I don't know but we are flying to Tucson in the morning! My sister lives there and we are all getting together for my parent's 50th anniversary. I'm 49. Hey. Wait a minute! Was I an unwanted child?
In my experience, Arizona is one of the toughest states in the country to write group health business. New groups can be rated up to 400% and the underwriting is very tough. Essentially, new groups are very hard to write, and any existing group that has a policy, and has some medical issues, cannot be moved or they will get rated to wazoo.
The Chitendons, the largest imo in Arizona, used to do group wholesaling, and they got out of the market because it was so tough to make a living.
I only actively write business in 6 states, and only solicit in 3. My partners write in a bunch more. However, we don't turn away out of state business, unless we deem it not worth our while, so between us all, we have cases in 28 or 29 states.
When I was hustling an AZ case, I learned very quickly how difficult the state is to write in, and one of the Chitendons set me straight.
Lately I have been focusing on larger groups, and concentrating on a few states where the opportunity is clear.
States that are very difficult to write in, in no particular order, include:
1. Arizona
2. Wyoming
3. Alabama
4. Mississippi
5. Minnesota
6. Washington
7. Oregon
8. North Dakota
9. Idaho
10. Alaska
11. New Hampshire
12. Vermont
Reasons can range from Blue Monopolies, to captive only, to no HMO's to crazy underwriting laws.
In my opinion, some of the best states to write group health are:
1. Maryland
2. Texas
3. California
4. New York
5. Michigan
6. Illinois
7. Ohio
8. Washington DC
9. Virginia
10. Georgia
Steph-
I have written UHC on my group and the rates are competitive and I really like the plans and company. Few things. 1. Your contact is out of state and so is the service rep for the client. 2. The commission sucks. They pay per sub, not commission for total premium. I think a lot of agents are moving their biz away from them if it's feasible. 3. They have invested a lot of money into technology. My client enrolled all new hires via the web.