased significantly, not group health or other employee benefits. In the Employee benefits section, it shows profit increasing 113% more than Q3 of 2013. So, the losses were specifically in the IFP category.
Bottom line - I'll believe commission comeback when I see it.
Bottom line - Poorly anticipated Adverse Selection.
http://ir.assurant.com/files/doc_ne...-3Q14EarningsRelease-10-29-14_v001_g5081v.pdf
See the Health section of page 3. They had $6.6 Million in PROFITS last year by Quarter 3 of 2013. This year, by Quarter 3 of 2014, they had $17 Million in net LOSSES. Their financials state a loss of 609% over the first 9 months of 2014 versus the same 9 months of 2013. That's huge.
In the Health section of page 3, it says, "Net operating loss in third quarter 2014 was driven by increased claims from Affordable Care Act (ACA) qualified policies. Results reflect estimated recoveries from the ACA risk mitigation programs."
Later it says the "risk mitigation" was $257 million. So, in other words, they had $274 million of losses before the risk mitigation programs of $257 million, leaving them with a net loss of $17 million in the ACA qualified IFP business.
Risk mitigation programs are going away.
It states in a couple places that it was Individual insurance sales that increased significantly, not group health or other employee benefits. In the Employee benefits section, it shows profit increasing 113% more than Q3 of 2013. So, the losses were specifically in the IFP category.
Bottom line - I'll believe commission comeback when I see it.
Bottom line - Poorly anticipated Adverse Selection.
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From everything I've read in forums about Assurant over recent months, their Major Medical was/is superior in every regard for people with chronic illnesses. They went above and beyond ObamaCare standards. A noble deed, but...
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At what point in the future, I will have to pay Assurant to be able to sell their policies?
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In CA, Assurant offers fantastic networks above the other carriers (save Cigna).
They offer Aetna Signature Admin PPO, Multiplan and PHCS. Only PPO statewide (no EPOs) and sold in all counties/rating areas. They were pricey and metal tier benefit equal to the other carriers, but the network choice was the driver.
At Christmas time they reduced comp to 1% in CA (and AZ), a commission amount that was either market driven or, as I suspect, driven by state commission requirements. Back in the day Aetna paid 0 on HIPAA plans until CA reminded them they had to pay some comp, so they retroed a couple of years on those plans at 1%. That was probably in 2010.
Cigna took a more measured approach by adjusting commission to tier and limiting sales to only 8-10 counties statewide. Great network and they pay 5% Bronze/Silver and 2% Gold/Platinum. Cigna also eliminated in CA all online quoting for Gold/Platinum tiers (only quote Bronze/Silver) so you have to use a rate sheet for Gold and for Platinum you have to actually call Cigna broker services and get the quote over the phone.
They offer Aetna Signature Admin PPO, Multiplan and PHCS. Only PPO statewide (no EPOs) and sold in all counties/rating areas. They were pricey and metal tier benefit equal to the other carriers, but the network choice was the driver.
At Christmas time they reduced comp to 1% in CA (and AZ), a commission amount that was either market driven or, as I suspect, driven by state commission requirements. Back in the day Aetna paid 0 on HIPAA plans until CA reminded them they had to pay some comp, so they retroed a couple of years on those plans at 1%. That was probably in 2010.
Cigna took a more measured approach by adjusting commission to tier and limiting sales to only 8-10 counties statewide. Great network and they pay 5% Bronze/Silver and 2% Gold/Platinum. Cigna also eliminated in CA all online quoting for Gold/Platinum tiers (only quote Bronze/Silver) so you have to use a rate sheet for Gold and for Platinum you have to actually call Cigna broker services and get the quote over the phone.
Truly, Assurant is elite, as Dave020 just mentioned in the post above. They have great service (to the agent and to the client). Their networks are HUGE. They even have the Mayo Clinic in-network, which is important here in AZ since Scottsdale has a Mayo Clinic and Mayo Hospital. They offered some awesome Platinum plans, although it was very pricey. Anyone with medical conditions and some money would choose it. With guarantee issue, that was a problem!
This clearly illustrates the difference in broker driven sales vs navigator or consumer direct.
Consumers and navigators aren't sharp enough to look for and appreciate the value of a broad network and relatively low OOP for those with chronic, expensive conditions.
This was a perfect storm for adverse selection.
Assurant apparently failed to realize this and they are paying the price.
I haven't sold Assurant in years other than an occasional STM or dental plan. Last year I sold 10 IFP plans with them and only sold Plat plans. It was a sweet deal for my clients once they realized why they should pay a few $$ more vs someone like Humana that also had a broad network.
It was a great deal for my client and a good deal for me.
But it was doomed to fail.
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