lost a client to an in house Devoted agent

[sman]

Admittedly, I have not paid much attention to the back and forth in this thread and still finding a bit confusing.

Did the OP ever say who the prior/original carrier was? It seemed to be Devoted but then it whipsawed back to not being Devoted.

As you (sman) indicated, you get client calls about a new, better offer, from time to time but they (client) rarely falls for the pitch. Same here.

The way I view it is, if they really want to leave, or if they are that gullible to fall for an unsolicited marketing call, perhaps it is time for them to move on.

I don't chase prospects or clients that choose to go somewhere else. Doing so makes it appear that I am desperate . . . and I am never so hard up that I have to waste time trying to get them back.

CLIENTS almost never leave, but policyholders are a different story.

Some carriers go to great lengths to poach business and I avoid them like the plague. Once they flip a policyholder they will never let go.

I don't need that kind of drama in my life.

I have no idea what the prior coverage was for the client. I was just pointing out a way where the agent could remain AOR if they catch it before the change takes place. After the change takes place during OEP, it's a challenge. I had it happen before and just left it alone. The juice wasn't worth the squeeze.

I know when I recommend a plan for someone it's the right plan for them. If they fall for one of these lies, they can suffer the consequences of their actions. If they want my help the next AEP, they can contact me. I'm not chasing them. It rarely happens, but it has in the past. They almost always come crawling back when they realize they are paying more than they would have under the plan I recommended.

 

[somarco]

I was just pointing out a way where the agent could remain AOR if they catch it before the change takes place.

Perhaps I missed it, but it doesn't seem the OP is the current agent and is on the outside looking in. He lost control of his policyholder when they opted for "Devoted" and now, almost 2 months later, is trying to get them back.

I am sure you do take folks back who leave . . . I don't. My business model, my choice.

Someone who left once would probably do it again.

It's like being married to someone who cheats, you get divorced, and later marry that person again.

 

[sman]

Perhaps I missed it, but it doesn't seem the OP is the current agent and is on the outside looking in. He lost control of his policyholder when they opted for "Devoted" and now, almost 2 months later, is trying to get them back.

I am sure you do take folks back who leave . . . I don't. My business model, my choice.

Someone who left once would probably do it again.

It's like being married to someone who cheats, you get divorced, and later marry that person again.

The pressure in MAPD is real. These people get calls and get confused. Many times they are tricked into enrolling in a new plan. I've had more than one client say they make it sound like they are just getting additional benefits added to their existing plan. Fortunately most of my clients know to say they already have an agent and they'll call me.

In the rare instance a client makes the mistake, I will take them back. But they have to come to me. I'm not chasing them. If they decide to change to a different plan because they believe the grass is greener and they didn't call me, they'll never hear from me again.

The MAPD market isn't like the Med Supp market. There's no underwriting and no need to get banking info. With a name, DOB, address and Medicare number, a person can be enrolled in a few minutes. And these call centers are sneaky as hell.

 

[somarco]

@sman, I am aware of the tricks and lies used to confuse and trap seniors. On more than one occasion, clients have played voice mail messages telling folks about a new plan that is available with low premiums and free dental insurance. It's disgusting.

 

[DonP]

If your writing mapd your clients are getting 100 calls a week .All its takes is one answer of the phone and they can be switched without even knowing they are . Somebody flipped a 90 yr old client of mine and I detected it last night . We 3 way called united and cancelled the future app. If im writing 500 apps a yr I'm going to lose 30-40 being flipped . It's part of the game I accept . I spend 3-5 hrs a month on retention monitoring my book for disenrollments and attempting to save everyone . If i save 70% plus I'm happy . I saw gohealth's earnings yesterday and they wrote 445k apps during aep. Now probably only 70% went active Jan1 . But that's a ton of apps and they swiped them from a ton of agents . It's human nature to want more thus easy to trick seniors

 

[sman]

@sman, I am aware of the tricks and lies used to confuse and trap seniors. On more than one occasion, clients have played voice mail messages telling folks about a new plan that is available with low premiums and free dental insurance. It's disgusting.

It's worse than that. Now it's about several hundred dollars per month for groceries and getting your Part B premium paid.

 

[somarco]

Now it's about several hundred dollars per month for groceries and getting your Part B premium paid.

Yes, I know. I see agents talking about poaching policyholder with a plan that offers $50 more for groceries but they never talk about the medical coverage being better, or larger networks.

Life is too short to take on folks who fall for that kind of pitch.

 

[sman]

Yes, I know. I see agents talking about poaching policyholder with a plan that offers $50 more for groceries but they never talk about the medical coverage being better, or larger networks.

Life is too short to take on folks who fall for that kind of pitch.

If you train them right, they rarely do.

 

[rmhaire]

It's worse than that. Now it's about several hundred dollars per month for groceries and getting your Part B premium paid.

With my luck it'll be free pole dancing lessons.

I'll be losing grannies right and left.

 

[sman]

With my luck it'll be free pole dancing lessons.

I'll be losing grannies right and left.

But think of all the paw paws you'll gain