With Medicare annual enrollment period (AEP) in the rearview mirror, things can get quiet for independent brokers once they’ve matched clients with the coverage they need.
Instead, the end of the busy season should be the beginning of your efforts to improve the client experience, drive additional revenue, and maintain a competitive advantage. Connecting your clients with ancillary health insurance products elevates you to the role of a trusted advisor who makes sure they have the coverage they need.
In this blog, we’ll dive deeper into ancillary insurance, why you should sell it, and the best method to manage your extended selling season.
What To Know About Ancillary Health Insurance Products
What Are Ancillary Insurance Products?
Ancillary benefits are secondary or additional benefits that extend coverage beyond a regular health insurance plan for expenses not typically covered by a core health product.
What Do Ancillary Plans Cover?
Because core health insurance doesn’t cover all health expenses, your clients may need additional coverage to prevent financial hardship. Depending on their selections, ancillary insurance plans give your clients peace of mind; they know they are protected whether they have an accident, a major illness, or dental or vision needs.
There are many different types of ancillary plans, such as:
- Accident
- Critical Illness
- Dental
- Life
- Short-term health
- Vision
- And more
Depending on your carriers, coverage will differ. As with all insurance products, it is essential to familiarize yourself with the coverage each plan offers.
How Does the Ancillary Benefit Work?
The beauty of these secondary plans is that you and your clients can work together to create an insurance portfolio designed to meet their unique needs. Many carriers offer ancillary bundles, or you can pair complementary coverage, such as combining a high-deductible plan with a critical illness plan.
Why You Should Offer Ancillary Health Insurance Plans?
As an independent broker, you manage your entire business and should only take on additional responsibilities when you see a return on your investment.
Selling ancillary health insurance provides value to your clients, and it also pays big dividends to you.
1. Adding Ancillary Products Increases Your Revenue.
Selling additional insurance products helps you build a healthier business, increases the satisfaction in your work, and translates into stronger relationships with your clients and your community.
The bottom line is that adding these products increases your revenue by as much as 30%. There is even a term for it – ancillary revenue – income generated from products outside your main products.
2. It Helps You Offer Better Rates.
When you bundle your personal home and auto insurance, you almost always get better deals. The same sentiment holds true when you sell ancillary insurance products.
Your carriers probably offer discounted premium rates to your clients who purchase additional insurance products. Better rates are great for your clients, but they still lead to increased revenue for you.
3. Offering Ancillary Coverage Improves the Client Experience.
When you offer ancillary coverage, you show that you are interested in more than just the basic needs of your clients. You are also offering them convenience; after all, isn’t it easier to work with one person than several different vendors?
Keep in mind that your best salesperson is a satisfied client. When you improve the client experience, you will see an expanded client base.
4. It Lets Your Business Owner Clients Offer Valuable Employee Benefits.
Met Life’s 2022 Annual U.S. Employee Benefit Trends Study showed that more than half of employees view five different ancillary insurance products as “must haves” in their employment. Dental and vision insurance top the list of important benefits, followed by life, disability, and critical illness coverage.
When your clients add these products to the mix, their companies become more attractive to job seekers – and more appealing to current employees. Because it’s harder than ever to win the war for talent, this is a big selling point.
5. It Establishes You as a Trusted Adviser.
At the end of the day, everyone is looking for a solution to their insurance needs. Nobody may like buying insurance products, but these plans exist for a reason. We need them to live happy and healthy lives.
By choosing to sell ancillary products after AEP, you demonstrate your willingness to go above and beyond by anticipating your clients’ needs, you increase your credibility, and you establish yourself as an expert. With the right approach, you’ll eventually become your clients’ one-stop shop for all things insurance.
Selling Ancillary Products After AEP With a Quoting and Enrolling System
At this point, you probably think that selling ancillary insurance coverage sounds pretty good, but you may be worried that adding several new products to the mix might be difficult. After all, there are only so many hours in the day.
Never fear! We’re here to help you supercharge your sales and expand your profits.
Check out our guide, The Benefits of Ancillary Coverage, for more information about why you should sell ancillary products to your clients and the benefits you’ll see throughout the year.
