I am a fairly new agent and I'd like to get a book or something so that I can take a good history. My clients are having to call in and speak with Underwriting several times and I'm very frustrated. Can ya'll make any recommendations on a book or some literature I can read that would give me an idea as to what' pertinent to include in the history.
Yo cajun girl....ieeeee......you print off dat applicatsun and you call dem clients and say you need to know sumpn you call me and din you write da question right der on da application and keep hand written evinced........and you call underwriting and you call your client back.....lickity split..... and suck a head fer me......
Name of Applicant:
Date of Birth:
Sex:
Used tobacco in the last 12 months?
Height/Weight:
Home Address:
City, State, Zip:
Home Phone:
Cell Phone:
Work Phone:
Fax:
E-mail Address:
If Family Coverage:
Spouse's Name:
Spouse's Date of Birth:
Spouse's Sex:
Has spouse used any form of tobacco in the last 12 months?
Spouse's Height / Weight:
Age and Sex of each child:
Name and Address/Phone number of:
Current Physician:
Current Pediatrician:
Current Specialist:
Current OB/GYN:
Has anyone applying for coverage, in the past 5 years, had any surgical procedures, and, if so, what were the dates of treatment, and the final outcome? Please provide as much detail as possible.
Current Medications taken:
Name of Medication:
Daily dosage (mg/day)
Taken by which family member:
Reason for taking medication:
How long on medication:
(Please provide this information for each medication taken)
Who is your current health care provider?
What is your current family/individual deductible?
How much do you pay each month?
Would you like to include Dental and Vision coverage?
Thanks for the help! One of the companies I write for is Assurant. Doesn't seem to matter how detailed I think I am my clients have to wind up calling underwriting. If you deal with the self employed like I do they get real testy when they have to call up there 3 or 4 times. So I guess what i"M asking is are there any suggestions or a book or something I can read to help me to find out what I need to put in there so my clients won't have to call repeatedly!
Thanks ya'll!
Randee
"When life gives a southern girl lemons, she makes lemondade!"
P.S. Don't worry I sucked plenty of heads during crawfish season. MM MMMM!
Thanks for the help! One of the companies I write for is Assurant.
Me too!
Doesn't seem to matter how detailed I think I am my clients have to wind up calling underwriting.
I don't have any of my clients call underwriting unless they want to deal with headaches. Having an underwriter call is IN THE BEST INTEREST of the client, insurance company and yourself.
If you deal with the self employed like I do they get real testy when they have to call up there 3 or 4 times.
95% of my business is small business owners. what is causing your clients to call underwriting 3 or 4 times. If underwriting needs to speak with one of my clients, they speak with the client once to verify what they need to get done. 4 times for one client more than once is interesting!
So I guess what i"M asking is are there any suggestions or a book or something I can read to help me to find out what I need to put in there so my clients won't have to call repeatedly!
I have a book and it costs $10,000, but I no longer accept checks or credit cards...JUST CASH!!!
I would find out where you have done things wrong and ask the underwriter AND sales support....what you need to make sure you ALWAYS have to make sure things go smooth. Are you a GA or WA????
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[COLOR=#000066]"Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I will remember. Involve me and I will understand." Confucius
For instance, I have a client who was injured in a car wreck. I put this information in the history. I put that the client had back surgery and has had no recurrences and is perfectly healthy now. They wanted to know the exact diagnosis and exactly what type of surgery it was.
My client writes back and says:
L4-5 disk herniation with segmental instability
This was the back and auto ins covered all medical.
The elbow was just to unpinch the nerve in the right elbow.
Well then UW wants to know the exact diagnosis. So my client after the 3rd time of speaking with the customer service person hangs up on them. So I call and speak to the actual underwriter and told her the situation. She said well pinched nerve is the diagnosis and that's all I need.
So my point is..how specific do we get when doing a health history? Are there certain details I should be adding to my history if my clients have illnesses other than the obvious? How did you all become effective at taking a good health history and minimizing the amount of time it takes to get your apps approved.
