2019 AHIP Update Plus $50 Discount!

AHIP Certification 2020 discount training medicare


2019 AHIP Update

Get Your $50 AHIP Training Discount TODAY!



Nobody wants to be that agent that’s scrambling at the last minute to complete their AHIP certification in late September. A successful AEP starts with a plan, so plan on knocking out your AHIP as soon as possible. AHIP is now open! 

Get your 2019 AHIP Discount TODAY!

A lot of you may have heard about our $50 discount, because this will be our third year providing this discount. Now I know what you’re thinking, “big whoop, a lot of carriers provide the same discount.” Unlike most carrier discounts that are not available until several weeks after AHIP is released, you can use our discount now!. Last year, RB Insurance reimbursed all directly affiliated agents that submitted at least 5 new Medicare Advantage enrollments. This year you will have that same opportunity to be fully reimbursed on your 2019 AHIP certification, see below for details!

AHIP Reimbursement Details

  • Contract with 3 Medicare Advantage carriers directly through RBI.
  • Make 5 Medicare Advantage enrollments with RBI during AEP.
  • Enjoy that sweet $125 check after the policies go into effect!
  • Reimbursement applies to Agencies as well, Contact us for details!



Looking for 2020 AHIP Certification information?

RB Insurance Group is proud to announce that we will once again, in 2020, give Agents a $50 Discount & the opportunity to receive a full reimbursement.

Register for Your Discount Now Click Here: 2020 AHIP Discount

2020 AHIP Important Information & Announcements Click Here: 2020 AHIP Certifications

2019 AHIPAce the 2019 AHIP

It’s been proven that AHIP and certification season have been known to cause widespread misery, the CDC has warned that it’s even contagious. Not to fear, RBI has the cure for you!

Looking for the latest news about Medicare Advantage certification? Be sure to check out your one-stop certification shop. You will be able to access all of your Medicare Advantage certifications from this one page, so make sure you check back often as the carriers start to release their MAPD product certifications. If you have any questions about our AHIP discount/reimbursement program, feel free to call our office: 1-800-997-3107!



Agent's Advantage Blog
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Agent's Advantage Blog

New Medicare Cards, Changes to Medigap, and Scammers; Oh my!

Medicare cost-sharing

Charlie Ferrell, National Sales Manager

About the Author: Charlie started his senior insurance career after a brief 30-year stint in the restaurant industry. In the 12 years since then, he has been blazing trails and setting standards for excellence all over! A native son of Utah, he has been a state manager for RBI as well as a managing general agent for UHC, Coventry, Molina and other carriers! Charlie came to RBI as the National Sales Manager in 2015, and is an invaluable resource for our agents and staff for marketing, compliance, and sales topics! If all of that wasn’t enough, Charlie specializes in the Dual-Eligible market and is leading the charge behind many of RBI’s new training initiatives!

New Medicare Cards, Changes to Medigap, and Scammers; Oh my!

As you have probably heard by now, the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is scheduled to begin issuing new Medicare cards this month. New cards will be issued in phases, mailed by geographic location, beginning in April 2018. The goal is to reduce fraud, fight identity theft, and protect taxpayer dollars by removing the current SSN-based HICN, and replacing it with a new, unique Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI) number. By April 2019, all Medicare beneficiaries should possess an updated card with their new, unique MBI.

Click here for a regional schedule to help your clients anticipate when to expect their new card. CMS has also released a Medicare Card Messaging Guidelines document which you can reference to help your clients better understand the new changes. It is important to note that the new MBIs are confidential and should be protected as Personally Identifiable Information. New cards will arrive in an envelope from the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. See below for a sample.

Medicare CardsMedicare CardsMedicare Cards

Help Protect Your Clients!

Ironically, scammers are already taking advantage of this new measure intended to protect beneficiaries against them. There have already been reports of telephone phishing scams, viral social media alerts and emails from individuals claiming to represent Medicare or CMS, attempting to extract personal information or even “processing fees” from vulnerable senior citizens.

It is our responsibility as agents to help protect our clients from scammers by educating them. CMS has extensive resources on how Medicare beneficiaries can protect themselves on their website, including this flyer with details about the new cards. For more information, check out the official CMS webpage for the new Medicare Cards.

Are you a licensed agent looking to grow your business and better serve your clients? Then I encourage you to call our office today to learn all about the RBI family and more importantly how we can serve your business! 800-997-3107.



Agent's Advantage Blog

New Agent: Getting Started

About the Author: With his signature common sense, quiet good humor, and brilliant customer service, Jim is an integral part of the RBI team — we’d go so far as to say we’d be lost without him! An Arizona native, Jim manages agent relationships for the East Coast and specializes in the RBI agent tools, especially the Agent Market Edge. Jim has been a licensed health insurance agent for 2 years, and has worked at RBI for almost 3 years. An accomplished bassoonist, he is known around the office for his amazing musical skills. In addition to keeping busy around the office, Jim frequently contributes to our blog, bringing a new agent’s perspective to the RBI online presence.

