Worth Having an Enrollment Office During OE?

[saintstigers]

There have been a couple retail health insurance stores that operated in my area last year during OE. Here's one of them as an example...

Health insurance store offers personal approach - WAFB 9 News Baton Rouge, Louisiana News, Weather, Sports

You think it's worth the additional overhead/expenses to have an enrollment office vs working leads from a home office via phone?

 

[sman]

There have been a couple retail health insurance stores that operated in my area last year during OE. Here's one of them as an example...

Health insurance store offers personal approach - WAFB 9 News Baton Rouge, Louisiana News, Weather, Sports

You think it's worth the additional overhead/expenses to have an enrollment office vs working leads from a home office via phone?

Having to set up an office on a temporary basis just doesn't appeal to me at all. Plus, do you really have a way of driving traffic to your office to pay for the added expense and work? Then what happens when you close it down after OE and people want to come in to ask a question? You'd spend a few minutes during every interview explaining that the office is only temporary and after XX date they would need to call you at a particular number that may or may not be the number at the office.

To each his own, but it wouldn't appeal to me at all. If I'm going to go through the hassle of opening an office, it would be with the intention of remaining there permanently. But in this day and age, unless you're just doing incredible volume, there's no reason to have an office (at least not for those of us who sell life and health insurance). I've had an office and I've worked from home. I prefer working from home. We have two masters on the main and one of them is my office. Works perfect for me.

 

[Yagents]

Nuff said.

and only 1 percent bought coverage from the new, much-publicized brick-and-mortar health insurance stores.

Navigators beat agents in fight for young PPACA exchange plan buyers | LifeHealthPro

 

[saintstigers]

Good article...surprised that HIX enrollees (in all age bands) used Navigators a little more than Agents.

 

[Yagents]

Off exchange a different story:

50%+ agent sold
50% other
0% HC.gov
0% Navigator

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Off exchange a different story:

50%+ agent sold
50% other
0% HC.gov
0% Navigator

Damn I'm good......
just read this tidbit.

Health exchange: High-income prospects more likely to buy through Web | LifeHealthPro

Brokers helped 52 percent of the high-income buyers who had in-person help, compared with just 27 percent of the moderate-income buyers who had in-person help.

See also: 10 PPACA exchanges with upmarket appeal

But the high-income QHP buyers weren't all that likely to need in-person help: About 66 percent did everything online, compared with just 33 percent of the moderate-income QHP buyers.

The numbers suggest that brokers may already be serving a high percentage of the high-income individual health prospects in New York state who want in-person help with applying for insurance.

 

[FLM2]

I've given this some thought because I have a virtual office very close to my home office and could easily do a 3 month full time executive suite for both Medicare and ACA enrollments.

The issue for me is I have lots of clients who will need face to face meetings on a different coast (switching Medicare and some groups of employees) and will not be able to staff an office all of the time so have given up on the idea.

What I might do, though, is an EDDM drop in my local neighborhood (which is reasonably affluent) and give them some options to meet with me at my local office-I could set up a couple of days a week where I will be there to handle walk in traffic and those who make appointments.

 

[AllenChicago]

There are a lot of professions that have a section of their home set aside for their business...and their business sign in the front yard, or mounted over the side entrance. In my area most are accountants, hair stylists, notaries, funeral homes, attorneys. Haven't seen any insurance agency/home combos, but there must be a few somewhere in the USA. Some cities restrict what professions can be run out of the residence.