Introducing Equitable’s Bill Ellsworth

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Bill Ellsworth is the VP of Heartland National Life Insurance Company and has been in the insurance industry for more than 32 years. Bill will be with us on April 21st showing us how to use the Equitable portfolio of products.Equitable pt 2

For 80 years Equitable Life & Casualty has provided top-notch Life and Health insurance plans to senior Americans, backed by the unmatched fast, friendly personalized service that is the hallmark of our company. Our product portfolio primarily includes Whole Life insurance plans, Medicare Supplements, Specified Disease, Hospital Indemnity coverages. We provide innovative products and services, along with rapid and hassle-free ways for customers to do business with us, which in turn promotes greater financial security and peace of mind for our policyowners and their loved ones.

In December 2008, Heartland National Life entered a strategic agreement with Equitable to provide administrative services and re-insurance for Heartland National Life. Equitable currently has a great portfolio of products and Bill will be sharing all of the secrets to selling their great line up.

For more information on how to get contracted with Equitable and other indemnity products contact us at contracting@rbi-group.com or give us a call at 1-(800) 997-3107

An Equitable Webinar Invitation

Join us on Thursday, April 21st at 10:00 am (MST) for a webinar about how to sell Equitable’s portfolio of products presented by Bill Ellsworth.

To Register, Click Here

Increase Your Cash Flow with Hospital Indemnity plans

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As the National Sales Manager, I have spent countless hours on the road, teaching agents, conducting training sessions, and hosting recruiting events. I have realized that, no matter how diverse my audiences may be, certain things are universal- such as the unmistakable way my audience’s eyes glaze over as soon as I mention Hospital Indemnity plans. Most agents understand Indemnity plans in theory. They also agree that it is important to include a variety of ancillary products in their portfolio. But when it comes down to it, the majority of agents do notHospital Building bother to pitch Indemnity plans to their clients. Whether they don’t fully recognize the value, or the flat out don’t know how to sell it- RBI is here to help!

“Never leave money sitting on the table.” The old sales adage rings true. If you are not selling your clients an indemnity policy to complement their low-premium Medicare Advantage plan, that is EXACTLY what you are doing! Indemnity plans are extremely affordable, and you will quickly become your client’s hero once he or she experiences the benefits after that first hospital visit.

The primary concern of my Medicare Advantage clients is often, “How on earth will I pay for a hospital stay?!” I have also had several clients who grew frustrated with the high cost of Medicare Supplements, yet were afraid to switch to Medicare Advantage with their higher Hospital co-pays.. In either case, my solution was to enroll them into a low-premium (or no-premium) Medicare Advantage plan, along with a hospital indemnity plan for added coverage.

I never sign up a client for the “bare minimum.” It is better to have more coverage and not need it – than to not have it when you need it! Hospital costs continue to rise, and insurance plans evolve, but the health of my clients is generally not improving. I make sure to cover them for a hospital stay a little above and beyond the current hospital copay amounts. I do this because if a higher amount of coverage is needed at a later time, chances are they probably will not be healthy enough to pass the underwriting necessary to increase coverage. So far, not one of my clients has turned down the extra money they received from filing a claim.
RBI offers agents a variety of ancillary product carriers- GTL, Equitable, American Continental and Medico. GTL’s Advantage Plus plan is the only plan with a guaranteed issue period for ages 64 ½ to 65 ½. Bill Ellsworth, Vice President of Equitable, recorded an excellent presentation last year on how to sell hospital indemnity during a Medicare Advantage appointment. Frankly, it is probably the best training example I have ever seen, and I strongly recommend all Equitable agents seek it out on the Equiline broker site. Following Bill’s outline, I am confident you will be able to increase your commissions throughout the year.

Health products are the only products you can discuss during a Medicare appointment. You must make sure your client understands the need as you make your presentation. Show them the holes in their current plan, then fill it with an indemnity policy. All of the indemnity products can be cross-sold during an MA appointment. There is even a “Hospital Indemnity Plan” checkbox on the generic CMS-approved Scope of Appointment form most of us already use.

An Indemnity Webinar Invitation

Join us on Thursday, April 7th at 10:00 am (MST) for a webinar about how to cross sell indemnity products year round to protect your clients and increase your commissions. This is particularly important since carriers are now prorating all MA commissions other than a person that is new to Medicare.

To Register, Click Here

 

 

 

Don’t leave money on the table this AEP: Sell Hospital Indemnity with Medicare Advantage

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My first insurance sales trainer loved to tell me, “Don’t leave money on the table.” When it comes to coupling hospital indemnity plans with Medicare Advantage, his advice resonates a little louder. Hospital indemnity plans are very affordable for your clients and pay excellent first-year commissions, often in the 50 percent range (Of course, commission varies by states).

Most hospital indemnity plans offer inpatient confinement benefits ranging from $100 to $600 as well as an ER benefit. Depending on the carrier, optional features include benefits for skilled nursing facility days, follow-up appointments, outpatient surgery and even payment for the dreaded observation status. A cancer rider is an important option you can review with clients when discussing hospital indemnity.

Guarantee Trust Life, Equitable and Medico are carriers we are proud to affiliate with and offer to our agents. Just click on our Carriers page for more information or contact us at the number below. For those of you who concentrate on the T-65 market, note that GTL’s Advantage Plus plan is guaranteed issue for ages 64 ½ to 65 ½.