New Agent: How to Get Started

So you just got your Health Insurance License and now you’re wondering where you go from here.  Let RB Insurance Group help you avoid many of the pitfalls a new agent can fall into.

Prime the “Pump”

Zig Ziglar said it best, you have to think of your sales pipeline like an old water well. You’re going to have to work hard to prime that old well’s pump before anything starts coming out the other end. But once that water DOES start flowing, it doesn’t take much work to keep it going. The idea here is that acquiring new business is always the most difficult and typically the most expensive cost for an agent. Once you’ve built your Book of Business to a considerable size, you can use your existing clients to bring in new business!

If you’ve done your job right, your clients will trust you as their Senior Insurance Adviser and ultimately refer their friends and family to you. The key here is, you must be proactive. Agents across the US would all be starving if we just sat by our phones waiting for them to ring with a prospective client on the other end. In the famous words of (okay, maybe not so famous… YET) RBI National Sales Manager, Charlie Ferrell. “He who climbs the tree and hollers, is the one that gets the dollars.”

New Agent

Getting your First Clients

I can see it on your face, you’re thinking, “This sounds great and all, but where do I actually start?” Like I said above, when you’re first starting out as a new agent, you’re going to have to work for it. There’s a few different ways you can go about building that precious *Smeagle’s voice from LOTR* Book of Business.

Buying Leads

This is probably the first thing that goes through your head when I talk about getting started. There’s a reason why there are so many companies selling leads: it works. But there is a catch here that’s no secret, it’s expensive. There are a few different routes you can go when buying leads for Medicare Advantage: Direct Mail, Online, and more. Which avenue you choose is going to be largely determined by your target market.

Buying leads a fantastic way to “prime your sales pump”, especially if you have some extra cash to invest in your business. But your best bet is to combine a few different strategies to find new clients and not put all your eggs in one basket so to speak.

Educational Events

Educational events are a fantastic way to fill your sales pipeline with leads. The approach with educational events is more of a long term approach than simply just buying leads. The number one reason for that is, you can’t enroll or accept applications at a Medicare Educational event. So how effective are educational events you ask? Last year one of our agents made over 250 enrollments with leads from educational events. The goal is to put on an amazing event so that the attendees will look to you as a trusted adviser. It’s simple, people buy from people they trust. Now, you do have follow CMS regulations regarding educational events to remain compliant.

One of my favorite reasons for putting on educational events, especially for a new agent? They don’t break the bank!  Your local public library will typically have space available to hold seminars at very little to no cost.

So how do you get people to show up? I like to get permission and put up flyers at different businesses (that are close to your event) to advertise, think of places where seniors are more likely to be. Think of any groups you belong to, church, book clubs, golf buddies, etc. The trick is to let everyone know what you do! Even if they’re not Medicare eligible, I can guarantee you that they know someone that is. Word of mouth is hands down the cheapest way to get people to show up. Last but not least, cold calling. Just the words “cold calling” leave a bad taste in a lot of people’s mouths, but it is a great skill to have, especially if you plan on doing Medicare educational events. You have to be careful here though, as you cannot discuss Medicare Part C and D plan specifics with prospective beneficiaries, even if they ask you about it. If you called them and they bring up Medicare Advantage, you cannot talk about specific benefits. You are ONLY trying to get them to attend your educational event, DO NOT try to sell these people over the phone.

Upcoming Webinar on Thursday, March 21st, 2019!

Join RBI National Sales Manager, Charlie Ferrell, for our webinar: “Medicare Educational Events for Newbies!” Use the Button below or click HERE to RSVP!

Also be sure to check out my blog post about the “Power of Voice Inflection” for great tips to improve your phone skills!

Words of Wisdom

Here’s a story from Bob Bever, CEO at RBI. It was November of 2017. Bob was pumping gas, filling up before heading to an appointment across town when the guy next to him asked him about his “Medicare Compare” shirt. Bob spends 3 minutes with him telling him exactly what he does and how he helps people, then hands him a business card. A few days pass and the guy ends up calling Bob and enrolls in a plan that fit his needs. Not bad for a lead that only cost him 3 minutes of his time.

Agents tend to minimize their experience and ignore the people around them every day. People you know, people who you meet in your daily life, have no idea what you do. Spend 3 minutes with these people and tell them exactly what it is that you do and how you help people. Then hand them a business card. Being a new agent doesn’t have to be a struggle! RB Insurance Group has the tools and experience to help you! With a little hard work you’ll be on your way to what we all strive for, that six-figure residual income.

Are you a new agent that’s looking to get started in the Medicare industry? RB Insurance is here to “Make it Happen for You.” We love helping new agents succeed in the Medicare market. Give us a call today to see how you fit in the RBI family at 1-800-997-3107!