What's Wrong with AFLAC ?
- Thread starter Bruklynstu
- Start date
rmorris
Expert
- 46
It's not exactly sub'ing them out. The company is first and foremost a group benefits brokerage. Over time, we've expanded to broaden our products and services. So while the majority of our employee either sale/service/support group benefits being medical and ancillary, we also have some specialized employees as well for the gaps that we could not fill by the group benefits:
Aflac - have 3 agents in house that refer business to us and us to them. Our setup is such that both the Aflac reps and our company split any and all commission accordingly.
Individual - I run all individual as group agents used to just send a BCBS or Aetna app and say 'here fill this out'. Now I quote them properly.
401(k)/Retirement Plan - In house qualified plan advisor that also works like the Aflac rep. We refer him in our existing clients and he also brings in his own business to share on the group side.
So everything is run through the agency and the parties all get splits accordingly. It works great for everyone involved and we aren't just 'giving away' business to subs.
I need to go back and look and not trying to get in a pissing contest, but I'm fairly certain when it comes to the most common major injuries Colonial is higher and sometimes significantly. If you haven't seen Colonial's new accident plan which is soon to roll out, you may want to give it a look.
On cancer plan's I like Colonials pricing a little better, the benefits seem to be about equal, but the composite rating which Colonial has vs. age rating banding for Aflac can be a pretty good savings.
Glad to hear things are going good though, in this economy we need all the business we can get.
On cancer plan's I like Colonials pricing a little better, the benefits seem to be about equal, but the composite rating which Colonial has vs. age rating banding for Aflac can be a pretty good savings.
Glad to hear things are going good though, in this economy we need all the business we can get.
rmorris
Expert
- 46
You've sparked a good question - for agents; how does Colonial work? Do you just become licensed similar to the major medical carriers and you receive commissions off of plans you sell? You are 100% correct that as an agent, you cannot write Aflac without being Aflac certified or whatever they call it.
I honestly don't know enough about either to properly sell as I've primarily focused on Ind Health. My biased opionion stems from the success of Aflac that we've had as well as the policies and payouts I've actually seen to myself and others within our office. I'd love to learn more about both to be truthful.
You become "appointed" as a producer with Colonial and you do recieve commissions off of the various products. The training they offer, if an agent takes advantage of it, is awesome. I believe Colonial can offer their products at less cost than AFLAC because they don't spend a ton of money on advertising. Colonial gets a lot of brokerage business and other clients due to word of mouth about the quality programs they have and the support they offer.
For what it is worth, prior to entering the insurance business I managed an organization with about 35 lives. In that business we had AFLAC for the first two years of our voluntary program. Eventually, due to various issues and problems I replaced them with Colonial. The problems ceased and Colonial impressed the heck out of me so much that when I retired I went to work for them!! I had to file a claim or two and over the years a lot of my guys did as well. Colonial bent over backwards to make sure every one was happy if there was ever an issue.
To be fair to your customers and yourself you should give Colonial a look. They have been dealing with brokers for a long, long time. As a matter of fact working with brokers like yourself has been a core part of their business for a long time, unlike AFLAC. Colonial's enrollment system, Harmony, has gotten some great reviews in the voluntary industry, and they have consistently gotten high customer satisfactons reviews as well. Just look at Benefits Magazine and you will see what I'm talking about.
Also, I primarily focus on health for small groups, when I talk to business owners, a LOT of them have had problems with AFLAC and have dropped the program. But, the owners I talked to about Colonial by and large say they like the company and are very pleased.
I would urge you to consider doing this. One day when you have time, cold call say 20 businesses and ask them if they have AFLAC or Colonial and see what they say. If the situation is like in my area you will know without doubt who you need to be with.
If you would like, shoot me a PM with some contact information and I'll have someone call you. I seriously doubt it would be a waste of your time and then you could make a decision as to which company is really the best for you and your clients. After all, if you are like I am, you don't want some company pissing off your health clients giving you a bad rap.
For what it is worth, prior to entering the insurance business I managed an organization with about 35 lives. In that business we had AFLAC for the first two years of our voluntary program. Eventually, due to various issues and problems I replaced them with Colonial. The problems ceased and Colonial impressed the heck out of me so much that when I retired I went to work for them!! I had to file a claim or two and over the years a lot of my guys did as well. Colonial bent over backwards to make sure every one was happy if there was ever an issue.
