I'm Punting My Local BGA, Need Some Feedback

[bfsinsuranceguy]

Sam,

The problem may be that your BGA just doesn't understand what you want or what you need from them. My family has been a BGA since 1962 and I represent the third generation in the business. We pride ourselves on being a concierge BGA. We are very much hands on with every case that we handle. There is an understanding as to what each of our brokers expects from us and what we expect of them. Not everyone has the same needs.

With regard to submitting business directly, almost all of the carriers we work with (there are about 20) do not allow business to be submitted directly by the broker. There are some, like Assurity, that allow this however. For our purposes, we like to manage the process so that we can make sure the cases are going to the company that best suits the client and their needs as well as selecting the company that will provide our broker with the least resistence in underwriting.

You also mentioned that you want to make certain all comp comes directly to you, not through the BGA. This is the only way that we work. We do not wish to be an accounting firm, trying to make heads or tails of what each producer is owed. We recommend that our producers are set up on direct deposit with all carriers they contract with. This allows you to be paid directly and speeds up the commission process.

Regarding cases taking 11 1/2 weeks, that should not be the norm, but it is certainly possible. It just depends on the case. If it is a large case, there is financial underwriting and more complex test on the Paramed. Sometimes the doctor's offices do not cooperate in providing APS reports. Not everything is smooth all of the time, but it should be most of the time. We underwrote $21 Million of coverage on one client, split between two companies in 11 days. Again, this is not the norm, but with all of the paperwork in good order and a little pressure from us in the right places, we got the cases done. We had a satisfied client and a satisfied broker.

BGAs have their place in the brokerage industry. We perceive our role as a BGA as one of support for brokers. We are there, in the background, helping to guide the process, run the illustrations, order the parameds and APS, negotiate with underwriters and provide you with a finished product. We view ourselves as educators, making certain that our brokers are knowledgable and informed of new products and regulations. We also pay a fair compensation package.

If you would like to speak, I can be reached via email at [email protected]. If you email me, I will send you contact information so that we may have a discussion to see if I can help change your perception of what a BGA is or should be.

 

[CFP83]

Sam,

The problem may be that your BGA just doesn't understand what you want or what you need from them. My family has been a BGA since 1962 and I represent the third generation in the business. We pride ourselves on being a concierge BGA. We are very much hands on with every case that we handle. There is an understanding as to what each of our brokers expects from us and what we expect of them. Not everyone has the same needs.

With regard to submitting business directly, almost all of the carriers we work with (there are about 20) do not allow business to be submitted directly by the broker. There are some, like Assurity, that allow this however. For our purposes, we like to manage the process so that we can make sure the cases are going to the company that best suits the client and their needs as well as selecting the company that will provide our broker with the least resistence in underwriting.

You also mentioned that you want to make certain all comp comes directly to you, not through the BGA. This is the only way that we work. We do not wish to be an accounting firm, trying to make heads or tails of what each producer is owed. We recommend that our producers are set up on direct deposit with all carriers they contract with. This allows you to be paid directly and speeds up the commission process.

Regarding cases taking 11 1/2 weeks, that should not be the norm, but it is certainly possible. It just depends on the case. If it is a large case, there is financial underwriting and more complex test on the Paramed. Sometimes the doctor's offices do not cooperate in providing APS reports. Not everything is smooth all of the time, but it should be most of the time. We underwrote $21 Million of coverage on one client, split between two companies in 11 days. Again, this is not the norm, but with all of the paperwork in good order and a little pressure from us in the right places, we got the cases done. We had a satisfied client and a satisfied broker.

BGAs have their place in the brokerage industry. We perceive our role as a BGA as one of support for brokers. We are there, in the background, helping to guide the process, run the illustrations, order the parameds and APS, negotiate with underwriters and provide you with a finished product. We view ourselves as educators, making certain that our brokers are knowledgable and informed of new products and regulations. We also pay a fair compensation package.

