A Lead Called You Back- Now What?

By Lori Liles- New Business Consultant At this point you’ve been doing a lot of work trying to bring in new business. You’ve really been putting yourself out there by calling, emailing, and sending letters to all of your contacts.  You’ve been going to networking functions, and asking for Health Insurance referrals. Everyone knows who you are, and what you do. Your work is finally paying off! A lead called you back, and has some questions about Group Health Insurance. Now what do you do?  First, if you’re new, don’t get nervous. You probably know more than you think you do.  This person is coming to you for help. No matter what they already know, chances are, you know more. If they ask something that you don’t know, that’s okay. Just let them know that they asked a good question, and you don’t have the answer right now, but you can find out for them. It’s also perfectly fine to let someone know that you’re a little new in this area, and whatever you don’t know, you can easily find out. At some point, everyone is new at [...]

2021-08-19T14:11:09-05:00Marketing & Sales Ideas|
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Learning How to Fish

By Lori Liles- New Business Consultant Finding Leads and Contacting Them You’ve probably heard the Chinese Proverb, “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and he will eat for a lifetime.” If you learn how to fish, you’ll never go hungry, right?  I worked for a company that wouldn’t provide leads to their employees. What they did offer was a lot of training on how to go out and find the business ourselves. I learned how to find clients inexpensively, or without using any money at all. It wasn’t easy at first, but I tried a few different ideas. I got creative. I learned what worked for me, and I started talking to more people. I used the tools I learned to go out and get business, instead of just hoping something would just fall into my lap. I was proactive, and things started happening for me. It was great, and I started getting referrals from the people I helped, and talked to. I felt like I had control over my business! The work I was putting in [...]

2021-08-12T16:41:52-05:00Marketing & Sales Ideas|
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Tips: Marketing Medicare

With baby boomers continuing to become Medicare eligible, agents should consider marketing to this consumer base. Remember, you cannot talk about the Medicare Advantage or Part D unless you have completed the appropriate certifications. Research indicates that Baby Boomers are using social media: 84% of Baby Boomers have a Facebook account 58% visit a company’s website after encountering the brand on social media 41% have Pinterest accounts  Social media is a low cost way to reach those consumers and make any additional marketing projects more impactful. Providing informational posts could drive consumers searching for information to you and your website.   Make sure your website is up to date and ready for consumers.   Make sure all of your communications include all of your contact information, social media links and your website address. Post short informational articles with references to contact you as a qualified agent on your social media websites. Ask your contacts to like your articles. Coordinate matching informational newsletters out to your contact list and ask for referrals. To make this easy, I have created 12 small articles you can use to post or create newsletters. Be sure [...]

2019-09-10T14:06:58-05:00Marketing & Sales Ideas, Medical, Patty's Perspective|
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Tips to Utilize BCBS IL MSP Data Collection

Blue Cross Blue Shield of IL’s MSP Data Collection Opened on May 29 Beginning May 29, 2019, BCBS will begin collecting this data from renewing groups via Blue Access for Employers and the deadline to submit this information is Sept. 30, 2019. New groups complete this information in their submission paperwork. Starting May 29th, employers can log into Blue Access for Employers and enter the required information. Producers who have access to the group’s BAE account, may complete the MSP information on behalf of their group. Agents can log into their BAP, click on the BAE icon at the top, and see all of their groups. Click on the group name to open their BAE site. BCBS will be emailing groups with notification that this requirement is now open to be completed on their Blue Access for Employers website.  If the group doesn’t have a valid email on file, BCBS will be sending a post card/letter or making a phone call to the group. A Great Opportunity for Agents to Continue Marketing! Marketing is the business process of creating relationships with and satisfying customers. Therefore, marketing does not stop after [...]

2019-07-09T12:26:21-05:00Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, Marketing & Sales Ideas, Patty's Perspective|
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TASC Landmines for HSAs, FSAs, and HRAs

Recently, MIBS hosted a seminar presented by Nancy Dantzman, Vice President at TASC and Craig Sayers, MIBS' regional director with TASC. It was a very informative and lively event. Nancy jumped right in discussing Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) which offer variability when setting them up. FSA Flexible Spending Account An FSA is an account employees can use to pay certain out-of-pocket health care costs not paid by other health plans, pretax. The FSA can be set up with the employer and/or the employee contributing. When employees contribute pretax, this lowers the payroll taxes that the employer has to pay so both parties experience savings on their tax liability.   In groups with high employee contribution, the employer’s payroll tax savings may be enough to pay for any administration charges for the FSA.   Employers are not required to make contributions but certainly can. The IRS sets the contribution limit each year and the limits for 2019 are: FSAs are known for their use it or lose it provision, however, groups may offer participating employees more time through either a carryover option or the grace period option to use any funds [...]

