Health carriers vs. sales agents (rant)

somarco · 05-12-2007, 03:43 PM

All of my Time policies are on quarterly bill. Most of my policies with GR are also on quarterly.

Bob_The_Insurance_Guy · 05-12-2007, 05:28 PM

100% of my business (MA is the exception) is As Earned. I NEVER want to be in a position to pay money back, or owe it to an insurance company.

As for people getting into this business with no money, I think that is a moronic thing to do. I started with a pizza delivery job, working nights and weekends, my first 6 months.

Here's how it went:

9:00 - 11:30 Network and do insurance business
11:30 - 1:00 Deliver pizza for lunch crowd
2:00 - 5:30 Network and do insurance business
5:30 - 11:00 Deliver pizza for dinner crowd

Saturday and Sundays - work open to close, if possible.

On tips alone, I easily had several hundred dollars in cash every week. Then every two weeks, I'd get a check for $150. I started with Berkshire Life Insurance Company, who paid me a few hundred bucks every two weeks, on top of my pizza delivery job.

I don't like being "fronted" money. You're not doing me any favors. I don't like laying awake at night, wondering, if a deal falls through, or someone stops payment, how am I going to pay the bills next month.

Pizza delivery was great for me. On every run, I would get a slip of paper with the persons name and address on it. Kept it in a file box, called three weeks later, and no one every noticed that I was their pizza delivery man. Only had one time, when someone I knew ordered. I went to the manager, asked him to give that delivery to someone else, and let me take the next. No problem.

The only company that gets my business that doesn't respect me is the Evil Empire. All the other companies (Kaiser, Assurant, World, Celtic, IAC, Humana, Coventry) have all shown me that they value what I do to help them continue making huge profits.

Companies who have shown me that my little, piddly amount of business means nothing to them, and therefore, I will no longer write with:

Golden Rule
Aetna
MetLife
Continental General
Conseco (they are coming back into the state of GA)

David C · 05-12-2007, 05:54 PM

In my early insurance days I remember going to the post office to get my check. I'd open the envelope on my way to the car invaribly to see my advance check was 1/3 what I'd been expecting. Granted I wasn't much of a salesman back then and did use a little pressure to close but those chargebacks taught me a lesson. I'd rather have the insurance company owe me!

healthagent · 05-12-2007, 10:29 PM

Down to the penny you make the same whether you choose as-earned or an advance. I love the field of sales and the excitement that goes with it. I don't find too much exciting about closing a sale and waiting 3 months to get $32.54. I too get as-earned from many carriers. When those checks hit my feeling is "whatever."

somarco · 05-13-2007, 07:26 AM

Conseco (they are coming back into the state of GA)

I am losing track. Is this their 2nd or 3rd trip back from the grave?

TheSalesWolf · 05-14-2007, 12:27 PM

Unfortunately Individual Health Insurance isn't as much about the renewals as the first year commissions so I like to stick with carriers that annualize commission as much as possible.

Assurant is great for that.
I have an annualized commission for Golden Rule. ( I can set you guys up on this if you haven't done any business with them in a while)

In California however no one annualizes commission and it's a tough market because there are so many agents competing for the biz.

I recommend looking to sell in other states where Assurant or United Health Care are good choice and focus and doing some sales there.

This way you can continue to build up a book of business slowly in CA and increase revenue instantly by selling in other states.

Bob_The_Insurance_Guy · 05-14-2007, 01:09 PM

They're trying to roll out some med supp plans.

Not with me as an agent!

healthagent · 05-14-2007, 02:04 PM

Originally Posted by TheSalesWolf

Unfortunately Individual Health Insurance isn't as much about the renewals as the first year commissions so I like to stick with carriers that annualize commission as much as possible.

Assurant is great for that.
I have an annualized commission for Golden Rule. ( I can set you guys up on this if you haven't done any business with them in a while)

In California however no one annualizes commission and it's a tough market because there are so many agents competing for the biz.

I recommend looking to sell in other states where Assurant or United Health Care are good choice and focus and doing some sales there.

This way you can continue to build up a book of business slowly in CA and increase revenue instantly by selling in other states.

The advance is an interest-free loan and a great way to build your business. Bascially, you're builing your business with the insurance company's money and it's a loan you won't have to repay if you write business correctly.

Slam out 15K of AV at 20% for a month and you have $12K in your pocket. Now you can really ramp up marketing - hard. Almost none of that business should come off the books within a year.

Yes, you can start as-earned but then you're coming out of pocket you build your business from your savings. I'd rather use the insurance company's money then my own especially when the risk is almost zero.

At the second year you have the safety net - it's called renewals. 6% first renewal doing $500,000 is $30,000 in renewals. I'll never stop taking advances - fantastic system, zero liability. Now...if you slam people or sell junk and you have business peeling off the books then you need as-earned. Chargebacks will kill you. I can't personally remember the last chargeback.