If you would like to speak, I can be reached via email at [email protected]. If you email me, I will send you contact information so that we may have a discussion to see if I can help change your perception of what a BGA is or should be.

You addressed your post to "sam" but I was the original poster on this thread......I think you meant to address your reply to CFP83..?

my abbreviated reply to your post would be this.....
I have been in the business just shy of a decade.....not an eternity whatsoever in the insurance industry scheme of things, however long enough to know what I need from a BGA and what doesn't work for me and my particular practice.
I have worked with 6 BGA's now during this time.....large ones's like Crump and Ash brokerage and also smaller one's who promised more of a "hands on" and a "boutique feel". In all accounts I have found many to have there pro's and con's....in the end though there has always been one common thread: the more hands there are on an applications between the "insured and insurance company" the more lag time and multiple lines of commincation that is needed.
Given, with my production I do not expect to have a direct contract with ANY carrier, however I feel that if me and my team can commincate directly with the home office as well as see and respond to underwriting updates on a daily basis, its really tough for a BGA who is handling hundreds of cases to be on top of things like my team and I are.

Since my original posts I have spoken to a handful of IMO's/BGA's. Two of them have really caught my attention. These two have stated that based upon the internal human resoureces I have on my team and my experience, there should be no problem arranging for me to communicate directly with the carrier, send applications directly to the carrier, be paid directly from the carrier, and simply let them as the IMO provide value "as needed" and collect their slice of the commision. This is all I have been wanting all along.

 

[scagnt83]

Sam,

The problem may be that your BGA just doesn't understand what you want or what you need from them. My family has been a BGA since 1962 and I represent the third generation in the business. We pride ourselves on being a concierge BGA. We are very much hands on with every case that we handle. There is an understanding as to what each of our brokers expects from us and what we expect of them. Not everyone has the same needs.

With regard to submitting business directly, almost all of the carriers we work with (there are about 20) do not allow business to be submitted directly by the broker. There are some, like Assurity, that allow this however. For our purposes, we like to manage the process so that we can make sure the cases are going to the company that best suits the client and their needs as well as selecting the company that will provide our broker with the least resistence in underwriting.

You also mentioned that you want to make certain all comp comes directly to you, not through the BGA. This is the only way that we work. We do not wish to be an accounting firm, trying to make heads or tails of what each producer is owed. We recommend that our producers are set up on direct deposit with all carriers they contract with. This allows you to be paid directly and speeds up the commission process.

Regarding cases taking 11 1/2 weeks, that should not be the norm, but it is certainly possible. It just depends on the case. If it is a large case, there is financial underwriting and more complex test on the Paramed. Sometimes the doctor's offices do not cooperate in providing APS reports. Not everything is smooth all of the time, but it should be most of the time. We underwrote $21 Million of coverage on one client, split between two companies in 11 days. Again, this is not the norm, but with all of the paperwork in good order and a little pressure from us in the right places, we got the cases done. We had a satisfied client and a satisfied broker.

BGAs have their place in the brokerage industry. We perceive our role as a BGA as one of support for brokers. We are there, in the background, helping to guide the process, run the illustrations, order the parameds and APS, negotiate with underwriters and provide you with a finished product. We view ourselves as educators, making certain that our brokers are knowledgable and informed of new products and regulations. We also pay a fair compensation package.

If you would like to speak, I can be reached via email at [email protected]. If you email me, I will send you contact information so that we may have a discussion to see if I can help change your perception of what a BGA is or should be.

So basically you are telling the OP that he doesnt know what he really needs and that you know better.

You say that his BGA doesnt understand what he wants or what he needs. But from your post it is very clear that you dont either. You offered him exactly what he said he is not looking for.

The problem with most all uplines is that THEY want to tell ME what is best for MY business.