To be fair to your customers and yourself you should give Colonial a look. They have been dealing with brokers for a long, long time. As a matter of fact working with brokers like yourself has been a core part of their business for a long time, unlike AFLAC. Colonial's enrollment system, Harmony, has gotten some great reviews in the voluntary industry, and they have consistently gotten high customer satisfactons reviews as well. Just look at Benefits Magazine and you will see what I'm talking about.
Also, I primarily focus on health for small groups, when I talk to business owners, a LOT of them have had problems with AFLAC and have dropped the program. But, the owners I talked to about Colonial by and large say they like the company and are very pleased.
I would urge you to consider doing this. One day when you have time, cold call say 20 businesses and ask them if they have AFLAC or Colonial and see what they say. If the situation is like in my area you will know without doubt who you need to be with.
If you would like, shoot me a PM with some contact information and I'll have someone call you. I seriously doubt it would be a waste of your time and then you could make a decision as to which company is really the best for you and your clients. After all, if you are like I am, you don't want some company pissing off your health clients giving you a bad rap.
Last edited:
rmorris
Expert
- 46
Good deal. I'll definitely check out their products a little more in-depth as I have time. With the appointment capability it may be that I like their products more from a selfish standpoint and getting the commissions.
However, I think one of the biggest reasons our design has worked is that we have those 3 Aflac reps in-office and they do any and all claims as well as selling. It definitely helps to have an agent on your side that knows the system and the correct contacts to resolve issues compared to just dealing direct with Aflac. Pretty much the same way our health products work.
I can't say that I'll be moving my personal Aflac policies to Colonial yet, and I know our brokerage will keep the Aflac relationship, but y'all have at least peaked my interest into the Colonial products.
So let's throw a curveball...who's heard anything about the new Humana voluntary products said to be releasing this summer to the individual market?
However, I think one of the biggest reasons our design has worked is that we have those 3 Aflac reps in-office and they do any and all claims as well as selling. It definitely helps to have an agent on your side that knows the system and the correct contacts to resolve issues compared to just dealing direct with Aflac. Pretty much the same way our health products work.
I can't say that I'll be moving my personal Aflac policies to Colonial yet, and I know our brokerage will keep the Aflac relationship, but y'all have at least peaked my interest into the Colonial products.
So let's throw a curveball...who's heard anything about the new Humana voluntary products said to be releasing this summer to the individual market?
I don't know how busy you are with health insurance. However, if you open and enroll a group with Colonial it can be some pretty decent money. Some Colonial reps just open new groups letting others do the enrollment. I prefer to perform both functions myself as I am relatively new in the business and need all the income I can get. Plus, it gives me complete control of what goes on.
keeptruckin
Expert
- 29
Yes they have a school you have to visit to learn how to sell and in my area it turned out to be about 80 miles away althought they offer you hotel rooms . Still it is nice to take care of the home and not go away for three days and not get paid on top of it. Too many hurdles to jump through. they do a backround check that is seems to be more investigative than the FBI. doesn't matter that you just were cleared by the state when you got licensed(felons).
Seems to me the old odgs who are in control are more interested in throwing partys and having meetings about the same subject week after week. giving you the same memorandum five times over. ask a question about how the system works and you get shushed. You can't ask that till they have you in the clear. What a waste of time and it really turned me off to the insurance business. I know it all ain't bad but what a hard knock. I wasted three months on them between the itnerview and going to school and taking the test which I could have taken sooner had the duck not steered me to the wrong website for visiting your information with the state.
So than they want you to sell it but try not to say the name AFLAC ..I like to be able to sell something that is worthy and that didn't give me the impression they were proud.
Seems to me the old odgs who are in control are more interested in throwing partys and having meetings about the same subject week after week. giving you the same memorandum five times over. ask a question about how the system works and you get shushed. You can't ask that till they have you in the clear. What a waste of time and it really turned me off to the insurance business. I know it all ain't bad but what a hard knock. I wasted three months on them between the itnerview and going to school and taking the test which I could have taken sooner had the duck not steered me to the wrong website for visiting your information with the state.
So than they want you to sell it but try not to say the name AFLAC ..I like to be able to sell something that is worthy and that didn't give me the impression they were proud.
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