Sales Idea – Filling The Void

I don’t know of anything more exciting that traveling – new countries, new customs, new friends. We all know clients taking that dream vacation, or traveling through Europe after graduation, or honeymooning in exotic places. The last thing on their minds is medical insurance.

Sudden illness or accidents in an unfamiliar environment can be scary and pricy. Unfortunately, many consumers do not understand the limitations and many times complications of trying to use domestic coverage at times of international claims! That’s why short-term travel medical insurance gives your clients peace of mind. Deal with a carrier Premiums are reasonably priced for comprehensive coverage.

Short term travel insurance can be purchased in daily or monthly rates, for a minimum of ten days to two years. Plan deductibles for individuals and dependents can range from $0 to $2500 and benefit maximums from $50,000 to $2,000,000. It is important to note that these policies do not cover pre-existing conditions.

There are available plans for US and non-US citizens traveling out of their home country. So visit our website at http://www.resourcebrokerage.com for available plan outlines or call us at 847-598-6006 for further information.

Sales Idea – Round Out Your Plan Offering

Dental, Vision and Hearing plans are affordable compliments to the medical coverage your clients buy.

Many people object to having to use network dentists because their dentist chooses not to join any networks. Or, members who want an insured vision plan but instead are only offered a discount program from their individual health insurance plan? Or for your senior market clients offering insured dental, vision and hearing for the services which Medicare and their Medicare Supplement do not cover.

Our fully insured, indemnity dental/vision/hearing products can cover the dental vision hearing care of your clients, ages 18 through 85, with no underwriting, at surprisingly affordable prices and attractive commissions to you. You would be surprised how many people buy the coverage once they are made aware it is available—particularly Medicare Supplement enrollees. We have many brokers who offer these stand alone programs side by side as part of every individual medical enrollment and Medicare Supplement sales presentation.

Call us today at 847-598-6006 or visit our website at http://www.resourcebrokerage.com for the complete product reviews. On your next appointment you’ll have the tools to present your clients with a healthcare portfolio customized for their needs!

Sales Idea – Temporary Policies with Group Submissions

When you’ve submitted a Group Medical case and have employees that are in their waiting period that are ineligible as of the effective date, don’t forget that you can write a temporary policy through our Individual Major Medical Department.

This is often forgotten or not offered to new hires that are coming from an old employer, someone who doesn’t have insurance at all, or has a loss of coverage through another channel. This is a way to fill the gap for the new hire so they are eligible for coverage just like all the other employees that are insured as of the effective date of the Group policy.

Please feel free to call our office; and we’ll be more than happy to get started with your New Business quotes. I look forward to speaking with you soon!

Sales Idea – Central States Indemnity

Central States Indemnity (CSI)  is Medicare Supplement company that’s all about the consumer experience exceeding expectation.

In addition to modest rate increases in 2013, you will be thrilled to know that your CSI clients will not receive a rate increase until their policy anniversary—that’s right, no mid-year birthday changes! Attained age and trend rate increases are only applied on the policy anniversary. Probably no single item causes more frustration in the senior markets than clients getting perceived “double rate increases” in a single year. This is a huge selling point in representing one of the finest companies in the Medicare Supplement market.

CSI – A great choice for your Medicare Supplement business when you consider rates, commissions, service and financial strength. CSI is a Berkshire Hathaway Company with an A+ (Superior) financial rating from A.M. Best Company, Inc.

Still unsure why you need CSI in your portfolio? Or where it fits? Call us today at 847-598-6006 for a complete product review. You’ll be glad you did!

Group Sales Idea

Many health insurance brokers have experienced commission cuts as a result of the passage of the Affordable Care Act. Numerous brokers have found a way to offset that income cut with the sale of Long Term Care—particularly in the Small Group market.

As a result of our marketing and training efforts in 2012, we are seeing more brokers going into their groups, writing LTC executive carve-outs for a few key employees and nicely supplementing their income. A rule of thumb is that if you write one LTC application for every seven people on the medical plan, you will more than offset any commission cuts you have seen on the medical side over the years.

Are you interested in getting started in the LTC market? Make sure you take the required 8 CE hours for LTC and then contact our office—we can get your employers an LTC plan with fully tax deductible premiums, tax-free benefits, group discounted rates AND simplified underwriting down to three enrolled lives.

Contact the Resource Brokerage LTC Division for more information. After all, we are one of America’s Long Term Care Experts!

Interactive Online PPACA Implementation Tool

From time to time we get asked for recommendations of online resources/references regarding the implementation timetable for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Although this tool is not comprehensive by any means, (in terms of what is entailed in each “trigger point”) it does appear to at least hit the “high water marks” in terms of what is happening when. Personally I use it as a reference point and a starting point giving me the time tables (of events) for which to further research. I am posting it out here so you too can have a quick reference tool as well. Enjoy! http://ebn.benefitnews.com/health-care-reform/timeline.html

New Premium Taxes Starting to Come into the Picture

I would like to take a moment and educate the first round of premium taxes that are going to start in 2014 with the PPACA law.  Obviously, the carriers are beginning to get their arms around the PPACA law, their responsibilities, processes and pricing implications.  This article was written about a year ago but is as relevant today as it was then (PPACA:  Business Groups Unite Against Health Insurance Tax).

Now that carriers are beginning to calculate the cost of the tax, it is turning out the article was way low in quoting the “approximate $500 cost over 10 years”.  It is actually more like $630 for a single and FOUR TIMES THAT for a family of 4 meaning that a family will be paying $2,520 over 10 years (as the tax is a per head tax).  This is just the beginning of the cost increases once the essential benefits, the removal of underwriting, riders, and the rate compression of 1:3 (from the current 1:6 in IL) are taken into account (in addition to the above referenced taxes).  We are hearing rumblings of ”approaching 100% increases” in the IL market for the under 30 crowd in the individual market (mind you the highest uninsured demographic).  The highly trumpeted signature healthcare legislation is not going to turn out to be as rosy as the Obama administration is leading us to believe.  We have gotten all the “goodies” upfront (coverage to age 26, no lifetime caps, promises of no riders and guaranteed issue); there will come a time when we begin to see the downside.  I must hand it to the administration as they have done a great job of “hiding” these future inevitable developments (as the law is currently written), but I wanted to let you know what we are seeing, sitting across the table from senior management of the insurance companies.  Do not forget the MLR (where insurance companies are required to pay out 80% of their premiums in claims for the individual or small group markets, otherwise they will have to refund them to the block of insureds).  These numbers are projected to be straight claims/tax implications of the legislation.  These are very real things to ponder as we consider who to vote for.  The “Affordable Care Act” (as the administration has renamed the law) is clearly not making healthcare any more affordable once the “lion’s share of the mandates” start hitting home.