And there are plenty of carriers that let you submit business directly.
To say that most do not is a lie that IMOs tell agents.
And they do it for one of two reasons:
1. To give them "control" of the process. Basically to give them something to do to try and justify not giving you a higher comp because of "all the value they add from case processing".
2. So they can try to steer business to where they want by telling you there is a better choice than the company you chose


Im sure you disagree with that statement. But it is the cold hard truth.

Every company has a UW guide. They are not hard to read. With a full time uw on his team to help direct & process cases; there is no way a BGA could compete with the efficiency of his setup.
Nor can they compete with his teams case processing ability.

I work with the "executive/platinum/whatever team it is called" with a fairly large imo. And yes, they have a smaller caseload and process things quicker than the standard case managers.
But they still cant compare to my assistant.


You say you view your role as an "educator" who guides the process and gives a finished product. Well that is the agents job.
First and foremost it is an uplines job to provide and facilitate contracting & communication with the carriers. Not to BLOCK communication with the carriers.

With all due respect to your business; it sounds like you dont want agents thinking for themselves.
And that is one of the biggest dangers to our industry imo. We have all of these uplines and everyone of them has an agenda to some extent.
If agents let uplines dictate their business they are fulfilling the uplines agenda, not their own client centrist agenda.

How is an agent supposed to learn without running their own illustrations?
If an agent is selling UL or WL without knowing how to run their own illustrations that is a bad thing imo. And a dangerous thing for the client and agent.

I actually had an IMO ask me "why do you need to login to the carrier website? our website is better and has all your case updates.". Basically they didnt want me accessing MY own cases. They also told me about how 2 other companies had much better products... the funny thing is, they had half the knowledge I did when it came to that particular product! (& of course the comp was higher on the 2 they suggested)
I dropped them after that case and told them exactly why. All of a sudden its "no problem" for me to access MY web portal for the carriers.... but it was way too late for them at that point.


It isnt the carriers that have a problem with agents communicating with them, it is the IMOs/BGAs/FMOs. Very few carriers have a problem with direct communication from agents. That is a myth (lie) perpetuated by the IMOs/BGAs.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[bfsinsuranceguy]

SCAGNT83,

Thanks for the welcome to the forum!

I am not against a little lively discussion, in fact, I think it often helps to tease out the real issues. I am not quite sure where you think I said that we know better than the agent what they need. We are and have always been client centric. We represent 20 carriers because we know that there is no "one size fits all" solution for YOUR clients. We have been in the business for 50+ years because of the working relationships we build with our producers.

We do not seek to "control" the situation in order to meet our own agenda of feeding business to a certain carrier. Nor do we try to hold the "control" over our producers heads in order to pay less comp. We are more than happy to pay top street level comp to producers because we do not play games. But if you want to talk about fair compensatoin, what about the brokers that work over the BGA and jump to a different BGA for 1 or 2 extra points?

When we develop relationships with producers, they are for the long haul. We are an office with three family members and one case manager and we treat our brokers business as if it was our own. One of the three named members of the agency touches and works on each and every case that comes through the door. At the end of the day, it is our name on the door and we take pride in that fact. We need to be able to look ourselves in the mirror and know that we are helping, yes helping, the producers to do the best thing for their clients. This business is a joint effort between BGAs and brokers. Without BGAs there is no independent channel (except for a few PPGA companies like Ohio National). Same statement goes for producers, without you, there is no independent channel. This is why we feel it is important to work together.

We have no problem with you setting up your own access to the company websites. In fact, we encourage it. We have nothing to hide. If you want to run your own illustrations, we have no problem with that, you can do it on our website. We give you the access for free to something we pay thousands of dollars a year for. It is not a problem. The producers we work with usually like us to run the illustrations so they don't have to, but that is their choice. We just happen to have an intimate knowledge of each of our carriers, what their sweet spots are and how they may handle certain underwriting situations. It is not because we have an agenda. Well maybe we do, it is to make a brokers life a little easier and to maybe cut down on processing time within the carriers.