Bill Ellsworth, VP of Equitable, recorded an excellent presentation last year on how to give a good explanation of hospital indemnity during a Medicare Advantage appointment. Frankly, it’s the best training example I’ve seen, and I refer all of our Equitable agents to Bill’s training located on the password-protected Equiline.com broker site. My contact information is below if you’re an Equitable agent and are interested in learning more about Bill’s winning presentation.

In fact, Bill came out to our Arizona office last year to give us additional pointers on presenting Equitable’s EquiCash product. He definitely made me a believer. If you follow Bill’s outline, you should be able to double your MA commission for a surprisingly large number of your AEP and Lock-In appointments.

Cross selling you say! Presenting a hospital indemnity plan with a Medicare Advantage plan is totally compliant with the Medicare Marketing Guidelines.
Hospital indemnity plans are right there on the Scope of Appointment form. If the CMS-approved Scope form you are using does not list hospital indemnity, Medicare Supplements and DVH products, I’ll be glad to email you a copy.

Finally, don’t forget the younger members of the household. Many of these hospital plans are offered from 40-80 years of age. They’re particularly reasonable for the younger folks and can really help fill in those hefty ACA deductibles. Just remember that hospital indemnity coverage is not minimum essential coverage.

For contracting opportunities with GTL, Medico and Equitable, and to receive more useful training content, call RB Insurance at (800) 997 3107 or email me.

Hospital indemnity coverage is not minimum essential coverage

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Hospital indemnity plans, often referred to as HI, have become a valuable add-on for many Medicare beneficiaries. With Medicare Advantage plans’ increasing copays and coshares, these HI options can be a relatively inexpensive solution for your senior clients. Yet seniors are not the only ones who can benefit from HI — you have the opportunity to sell these plans to younger prospects who are not eligible for Medicare.

Your non-Medicare clients may also benefit from a hospital indemnity plan. Just make sure clients have a health plan that fits minimum essential coverage requirements before you write. (Image courtesy of iStock)

Make sure your non-Medicare client is enrolled in a health plan that meets the minimum essential coverage guidelines as defined in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) before you write. All Medicare clients enrolled in Medicare Part A or who have a Medicare Advantage (Part C) plan are deemed to have minimum essential coverage. The on-exchange and off-exchange ACA plans also meet the guidelines, as do most of today’s employee group plans and a limited number of other health plan types.

If your non-Medicare client does not have a plan that complies with the minimum essential coverage guidelines, you should not write him or her a hospital indemnity plan. The carrier will most likely not issue the policy, which would result in a declined application and a disappointed client. An explanation of CMS’ regulation and guidance on the matter is available — start at page 54 after clicking on the link.

RB Insurance works with numerous carriers offering Hospital Indemnity coverage, including GTL, Equitable, Medico and others. Visit our Carriers page to find immediate contracting opportunities.

RB Insurance-affiliated agents can explore the excellent commissions HI can generate with our available online training and one-on-one training. Call (800) 997 3107 or email me for more information.

Click here to get our agent’s original content once a week by email.

Online enrollment is the new normal for Medicare Supplement sales

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I’ll say it again: Online enrollment is becoming the new normal for the Supplement business. While some documents must be left with your client based on state and carrier regulations, these e-enroll systems eliminate most of the need for constantly reviewing paper forms that Agents have carried to appointments for decades. Many carriers offer easy-to-use, downloadable enrollment programs for desktops and laptops. Tablet apps can be used with Internet for immediate submission or offline for use when a Web connection is later available. 

Most large carriers and even some smaller companies have developed outstanding apps in the past few years. Some of the benefits of using them to enroll prospects are:

  • Immediate Submission.
  • Rapid plan approvals.
  • Reduction in paperwork errors.
  • Improved document compliance.
  • Faster commission payout.
  • Convenient and accurate record keeping.

Converting a prospect into a client has clearly become more seamless thanks to carriers’ adoption of the newest technology. In fact, many of the Medigap carriers that partner with RB Insurance have been busy enhancing their online enrollment programs. Humana, Equitable, Medico, Aetna and Mutual of Omaha are just a few. Most local and national Medicare Advantage and PDP providers have also been tweaking their online and offline enrollment processes while readying for the next Annual Enrollment Period, which starts in October. You can start a fast-track appointment request now if you’re already interested in getting Ready To Sell for these carriers.

United Healthcare recently announced the latest enhancements for its online AARP Medicare Supplement enrollment tool. Webinar training schedules are available on United’s broker portal.

Not to be outdone, we’re seeing Agents utilizing online enrollment capabilities with a number of carriers offering varied plan options such as Hospital Indemnity, Senior Life, Cancer, Short Term Care and Accident policies. Our Affiliated Agents have reported that enrollment apps developed by companies such as GTL, Medico, TransAmerica, ARLIC (the Cigna Healthspring Medicare Supplement) and others make the enrollment process increasingly efficient for Life and Indemnity products.

Don’t be shy about using technology in an appointnment — it can make what you do as an Agent much simpler.

Affiliated Agents can contact our office at (800) 997 3107 for assistance in accessing training for any of our+ carriers’ online enrollment tools.

Subscribe to The Agent’s Advantage to get even more tech tips, including How to build a Compliant Medicare marketing website that works.