I'm Punting My Local BGA, Need Some Feedback

[CFP83]

75% of my life business I do "direct" with the following carriers:

• Penn Mutual: no BGA needed
• John Hancock: through a local GA
• Midland: through direct contract
• Assurity:through direct contract

Almost all of my cases are on insureds age 50 and over. Since my practice revolves around financial-planning almost all of our clients are baby-boomers and those who are already retired.

So here's my issue.....25% of my cases have "issues" and need to be shopped in order for us the find the absolute best deal for the client. In 2012 this 25% came out to be 23 cases for a total of 125k of target. Here is where I have leaned on a local BGA to help me out. 2012 was horrific with this BGA, our average time in underwriting on these 23 cases was 11 1/2 weeks. This year things have been no better.

The issue is clear to my staff and I. They will NOT LET US SUBMIT APPLICATIONS DIRECTLY TO CARRIER. They require us to send all applications to them and then rely on them to followup on each case with the carrier effeciently. This has been a train-wreck.....we've found out sometimes the carrier isn't getting the application until 3 weeks after we've sent it to the BGA!
To further understand how insane this is, I have three full-time staff people who serve as our "in house underwriting team". One spent 5 years in compliance for Valmark, one was a new business cordinator for a large Mutual here locally for three years. Needless to say my staff runs circles around the BGA staff members in terms of GETTING THINGS DONE and product knowledge.


So here's where I'm at.....if I could get solid contracts with the following carriers, and have the ability to send business directly to the carrier we would be set.

1. Lincoln
2. Protective
3. Genworth
4. Principal
5. Transamerica
6. Banner

I don't mean "direct contracts"....I totally realize I need/want an IMO so I can be apart of a larger pool of production, equaling better comp. I also know someone will make an over-ride...totally cool with that...I just want to get 100% of my compensation to come directly from the carriers and to be able to send applications directly to the carriers!!! Given our existing four "direct relationships" plus the misc final expense carriers I have in the bag, by having the above six that would cover the bases very well.

Now some might say the answer is to simply "push" all the cases through my above listed direct relationships.......this is why I left the career world. I will not and can not sell a rating if there is even a chance the client can do better somewhere else. Some might think this is overboard but I see all my clients at least once a year every year....I manage most of these peoples investment assets and have introduced them to their accountant/attorney/property casualty agent. My role in these clients lives is more than that of someone who sells them a policy and says "call me if you need anything". I have to know we've gotten our client the best deal, and I never want to have to apologize to a client for a recommendation I've made.

Thanks in advance folks for your help here.

 

[Mattschmidt]

Search for user picnic...nic west of pinney insurance may be able to assist you. They play no games, are great with communication, and do what they say they will do

 

[Norwayguy]

What is stopping you from submitting your business direct to the carrier bypassing the BGA? Why do you have to submit it to the BGA every carrier app I have ever looked at includes a company address on it and not a BGAs info.

 

[CFP83]

What is stopping you from submitting your business direct to the carrier bypassing the BGA? Why do you have to submit it to the BGA every carrier app I have ever looked at includes a company address on it and not a BGAs info.

They have insisted that they need to "package every case" and write cover-letters on every case. I tried to just send applications direct but the BGA found out, contacted the carrier and had the carrier call us and say we must go through the BGA. They insist better results come from running everything through them and letting them managing the shopping of the case. I complied up until now.....their process hasn't yielded fantastic results, has been unacceptably long, and their people have shown to be incompetent.....so they are done.

 

[GoCubsGo]

Don't think Genworth will work.
You need to call some IMO's and discuss it with them.
Check out:
Life and Annuity Masters
www.oaktreeus.com

 

[WinoBlues]

Don't think Genworth will work.
You need to call some IMO's and discuss it with them.
Check out:
Life and Annuity Masters
www.oaktreeus.com

I believe Genworth has a online application. Actually if the case is under $100,000.00 and you do not do it direct you do not get paid. Protective also has an online app. I prefer to scrub and process our own business also. No one is as good at watching out for us, like us.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Insurance Forums

 

[CFP83]

I prefer to scrub and process our own business also. No one is as good at watching out for us, like us.

This is exactly what it boils down to.

