New Agent - Should I only sell Medicare Advantage?

[keysersosey]

New agent coming from P&C world. After watching numerous videos on YouTube it seems like Medicare Advantage is easier and more lucrative than selling supplements. Any opinions? Anyone have a great FMO they would suggest? I plan on selling 100% over the phone. Thanks for your input.

 

[Todd King]

No, it is not more lucrative.....well, unless you are just writing 1st year business and don't care about renewals. You do make more money with MA in the 1st year, but only if the client has never has an MA plan before. If they have had one and you're just switching, you'll make half of the 1st year amount, which could very well be less than what you would earn on a med supp.

Besides that, if you are not offering both MA and Med Supps, you're going to have times where you're trying to fit that square MA into that round Med Supp hole. Not good for the client! Sell them what is right for them, not just the only thing you have to sell.

 

[DonP]

Humana and WellCare pay true ups if they've never had the CO's before . That means you get the full $539. Also mapd has no underwriting so people can switch every yr during Aep and oep . This makes mapd less sticky business than Medigap business .About 15-20% of your business that you switch to those carriers will have never had them .

 

[somarco]

After watching numerous videos on YouTube it seems like Medicare Advantage is easier and more lucrative than selling supplements.

You are watching the wrong videos.

Selling Medicare plans by phone is challenging for most everyone. Unless you are in a call center taking hot prospects Medicare is not a transactional sale.

I have been selling health insurance by phone for close to 30 years, the last 11 Medicare (supplement) only. Self generated warm leads.

This is relatively easy for me but all I did was transition from U65 health insurance to Medicare after 20 yrs selling a different health product by phone.

MA plans have a completely different set of rules for selling vs Medicare supplement or most other types of insurance. I COULD sell MA by phone if I wanted (but I don't) and probably not get in trouble with the Medicare police.

I can't imagine transitioning from P&C to MA and not stepping in a mess big time.

 

[keysersosey]

It was my understanding that renewal/people that aren't new to Advantage pay $270 a year. Simple math would tell me that 370 Advantage customers equals $100,000 in renewal income. Would you selling supplement instead? My goal is to build another book with recurring revenue. I think that's everyone's goal though!

 

[keysersosey]

I've been watching Medicare Millenial, David Duford, Medicare Millionaire, etc.

 

[somarco]

It was my understanding that renewal/people that aren't new to Advantage pay $270 a year. Simple math would tell me that 370 Advantage customers equals $100,000 in renewal income. Would you selling supplement instead? My goal is to build another book with recurring revenue. I think that's everyone's goal though!

Everyone is different. Different ways to approach the business. Different goals, immediate and long term.

My reason for offering Medigap only has nothing to do with $$$ . . . other than it is my impression that MA clients are higher maintenance over the long haul than Medigap.

A close friend who is also a Medicare agent. He once confided that he wished he had never ventured into the MA side.

I could stop marketing tomorrow and never do anything other than service existing clients plus referrals and maintain a nice income for half a dozen years, maybe longer.

I don't think that would happen with MA clients but others may disagree.

My long term goal is to work at my pace, invest minimal $$ and time in marketing, with no income loss. So far it is working for me.

YMMV

 

[Yagents]

Supplement plans stick on the books longer, and are much easier to manage as the book grows. Whatever money that follows is an after effect.

I've never sold an advantage plan. If you can't afford a supplement, you won't be a client of mine. I'll refer it out.

But choosing one or the other is a luxury that most agents don't have.

 

[policywunk]

New agent coming from P&C world. After watching numerous videos on YouTube it seems like Medicare Advantage is easier and more lucrative than selling supplements. Any opinions? Anyone have a great FMO they would suggest? I plan on selling 100% over the phone. Thanks for your input.

Medicare Advantage actually is harder because there is much more product knowledge needed to make suitable sales and much more regulations.On the plus side there is no underwriting , it is a fast growing market and you don"t have to collect a check.To sell med supps other than having some basic underwriting knowledge you are basically just quoting rates.if you are going to sell med supps you should also sell part d to give your clients the benefit of having AOR support when issues arise.

All FMO's are worthless after you sign the contract!

 

[somarco]

When I was learning to play golf I watched a lot of videos. The golfers made it look so easy.

But when I got out on the course I found out how hard it really was.