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We agents are always looking for new ways to grow our business. So, while you are prospecting don’t forget about your access to Combo Apps. These applications combine Medicare Supplement and Final Expense products on one app, simplifying the cross selling opportunity, and providing an efficient means to increase sales and commissions with a more diverse portfolio. It’s important not to leave business on the table with your clients and a good Combo App is an easy way to start.

Here are the Top 5 Benefits of selling the Combo App:

1. Increase your sales volume – When you can submit two applications on each client you are, literally, doubling your sales volume with commission results you will see immediately.
   
   
2. Increase your commissions – Commissions are paid at the same level as they would be if you sold the two products separately. Having the extra income will allow you to continue to grow your business.
   
   
3. Get the most out of your leads – Leads can be expensive, so doubling the return on each investment will help you to continue to purchase more from outside sources or, possibly, develop your own website form to capture your own leads.
   
   
4. Diversify your portfolio – Offering both life and health policies will allow you to talk to both new prospects and your current Med Supp clients about their final expense and burial needs and suggest options for them to consider.
   
   
5. Retain your clients – When both of their insurance policies are with you, they are even more likely to keep their business with you. Your higher retention rate will keep old business on the books while allowing you to continue to prospect and accept referrals.

Combo Apps are a great way to increase your business while retaining clients. Be sure to have the products in your portfolio before Annual Enrollment Period starts this fall. We offer both Forethought Life and Sentinel Life top contracts to qualified agents.

Please give us your feedback!
Do you sell the Combo App? Do you find it easy to sell along with the Medicare Supplement? Are your clients usually receptive to both products? Do you have any advice for those just getting into it?

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In the past few years, the senior insurance market has seen tremendous growth. Curious if this would continue to be the case, Bryan R. Neary and his associates launched a study to find out if Med Advantage would trump Med Supp in the next ten years. They found the process more complex than they originally thought, but in the end they saw the Med Supp enrollment increasing in the 10 year time frame. Due to the proposed new health care laws, Neary and his team made conservative assumptions based on what is already known. They took the current Medicare enrollment, a reliable Medicare enrollment projection, the historical changes in the Medicare market, and a realistic Medicare Supplement projection into consideration when compiling their data. The assumptions they used were that the demographics of current Medicare beneficiaries are accurate, there will not be a dramatic shift in the future, lapse and replacement rates will not experience a dramatic change, and annual rate increases will not have a dramatic change.

Neary explained that signs of growth in the Med Supp market include:

1. Baby Boomers – with this generation comes an influx of 15.4 million over the next 10 years, providing multiple opportunities for Med Supp sales.
   
   
2. Medicare Advantage Reductions –the health care law includes Medicare provisions that will gradually reduce subsidies paid to Medicare Advantage starting in 2012.
   
   
3. Decrease in Retiree Health Benefits – due to the economic times less companies will be able to offer retiree health benefits, by 25% over the past 20 years.
   
   
4. New Medicare Supplement Plans – new plans should be introduced in 2014, eliminating first-dollar coverage. Like with the introduction of Plans M and N in 2010, this will likely create a buzz in the market and generate more sales. He also suggests more lower-cost plans become available, which would open the market to those who previously couldn’t afford it.

Their conclusion is that the Medicare Supplement offers a long-term sustainability. With the opportunities available like Baby Boomers, Medicare Advantage reductions, decrease in retiree health benefits, and the insertions of new Med Supp plans into the market there will be an increase in selling opportunities and, therefore, enrollment.

To review the list of Medicare Supplement companies that we offer, please see our Medicare Supplement carriers.

Please give us your feedback!
Do you agree with Neary's findings? Have you already begun to see an upswing with the influx of Baby Boomers?

Source: InsuranceNewsNet

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It's the first night of the five-day cruise you've been looking forward to for months. You sit at your dinner table and meet the people you are going to dine with for the next week. After getting to know them, you find out that one couple is retired and about to turn 65. A light bulb goes on in your brain. When they ask what you do you causally say "I am a senior insurance agent." The couple lives in a whole new area, most likely has several referrals, and you have wanted to expand your business to prospect over the phone. You then start to decide how to ask them about their health insurance coverage. This opportunity, just like meeting people on planes or hotel resorts, is an excellent way to casually prospect. As we sit in the middle of summer, many agents are taking their summer vacations for some rest and relaxation; and, as InsuranceNewsNet notes, "many [agents] have a dominant selling gene that drives them to see every situation as an opportunity."

Here are some tips to handle selling while on vacation:

• Be "Them"-Centered
  When starting to prospect in a casual vacation environment it's important to ask a lot of questions and let the prospect lead the conversation. They may have questions or concerns, which you can touch on, and then give them your business card and website address for additional information. Michael Wall, president of Wall Financial group advises, "People have their guard down and you are having a conversation. You don't know where it will lead, but you also don't need to write an app."
  
  
• Have a Door-Opener
  One suggestion is to wear a shirt with your company name that sparks an interest from other people. When they ask about it, you can explain what it means and who you are, and continue the conversation from there. If the conversation is positive, give them a business card and tell them to visit your website. You will be amazed how your brand will resonate with them later on.
  
  
• Let Them Pursue It
  It's not necessary to pursue business while on vacation, but sometimes an occasion comes up that is worth looking into. The "who are you and what do you do" questions happen everywhere you meet people, so it's important to respond proactively and be open to business, since you never know who could be a great prospect. Chris Bradley, a senior life specialist says, "I definitely have balance, I work hard and I play hard. And I don't push."
  
