Atlantic Coast Life Medicare Supplement

"Transforming the Agent & Customer Experience"

PSM is proud to be an exclusive distributor for Atlantic Coast Life's (ACL) Medicare Supplement Plans.

We are excited to introduce their new Med Supp product to you along with an agent experience like no other!

With state of the art features and technologies, securing Medicare Supplement coverage for your clients has never been easier. Along with competitive rates,excellent commissions and writing agent bonus, you don't want to miss this exciting opportunity.

Medicare Supplement 1st Quarter 2018 Results

Last month CSG Actuarial reported the 1st quarter 2018 Medicare Supplement enrollment results for UnitedHealthcare.  We now have updates from other market leaders Aetna, Humana, CNO Financial, and Torchmark, summarized below.

Aetna Reports Medicare Supplement Results for 1st Quarter 2018

For 1st quarter 2018, Aetna reported Medicare Supplement member in-force counts of 748,000, up 8,000 from 4th quarter 2017 and 37,000 over the past 12 months.  The 8,000 increase in membership during 1st quarter 2018 is 69% lower than the membership growth in 1st quarter 2017.  Aetna’s Medicare Supplement membership growth rate slowed considerably since 2016 due to an overall weakening of competitive positioning and increased competition from other market leaders on Plan G.  The table below shows Aetna’s Medicare Supplement enrollment counts by quarter since 4th quarter 2011 and annual increase in Medicare Supplement enrollment counts by quarter since 4th quarter 2012.  CSG Actuarial projects Aetna’s overall Medicare Supplement sales at 4th in the overall market over the past 12 months.

Humana Reports Medicare Supplement Results for 1st Quarter 2018

Humana reported 1st quarter 2018 Medicare Supplement lives of 238,700, a 1.2% increase over 4th quarter 2017 and a 3% increase over 1st quarter 2017.  The 2,800 increase in membership during 1st quarter 2018 is 78% lower than the membership growth in 1st quarter 2017.  The table below shows Humana’s Medicare Supplement enrollment counts by quarter since 1st quarter 2011.  Humana also reported 1st quarter 2018 Medicare Supplement premiums of $125 million, up 6% from 1st quarter 2017.  Based on estimates from CSG Actuarial, Humana’s sales ranked 7th in the market over the past 12 months.

CNO Financial Group Reports Medicare Supplement Sales in 1st Quarter 2018

CNO Financial Group (parent company of Bankers Life & Casualty, Washington National, and Colonial Penn) reported 1st quarter 2018 Medicare Supplement sales of $12.9 million, down 20% from 1st quarter 2017.  For the past 12 months CNO Financial Group reported Medicare Supplement sales of $62.7 million, ranking in the top 10 in the Medicare Supplement market.  CNO Financial Group also reported 1st quarter 2018 Medicare Supplement earned premiums of $206 million, down $4 million from 1st quarter 2017.

Torchmark Reports Medicare Supplement Sales in 1st Quarter 2018

Torchmark reported 1st quarter 2018 Medicare Supplement annualized new sales of $15.7 million, up 22% from 1st quarter 2017.  For the past 12 months, Torchmark reported Medicare Supplement annualized new sales of $69.1 million, ranking in the top 10 in the market.

Source

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Mutual of Omaha to Enter Medicare Advantage Market in 2019

I'm sure if you've spent even a short amount of time in the Insurance industry you will recognize the name Mutual of Omaha.

But did you know that Mutual of Omaha will begin selling its first Medicare Advantage health plan in 2019?

Mutual of Omaha will work in cooperation with Lumeris Inc., a St. Louis company that will arrange health provider networks and manage the plans.

It’s a big step for the Omaha-based insurer, which got out of the individual and small-group health insurance business more than a decade ago, although it has sold Medicare Supplement plans since 1966 and is the second-largest source of those plans.

But Medicare Supplement enrollment is declining and Medicare Advantage sales are increasing, said Brad Buechler, a Mutual executive vice president.

Medicare Supplement insurance, also known as Medigap, is sold by private companies to help pay some costs not covered by government Medicare.

Medicare Advantage plans also are sold by private companies but are an alternative to government-run Medicare, providing the traditional coverage plus other benefits.

About one-fifth of Medicare recipients use Medicare Supplement coverage to augment their Medicare plans. About one-third use Medicare Advantage plans, and Kaiser Family Foundation predicts that share to pass 40 percent by 2027.

“The goal here is to ensure that we’ve got all of the interests of all parties aligned through the whole health care delivery value system,” Buechler said.

Between 2001 and 2007 Mutual got out of small-group, individual major and group health insurance, dismantling its health care provider networks.

Lumeris has the expertise to set up new networks of providers that want to practice “value-based” care that depends on good medical outcomes rather than traditional fees for each medical service, Buechler said.

Lumeris also will help identify metropolitan statistical areas — yet to be selected — where the new plans can compete for significant market share, he said.

Mutual, which is likely to count more than $8 billion in revenue this year, will own the plans under the Mutual Medicare Advantage name and will provide brand, marketing and distribution expertise and capital.

Mutual declined to reveal its financial goals for the Medicare Advantage business.

Buechler said the plans will have “narrow” networks, meaning clients will choose from limited numbers of physicians, hospitals and other care providers. Such managed care networks are designed to reduce costs while improving efficiency and medical outcomes.

The two companies expect the first plans to be ready for the Medicare open enrollment period that starts Oct. 15, with advertising leading up to that and plans taking effect Jan. 1, 2019.

Precision Senior Marketing is a proud partner of Mutual of Omaha and we look forward to offer agents another quality Mutual of Omaha product as soon it comes available.

Source: http://www.omaha.com/money/mutual-of-omaha-plans-to-sell-medicare-advantage-health-plans/article_abdb2ae8-fbe4-11e7-b7c4-bb29f4f4e57e.html

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What to consider when selling Medicare Supplement insurance

When you commit to selling Medicare Supplements, you’re trading the higher commission you may have earned selling final expense or other insurance products for the opportunity to amass a book of business that will eventually give you exponential residual commissions.

That is the biggest pro of selling Medicare Supplements.

Related: How To Get Started In Medicare Sales.

The challenge of selling Medicare Supplements centers around three areas:

1. Cultivating enough trust over the phone to enroll a senior in a plan.
2. The annual need for check-ins (via phone, email, or card).
3. The initial low commissions you make starting out when you don’t have that many clients and have to pay for leads.

Good reasons to specialize

Here are a few reasons that make Medicare Supplements a lucrative product to sell:

1. Renewals can eventually compound to very large commissions.
2. Agents can sell this over the phone more easily than other insurance products.
3. Due to the continued required amount of service work every year, there’s the potential for more referrals.
4. It’s easier to sell Medicare supplement products to seniors and then cross-sell them a final expense plan with the savings, than it is to sell a final expense plan initially and then cross-selling Med Supp.

Agents who may be weighing final expense insurance sales versus Medicare supplement product sales will see obvious differences between commissions, the learning curve it takes to get up-to-speed to sell, the amount of annual service required, and the sales environment.

A more experienced agent will not look at these two types of insurance in terms of having to sell one or the other, and may decide instead to sell both. If you’re catering to seniors in both instances, why not offer both products?

Source: http://www.lifehealthpro.com/2017/03/21/what-to-consider-when-selling-medicare-supplement

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