2019-06-11T16:42:07-05:00Ancillary, Marketing & Sales Ideas, Patty's Perspective|
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Unum Update for Ancillary Products

Do you have groups with 10 or more enrolled? Consider Unum for their ancillary products! In 2019, Unum’s dental and vision networks were increased by 8% making them one of the top 10 best networks. Their goal is to become one of the top 3 networks, which they are successfully working towards. Unum also offers the EyeMed network which includes Lens Crafters, but their regular vision network offers more Big Box names: Sears, Target, Walmart, Vision works, etc. Also, in 2019, Unum can offer discounts for their dental products when bundled with another product line. A great selling feature with the long term disability product, is the EAP Program (Employer Assistance Program). For members enrolled in this product, they will have assistance from a skilled negotiating team that will work with the provider to get a discount on any balance (minimum $400) not paid by the health insurer. This can also be added onto the life product as well. Employee Assistance Program Flyer Employee Assistance Program Medical Bill Saver Flyer Medical groups renewing this year mostly are receiving minimal increases and even some decrease in premium. [...]

2019-03-19T02:06:46-05:00Ancillary, Marketing & Sales Ideas|
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Tips: Adding Value to Group Enrollment and Renewal Meetings

Agents can add value to the group health plan that their clients are enrolled in by educating the insureds on how to maximize their benefits.   This also will increase the agent’s value in the employer’s mind.  With many families paying a monthly health premium that is higher than their mortgage, it is even more important to use the plan correctly.  Listed below are some topics and brochures to enhance your enrollment and renewal meetings. Stay in Network – insureds will receive more benefits by staying in network. Both BCBS IL and Humana offer insureds the opportunity to register for their carrier’s member website where they can view accrued deductibles and out of pockets, claims in process, provider searches and more. They also offer members a mobile app, making it very easy to search for an in-network provider while on the go. Since the mobile app is linked to the plan they are enrolled in, the provider search option already has their network, making the search easier and more accurate. Going out of network could result in very high expenses for the insured as those providers can balance [...]

2018-12-04T15:20:24-06:00Marketing & Sales Ideas, Medical, Patty's Perspective|
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National General’s Self-Funded Plans

Health benefit programs designed for small to medium sized business. A realistic approach to employee health benefits: Now, you can help business owners gain control of their health care expenses while providing quality benefits to their employees. By combining the cost savings of self-funding with the stability of more traditional plans, the National General Self-Funded Program gives them the simplicity and cost savings that they are looking for without the hassle of administering the program themselves. A national leader in the self-funded space, National General is able to provide business owners with: • Group market expertise • Immediate access to support • Quick resolution of issues • Hands-on help at time of reissue Self funding used to be a concept only available to large employers. Not anymore. Business owners enjoy the advantages of self funding without taking on added risk. It’s an easy way for your clients to lower their costs while providing quality health care benefits to their employees. Key Advantages of Self-Funded Programs: One predictable monthly payment- determined upfront and guaranteed not to increase for a full year as long as there are no changes [...]

2018-10-18T19:50:16-05:00Marketing & Sales Ideas, Medical|
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Travelers: Tips for Cross Selling

One Household. More Policies. Lots of Wins. When you sell more policies per household, everyone can benefit. You may see an increase in customer loyalty, agency efficiency and revenue. And, it will be easier for your customers with one bill to pay, one contact point for all their claims and one website to manage their Travelers policies. Why cross sell? Increase Customer Loyalty Increase Agency Efficiency 87% of new business cancellations are monoline. More policies per household saves time that would have been spent to capture lost policies. Increase Revenue and Profitability Profits can increase more than 25% by increasing customer retention by as little as 5% according to research done by Frederick Reichheld of Bain & Company (the inventor of the net promoter score). Take a Look At Umbrella Policies A Travelers PLUS® umbrella policy can provide extra protection starting at $1,000,000 of additional personal liability coverage.  Umbrella coverage can include court costs and attorney fees, and it may protect you against various liability hazards not typically covered under home and auto policies. It may also extend protection for other personal liability losses, including: libel slander defamation [...]

2018-10-18T19:47:50-05:00Marketing & Sales Ideas, Property & Casualty|
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Group Special Enrollment For 1/1/2019 Effective Date

Group Special Enrollment This is the period when groups who do not meet employer contribution or employee participation requirements can enroll in a group plan. Group submission paperwork can be submitted to MIBS starting Thursday November 1, 2018. The last date for submission to MIBS is 12p.m. on Friday December, 14, 2018. Note- Later submissions (those closer to December 14) need to be complete without any missing information or they will not make the deadline. Group must still be a business eligible for group coverage Only available for the small group market (1-50) Employer does not need to pay any portion of the employee premium Employee participation requirement is waived Perfect for that group that is still on Individual policies Group premiums are usually lower and offer richer benefits than comparable individual plans Businesses on individual policies can have access to a large PPO network with a group plan All carriers must participate with the group SEP Sales Ideas Collect all the names of groups that you have quoted but who did not purchase a group plan Contact them again in October to see if they would be [...]

2018-10-18T19:47:12-05:00Marketing & Sales Ideas, Medical, MIBS Updates|
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