  
• Remember not to go too far
  Obviously, you don't want to be the guy at the party everyone tries to get away from. Keep the conversation open and only answer the questions they ask without, as Bradley puts it "shoving the products down their throats." Vacation is not the time to pressure prospects; instead it is a great time to open your business to new areas and people who presumably have more referrals.

Be approachable, friendly, and helpful if you decide to prospect while you are on vacation. Steve Kloyda recommends, "You should give a little information, and then arrange to talk later."

Please give us your feedback!
Do you prospect while on vacation? Or do you prefer to separate your work? If you have prospected while on vacation, how did it go? Have you expanded your business as a result?

Source: InsuranceNewsNet

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We all know that Plan "F" has been the most popular plan in the industry. It’s an easy to sell, all-inclusive plan that allows the Medicare beneficiary to fill in all of the gaps Medicare leaves behind. Yet, the Medicare Modernization Act of 2010 has now made Plan "G" more attractive than ever. In the past, Plan "G" did not cover the Part B Deductible (now $162) and only covered 80% of the Part B Excess charges; however, due to the Medicare Modernization Act, Plan "G" now covers 100% of the Part B Excess charges just like a Plan "F". This means that the only difference between a Plan "F" and a Plan "G" is the Part B Deductible.

In other words, if the premiums for a Plan "F" exceed $162 or more than the premiums for a Plan "G", the Plan "G" is a more cost effective option for your clients- especially your healthier clients!

Forethought Medicare Supplement makes Plan G an especially attractive product, with a couple hundred dollars in savings every year in some states.

Here are a few other facts to consider with Plan "G":

• Plan "G" is not exposed to Guarantee Issue.This drastically reduces the potential risk associated with Plans A, C and F.
• Plan "G" has statistically fewer rate increases. As a result of less bad business, the rate increases are more modest and happen less often than with a Plan "F".
• Plan "G" is tougher to replace.Once a client has a Plan "G" and has seen the benefit of paying less over the year they are less likely to be swayed to a Plan "F". Thus, you will have an easier time retaining those clients and keeping their business on the books.

Plan "G" is a smart choice for your clients with a good health history, looking for immediate cost savings, and don’t mind satisfying their Part B deductible at doctor visits. With statistically less rate increases and an increase in persistency, Plan "G" has a lot of benefits to agents.

Please give us your feedback!
Do you sell Plan "G"? Do you find your clients are receptive to the product? Have you found an increase in persistency with those clients?

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An agent’s interactions with their prospects and clients are rapidly changing with the online age and influx of Baby Boomers becoming Medicare eligible. Gone are the days where the agent has all the information and a face-to-face meeting needs to take place. Now, seniors are able to research available companies in their area online and have an idea of what will be the best fit before they speak to the agent. Also, the method is changing too. Seniors today are just as comfortable talking over the phone or via email about their options, and in most cases, a meeting is not needed for them to make a decision on which plan to go with.

Thus, it is a great time for agents to be selling Medicare Supplements over the phone. Some may fear the negative aspects of selling by phone: losing eye contact, body language, personal insight, and the thought that a client will disengage more easily than during a face-to-face meeting. However, online and over the phone sales have several distinct benefits as well.

The four main benefits are:

1. This is how coming-of-age seniors want to do business. People turning 65 are accustomed to doing business by phone; it has been commonplace in industries for the past 10 years. Also, with all the other products and services available online, the idea of obtaining a supplemental insurance product the same way seems natural.
2. Save time by not traveling to and from meetings. When you are “smiling and dialing” you don’t lose the time you would have spent scheduling a meeting, traveling to the meeting, conducting the meeting, and then traveling back to your workplace. Any good salesperson knows: the more people you see, the more sales you make, and that time savings can allow you to use the phone to "see more people".
3. Don't lose time when you have "no shows." Ever taken the time to schedule a meeting only to have the potential client not show up? It’s annoying. If the client doesn’t show up to a virtual meeting or conference call you only loose minutes, rather than hours.
   
   
4. Increased production and income. With a more efficient use of time you’ll be able to reach more seniors as well as expand your prospecting area. With Medicare Supplements you can be appointed in several states and target senior rich areas, regardless of whether they are in your “driving area” or not. Also, when you add the possibilities of a Combo App – like those from Forethought and Sentinel – you have the ability to double the sales on each call with a value-added product.

Once you decide selling by phone is something you want to pursue there are a few things you will need to consider. Seniors looking to do business online have a “shopping” mentality and are looking for information that will guide them into making the right decision. They are not looking to be “sold” on a particular product. Take the time to have a discussion; educate them and build trust that you have the right products, experience, and expertise for their supplemental insurance needs. Once you close the sale, make sure to keep in touch with your client. This will allow you to make sure your clients are not only happy with your service, but put you on the forefront of their memory when a friend or relative asks about their agent.

It’s important to recognize this changing market and prepare yourself for the new techniques used in online and over the phone sales. With thousands of seniors turning 65 every day, it’s more important than ever to keep up with the exploding marketplace.

Please give us your feedback!
Do you sell online or over the phone? How has it changed your business? Did you find the transition difficult?

Source: Agents Sales Journal

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