Some producers that I know personally who don't have staff prefer to have a BGA/IMO function as their back-office. I'm different in that I only utilize a BGA on our impaired risk life cases. The majority of the time we're doing business directly with our direct relationships...Penn/JH/Midland/Assurity.

Wino to your point, one of the primary reasons I have staff is so that we can touch every case in underwriting every day. All of my previous experiences, including the one described in this thread, of working with a BGA to process/underwrite life cases has revealed and underlying attitude of BGA's to be "we're doing everything we can...we'll update you with changes". In other words, it will come out of underwriting when the carrier is good and ready. I say thats horsesh#t.

On cases we're "shopping" our attitude is that the insurance carrier doesn't control the process, we do. We are representing a proposed insured in finding an offer for coverage. We push the carriers to make a decision in a timely manner....and we let them know that they are competing for the case. Never met a BGA yet who truly gets this.
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Don't think Genworth will work.
You need to call some IMO's and discuss it with them.
Check out:
Life and Annuity Masters
www.oaktreeus.com

thanks for passing these along.

I'm thinking that I need to gather the information for 5 or 6 solid IMO's that have a great carrier lineup and are set up to support producers like myself....I plan on investing an afternoon calling all of them and discussing what I'm looking for.

Others feel free to give me your IMO recommendations also

 

[GoCubsGo]

I believe Genworth has a online application. Actually if the case is under $100,000.00 and you do not do it direct you do not get paid. Protective also has an online app. I prefer to scrub and process our own business also. No one is as good at watching out for us, like us.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Insurance Forums

With Genworth you can't call them or fax an ap. Must go through IMO. Or maybe they just do that with me. ha

 

[WinoBlues]

I would check out Brokers Alliance as well.

This is exactly what it boils down to.

Some producers that I know personally who don't have staff prefer to have a BGA/IMO function as their back-office. I'm different in that I only utilize a BGA on our impaired risk life cases. The majority of the time we're doing business directly with our direct relationships...Penn/JH/Midland/Assurity.

Wino to your point, one of the primary reasons I have staff is so that we can touch every case in underwriting every day. All of my previous experiences, including the one described in this thread, of working with a BGA to process/underwrite life cases has revealed and underlying attitude of BGA's to be "we're doing everything we can...we'll update you with changes". In other words, it will come out of underwriting when the carrier is good and ready. I say thats horsesh#t.

On cases we're "shopping" our attitude is that the insurance carrier doesn't control the process, we do. We are representing a proposed insured in finding an offer for coverage. We push the carriers to make a decision in a timely manner....and we let them know that they are competing for the case. Never met a BGA yet who truly gets this.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


thanks for passing these along.

I'm thinking that I need to gather the information for 5 or 6 solid IMO's that have a great carrier lineup and are set up to support producers like myself....I plan on investing an afternoon calling all of them and discussing what I'm looking for.

Others feel free to give me your IMO recommendations also

 

[NinjaNic]

Search for user picnic...nic west of pinney insurance may be able to assist you. They play no games, are great with communication, and do what they say they will do

Thanks for the endorsement Matt! Your $10 Chili's gift card is in the mail haha!



To the OP: I don't think you are going to find what you are looking for with those carriers. As others have mentioned, Genworth will not talk to you and neither will the rest in my experience. You simply are not doing enough production and able to commit $X to a carrier to get such a high contract level that you CAN deal directly with them.

Say carrier X has a production requirement to get contract level Y which allows direct access to the carrier...you are committing that to the carrier or they axe your contract and scorn your BGA for signing off on it. Problem is, those contract levels are for firms doing double what your $125k in target is....and that is with just one carrier.

To your point though, 11.5 weeks in underwriting is crazy--especially with $10,000 cases. If they don't have a concierge desk handling those cases, find a new BGA.

It sounds like you've just had a bad experience with handing off the processing. I can assure you all firms are not the same as your current one. You appear to have the case design and pre-underwriting taken care of...if interested, feel free to reach out to discuss effective and proactive case management. You REALLY needs to speak to my concierge case manager, Angela---she has been doing this for 15 years and has "converted" plenty of advisors just like you.


Nic West
nwest @pinneyinsurance.com