What is Your Opinion on Packaging Products with Health Insurance?

[OregonDave]

I'm talking about people making 25k to 60k, family of 1-4, preferably 2-4. The little old lady with a secretarial job, 4/5 the way to retirement, not a lot to lose but no way to recover it if she loses it. She will keep a $40 CI policy until it matures.

Or the redneck family with 5 kids all in lacrosse and football, they will buy and keep that accident plan in a heartbeat, and the only way they would cancel it is if the father loses his job. Customers for life.

Obviously there are exceptions but even the poorest of families will buy one or the other, and will probably buy dental, and maybe consider life. There's at least 3 sales there and you helped a client keep his house too.

 

[somarco]

There's at least 3 sales there

Thanks for showing your true colors.

 

[sman]

I have yet to see a dental plan worth the money. In my opinion it's a complaint waiting to happen.

The phone rings and it's the client you sold dental insurance to:

"This dental insurance is a waste of money. After paying what they don't pay plus the premium, I would have been better off without it. I can't believe you sold me this piece of crap. I'm canceling the dental insurance and when I get the opportunity to change agents on my health insurance I'll be doing that as well."

I discourage everyone who asks me about dental insurance unless their dentist participates in a discount plan. And even then I tell them to proceed with caution.

 

[OregonDave]

Thanks for showing your true colors.

We are legally obligated to offer as much coverage as it would take to ward off the worst possible real outcomes for the client. I take that duty very seriously, and it is rewarding when I do it right.

My partner and I, former national sales manager for AHCP and a founder of Velapoint, have debated the viability of selling ancillary to folks who are lower middle class or working poor with their heads barely above water. He was of the opinion after 30 years in the industry that the folks who would lose everything without ancillary coverage display some of the best retention rates when sold small, inexpensive ancillary policies that provide just enough coverage to cover their out of pocket costs. Policies like that are kept for life. He's completely right and to this day I sell ancillary to ACA clients unless they are getting a silver plan with massive cost sharing reductions, and even then I urge them to get CI.

As for dental, just don't sell the UCT or Medico products, not because they don't pay claims but because they don't answer the phone regularly and it infuriates clients. In fact, just sell Starmount Life. $2000 in benefits with free cleanings twice a year + xrays for $34/month or less seems pretty reasonable to me. They even have a cleanings and vision plan for $14/month.

34x12=$408

 

[sman]

We are legally obligated to offer as much coverage as it would take to ward off the worst possible real outcomes for the client. I take that duty very seriously, and it is rewarding when I do it right. My partner and I, former national sales manager for AHCP and a founder of Velapoint, have debated the viability of selling ancillary to folks who are lower middle class or working poor with their heads barely above water. He was of the opinion after 30 years in the industry that the folks who would lose everything without ancillary coverage display some of the best retention rates when sold small, inexpensive ancillary policies that provide just enough coverage to cover their out of pocket costs. Policies like that are kept for life. He's completely right and to this day I sell ancillary to ACA clients unless they are getting a silver plan with massive cost sharing reductions, and even then I urge them to get CI. As for dental, just don't sell the UCT or Medico products, not because they don't pay claims but because they don't answer the phone regularly and it infuriates clients. In fact, just sell Starmount Life. $2000 in benefits with free cleanings twice a year + xrays for $34/month or less seems pretty reasonable to me. They even have a cleanings and vision plan for $14/month. 34x12=$408

Thanks for doing the math on the dental plan. I would have never guessed 34x12 is 408. Ironically, I can get two cleanings and an x-ray for less than $408 per year. As a matter of fact, for more than $100 less per year.

And as we all know (or should know especially if pimping dental insurance), "free" is rarely free when it comes to dental insurance. There's that whole "we pay a percentage (85% for example) of usual and customary charges". Even if a company pays 100% of U&C I'm not sure I've ever seen a dentist who doesn't charge more than U&C which leaves the insured still paying out of pocket. As I said, I discourage everyone from wasting their money on dental insurance (unless a third party is paying for some or all of it).

As for the other ancillary products covering the potential out of pocket for insureds, given the fact the the national average out of pocket is minimal compared to MOOP's, I just can't see them being worth the money. Maybe an accident plan for families with active children. The other issue is that much of a person's out of pocket cost for medical is outpatient charges (dr visits, labs, tests, etc), most ancillary products don't pay for these items. There's a reason insurance companies are pushing these products, they have a high profit margin. Just like extended warranties on electronics.

Just one man's experience over the last 26 years in the business.

 

[somarco]

We are legally obligated to offer as much coverage as it would take to ward off the worst possible real outcomes for the client.

I have never seen that statute. Perhaps you can link to it.

 

[GreenSky]

We are legally obligated to offer as much coverage as it would take to ward off the worst possible real outcomes for the client. I take that duty very seriously, and it is rewarding when I do it right.

Getting teeth cleaning certainly is one of the worst outcomes but can we also assume you always recommend LTC with lifetime benefits with 5% compounding, DI at the maximum available, CI for at least $500K, Earthquake and Flood, and Zombie Coverage?

Since you mention the legally obligated to offer, perhaps you can show me that in any of the gazillion laws we are subject to follow.

BTW, how tall is that high horse you ride?

Rick

 

[OregonDave]

I believe it was a Man Law I saw in a Miller ad. That or an article regarding beneficiaries suing agents for not trying hard enough to get their parents to buy enough insurance to pay off the family's loans on the estate. I can't remember where the cases were tried but I recall the articles and implications. The implication was to be pessimistic in response to the prospect's sense of cornucopia, and recommend that they insure themselves against the worst that could happen to them.