Your client did nothing wrong and from what you posted gave all the info needed. When they talk on the phone to Assurant they are not talking to actual underwriters but just people paid and loosley trained to gather health information. They have good people and ones with bad attitudes. If you have a client complaint that the person was rude just remember that all of those calls are recorded and they will indeed pull the call and listen to it if you complain.
I've also gone 'round and 'round with Assurant, especially when there wasn't a diagnosis:
Client: "I had chest pain a year ago, went in and got tested and the doctor said I was fine."
Assurant: "What was the diagnosis"
Client: "Nothing. They ran tests and gave me a clean bill of health."
Assurant: "Yes, but what was the diagnosis for your chest pain?"
Client: "Again, the doctor said everything was fine."
Assurant: "Well we'll need the diagnostic code to continue underwriting."
That's normally when I have to step in and call my dedicated underwriter.
------------------------------------ Health Insurance Agents: Training, Support, Discounts, E&O for $440 www.ihiaa.com
That's exactly what I'm running into. We need the diagnostic code and crap. My clients don't walk around with a PHD in medicine or pharmacology. How are they suppose to know the diagnostic code and stuff? Phew...ok I just needed to blow off that steam...
So can you offer me suggestion as if there's any question or details that you put in your history? I use EASE and try to put as much info in there as will fit. When it happened, meds taken, how long used, recovery?
Suggestions to make my cases close faster?!??!
THanks again John and everyone for answering. I'll be happy when I get past the Newbie stage!
I have a prospect that is going to run into the same thing now. About 4 months ago, he thought he had chest pain - went to the doc and had an EKG. Results were normal, nothing found. He is a bar owner and has to move around kegs/cases etc. - doc said that he most likely strained a muscle, nothing more, nothing less. No other health concerns outside of the flu a couple years ago.
I am going to call pre screen for a couple different carriers prior to submitting anything. In a case like this, I think it is easier to have an APS ordered with the app - that will tell them anything they want to know.
In fact, I wonder if clients should write on the app that the company can order an APS just in case they forgot anything. I think that if the client requests that one be ordered and the company does not order one, the client would have a great legal case if the company ever wanted to rescind the policy due to omission. It may sound crazy but I'm serious - The client could write "to the best of my knowledge, I have listed any and all medical conditions pertaining to me over the past "X" years - however, to be absolutely sure, please request an APS for you underwriting records".
Well.........it's just a thought. P.S. about 4 or 5 years ago, I too had chest pain and had an EKG run - everything came out normal and the doc gave me the same result - most likely a strained chest muscle. If an underwriter wanted the diagnostic code, I would have no idea under the sun what the code would be.
Most good underwriters will want to know details of the herniated disk. Some carriers will simply refuse to cover someone with a herniated disk while others will . . . God forbid . . . place a RIDER on the back.
Sometimes if there has been enough separation in time from the herniation and there has been no treatment in the past 3 years it will fly through.
It doesn't matter if the earlier claim was paid by the auto carrier or not. If future problems arise the health carrier & the auto carrier will get in a pissing match over who is responsible (unless the health carrier has addressed that already via a . . . RIDER).
Barry, chest pain can be any number of things from heartburn to a strained muscle in the chest or abdominal area. It can also be angina, a "stitch" that just wont go away, etc.
A clean EKG should suffice.
Some carriers order an APS at the drop of a hat while others are more judicious. If you client orders it just know that docs want anywhere from $40 - $85 for the information. SOMETIMES you can get the carrier to pay it if the client ordered it but not always. Some carriers will accept the information direct from the client; others don't want the info that way just in case someone decided to sanitize it before sending it on.
Most folks are not going to know ICD9 codes but if they have a UB82 it might be on there.
If there is some quetion about what might be needed, I get the client to order a copy of his medical records, a smart thing to do to keep on file and make sure there are no mistakes. I have found that most docs and facilities will give the patient a copy of their records.
Assurant's not a great place to put clients who run to the doctor complaining about some symptom yet never ends of with a diagnosis. It's a very rough ride.
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