- 11,996
Ok, let's not ignore the math.
On that policy that's paying $720/year, how much time do you actually spend servicing it in a given year? An hour? Two? Five? Anything less than 10 and you're earning $72+/hour on it, much more than most folks with "real" jobs. In fact, if you're spending less than two hours a year on it you're probably making more than the doctors that actually offering the services.
What about these guys:
Some families left out in the cold by Obamacare - Oct. 10, 2013
There are people that are losing healthcare coverage that would cover services that would keep them alive. Yes, extreme examples, but certainly more of a victim.
So if you divide the time you spend servicing policies you're getting renewals for against what you're earning, are you really losing your shirt on the deal?
Maybe you think you're getting screwed, but most Americans probably think you're getting paid to do almost nothing. If they can get the same rates by going to the carrier, why should you be getting paid a commission on it? To get their questions answered, why shouldn't they just call the carrier instead of calling you to call the carrier? Why not cut out the middle man? Aren't insurance agents that sell commodity type products such as health insurance outdated? Does that all piss you off? Good, go take that anger and use it to fuel proving your value to every prospect and client you talk to. Stop focusing on why you're getting screwed and turn that anger/frustration into something positive. Independent agents can provide customers with a tremendous value, but not by focusing on how much the used to make.
MIPPA made selling Medicare Advantage plans much less attractive and less lucrative. The marketing restrictions drove up the cost of generating leads and each year the plans tend to become less and less attractive. Back in the good old days I could walk into a senior center with four boxes of doughnuts and walk out with 7 apps @ ~$600/app for an afternoon of "work". Do you think $4,200 for four hours worth of work was really "fair"? Although I miss those days, I don't think I got "screwed" when they shut that down. I think there are actually a lot of seniors that would benefit from quality MA plans that don't get the info about availability because marketing is so difficult, but I accept that it happened. It was good while it was good and now that it's less good I've moved on. If health agents are looking for advice, I'd suggest reading "Who moved my cheese?" and move on. Either it's a good way to make money now or it isn't. If it was good in the past and that's changed, then that's just the way it is.
Whether it's the result of legislation, changes in technology, or other outside forces, industries change. Website hosting used to be HUGE money, but now you can get a website host for less than $5/month. There is still money to be made, but it's a lot less than what it was and the market has changed. I don't know enough about the health insurance industry to know exactly where the opportunity within the industry has shifted and how it's changed, but it's the natural cycle of business. Encyclopedia sales are almost nonexistent, rotary phones barely exist in novelty shops, dial-up internet is dead, LaserDisc never caught on and BlockBuster is out of business. Things change. The reality is that from what I understand, health agents can still make money.