With regard to the education part of my comments that you seem to take offense to, I am not sure what has offended you. Yes, it is your job to educate the clients, not ours. We don't want to get involved with your clients. We want to help educate our brokers. There are a lot of companies out there with a lot of products. Those products have a lot of nuances. It is our job to make sure that the "field" is aware of product changes, product features and how these may fit in certain situations.

If you ever want to have a conversation and maybe learn a little bit about how we (our agency) operates, please feel free to get in touch with me. No all BGAs are the same. There are some out there with agendas, I agree with you on that. But, we are not all bad. Some of us just want to work with producers and help them with their business by provided fair comp and great service.

Have a great day everyone!

 

[jft]

sam just looking around at BGA and would have liked to have a name without giving out my email. thanks for the post anyway.

 

[Rfran027]

When I first read and bookmarked this forum thread a few years ago I had been a wholesaler for almost 15 years representing Pacific Life, Penn Mutual and Minnisota Life. I was intreged by the sentiments expressed on this forum thread since I had observed some of the inner workings of many BGAs and IMOs. I had became good friends with many individuals of these firms and grew to respect their extensive experiences and vast knowledge of the industry. I helped them design cases, provided product information and marketing materials to support their agents. I never could have thought I'd ever work on that side of the business. But never say never.

A couple years later after much contemplation I joined a BGA firm and quickly experienced a surprprizing realization that the insurance world was even bigger and challenging than I ever imagined in those ivory towered home office walls. I was not only working with advisors like I had before but now I was competing in a universe of other BGAs and IMOs claiming essentially the same "value propositions" and "top carrier contracts." What unique value can I provide agents that would help them and their businesses become the best they can be? What would make their lives and the lives of their staff better? What would distinguish me and my talents appealing enough to agents that they would keep them coming back for more?

Well, initially it didn't take long before I became overwhelmed whit finding a solution. But because I am my father's son I was reminded of two simple bits of wisdom:

1. A great foolball coach said to his team behind at halftime: "Men, forget trying a lot of fancy plays. It all comes down to this one simple thing - take this ball across that goal line and do it more than our opponent."

2. We have two ears and one mouth. Use them in the proportion.

That's what I want to do for the advisors I serve.

 

[Robert Barney]

From time to time I get a call from a broker looking for advice on where to place business. I always tell them to subscribe to this:

Broker World Magazine

The magazine is ONLY $6 per year.

In the back of the magazine, and at the website (subscriber section) there are lists of IMO's who would love to have your business.

Shop and compare.

 

[NinjaNic]

Attached is our current submitted to paid per carrier for the last 6 months. This is NOT submitted to issued--for those numbers, take off 5-10 days per carrier. You will see carriers further down the list...that is more on their end than ours (example is Transamerica--they are terrible in communicating with us or posting requirements in a timely fashion). Your IMO should be able to share these results with you.

 

[WinoBlues]

Attached is our current submitted to paid per carrier for the last 6 months. This is NOT submitted to issued--for those numbers, take off 5-10 days per carrier. You will see carriers further down the list...that is more on their end than ours (example is Transamerica--they are terrible in communicating with us or posting requirements in a timely fashion). Your IMO should be able to share these results with you.

Genworth does not surprise me. I have had them take much longer.

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Attached is our current submitted to paid per carrier for the last 6 months. This is NOT submitted to issued--for those numbers, take off 5-10 days per carrier. You will see carriers further down the list...that is more on their end than ours (example is Transamerica--they are terrible in communicating with us or posting requirements in a timely fashion). Your IMO should be able to share these results with you.

Genworth does not surprise me. I have had them take much longer. I am surprised about Protective though

 

[NinjaNic]

Genworth does not surprise me. I have had them take much longer.

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Genworth does not surprise me. I have had them take much longer. I am surprised about Protective though

My guess is that since they took on the Costco deal, they are failing to keep up with your and I's volume.