Medicare Supplement Sales
There are three different type of Medicare products sold by agents and brokers. Medicare Supplement plans (Also called Medigap plans), Medicare Advantage plans and Medicare Part D rx plans. A number of sales people sell all three while others will sell only advantage plans or only Medicare supplement sales. In my opinion, if an agent is selling Medicare supplements, they might as well offer the Part D rx plans given they often go hand in hand. Some agents will only offer supplements to avoid the need for Part D rx annual certifications, AHIP training and CMS oversight. I will the possitives and negatives of all three strategies.
If you are an agent looking to contract to sell Medicare supplements CLICK FOR MEDICARE SUPPLEMENT CONTRACTING
Sell all three plan types
Agents that sell all three plan types will be able to accomodate more than those selling only one or the other. A Medicare Advantage plan is not right for everyone just like a supplement and/or Rx plan is not allways the right fit. If an agent can offer all three they will never need to walk away from a sale. So why doesnt every agent offer all three? The quick answer is it is difficult to keep up with all the plan types and certifications for Advantage and part D plans. Agents that can wade through all of it should definately offer all three plan types. For those that like to keep in simple and focus on a product or two, this strategy will not work .
Sell Medicare Supplements and Part D rx plans
There are a number of agents willing to walk away from the obvious Medicare Advantage clients and focus on Medicare Supplement sales and Part D rx plans. The part D rx plans go right along with a supplement sales given most clients will want to pick up drug coverage. It makes sense to offer them from that standpoint but there are a few issues with offering Rx plans. The first is the compliance with CMS rules. There are a number of rules that must be followed. The 2nd issue is the need to do the product certs and take AHIP every year. The 3rd issue is drug plans can be time consuming to find the right plan for the client. As a result, many brokers us the CMS plan finder to match up the right plan but this still takes time.
Medicare Supplement Sales only
Some agents will focus exclusively on Medicare supplement sales. They will walk away from the Medicare Advantage plans and do not offer the drug plans. If clients want a drug plan (most will) they have them call Medicare or go on the CMS plan finder to sign up for a drug plan. The possitive is they do not need to do annual certifications and they also do not need to follow the CMS rules of contact/engagement.
Medicare Supplement Plan types
Medicare Supplement plans have standard benefits in most states (click for standardized benefit states). This simply means that basic plan benefits can not vary from one plan to the next. If a company offers a plan F, they must have the same benefits as all the other carriers offering plan F. The only differnce is the monthly premium and any value add benefits the plan offers such as Silver Sneakers. Agents that plan to offer supplements should be sure to have access to a quote engine allowing them to compare companies and plans when needed.
Currently, the most common Medicare supplement plans are plans F, N, G and High Deductible F. Plan prices are different by county and state so some states will have different popular plans than others. It really comes down to price point and which carriers are offering a strong price for which plans. There are a few states that have very good price points on plans K and L which needs to be taken into consideration.
Underwriting for Medicare supplement plans depends on the situation and the state you are in. Plans are guaranteed issue when turning 65 or during a qualifying event. Some states are guaranteed issue at all times while other are only during certain periods.
Medicare Supplement Plan sales leads
Medicare Supplement plans are subject to rules from the insurance companies and state insurance departments. They are not subject to the CMS rules that Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D Rx plans are. As a result, agents have many more options when it comes to marketing the plans. Our agency offers a 50% lead co-op to help agents with cost. The program is available with just about any lead program. It must be compliant with carrier and insurance department rules. CLICK FOR DETAILS ON 50% LEAD CO-OP PROGRAM
Medicare lead strategies and types:
- Mail response leads (Also called BRC leads)
- Can be purchased per 1,000 mailed
- Can be purchased per responder card
- Online leads
- Shared leads
- Exclusive online leads
- Telemarketed leads for T-65 (must be DNC compliant)
- Live transfer leads
- Seminar sales
- Group sales strategies
- Having a relationship with an employer group in order to enroll employees into supplements when they retire
- Retail location sales
High deductible plan F sales and marketing strategy
A number of successful agents use the High F Medicare Supplement to get in front of more clients. High F is unique but for those that understand it, the math behind the plan is impossible to beat. Brokers can justify using high F to replace any current Medicare supplement based solely on the math. If you are looking for a new Medicare Supplement sales strategy or want to know more about the high F supplement, read our article on the topic.
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MEDICARE HIGH DEDUCTIBLE PLAN F SALES
Medicare Supplement sales compensation
Medicare supplement sales compensation can be variable depending on the carrier. The range is from 12% to 26% commission on premium but there are a number of factors to consider. Age of the client when you write them influences the commission. The state you are writing in, they plan type you sell (F,N,G,L,K, High F) and the company you use also makes a difference. Most carriers are set up to offer an advance on commission from 9 to 15 months. Most carriers will also pay within 1 to 2 weeks of processing the application and all of them pay agents directly. If an agency or upline is paying the commission to you, it should be noted, you do not own your book of business.
Medicare Supplement sales training
Supplements are not very complex but training is needed for those that are new to selling them. We offer full one on one training to agents that request or need it. A training powerpoint is available in the link which covers most of the areas training is needed for supplements. CLICK HERE FOR SUPPLEMENT SALES TRAINING POWER POINT
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