With another busy Annual Election Period (AEP), in the books, the ability to sell insurance may seem slow. During the downturn, many insurance salespeople may opt to slow down their efforts to sell insurance – and rightfully so. They’ve worked their tails off for the last several months.
However, the tendency of the average brokerage to take things easy during this time of the year creates a tremendous opportunity for agencies that are focused on giving their clients the best service possible at all times.
If your agency is looking to boost its productivity and income after completing a successful AEP, you may want to look into selling Medicare supplements. So, what does it take to sell Medicare supplements effectively, you ask? Well, look no further! We’ve answered this question and have the scoop on everything else you need to know to sell Medicare supplements like a pro!
What Is a Medicare Supplement Plan?
For many retirees, Medicare coverage doesn’t go far enough. As a result, roughly 23% of Medicare’s 65+ million beneficiaries opt to enroll in a Medigap plan. These are additional coverage plans offered by private insurers that help offset the costs associated with coinsurance, copays, hospice care insurance, skilled nursing facility care, deductibles, and more.
Navigating the different types of health insurance plans can be overwhelming. So, let’s begin with explaining what Medicare Advantage is and how it differs from Medicare Supplement Plans aka Medigap.
What Is the Difference Between Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplement Plans?
Medicare Advantage is an alternative to Original Medicare and is sometimes referred to as Medicare Part C.
Medicare Advantage Plan and Medigap policies are not the same. Clients can choose to purchase Medigap or sign up for a Medicare Advantage Plan when they first begin receiving benefits under Medicare, but not both.
Additionally, to get a Medigap policy, they must have Parts A and B of Original Medicare.
What Is the Average Cost of Supplemental Insurance for Medicare?
Since there are several different plans under Medigap, the average monthly cost is typically between $50 to $300 for clients, but can also change based on premiums changed by insurance carriers.
There are three different criteria for pricing Medigap policies from insurance carriers.
Attained-age policies: This premium is determined by a client’s present age. As a result, as they age, their insurance premiums will increase. However, they may also rise in accordance with other variables, such as inflation.
Age-rated policies for issues: The premium for this kind of coverage is determined by the policyholder's age at the time of purchase. Prices will be cheaper for younger insurance clients.Unrated: With this pricing, regardless of age, the monthly premium will be the same for all policyholders.
What Are the Benefits of Selling Medicare Supplements?
1. Expanded Client Base
The goal of any insurance agency seeking to grow should be to sell more insurance products to more clients.
Once you’ve converted a lead into a paying client, the ball is in your court when it comes to keeping that client engaged and retaining their business. By selling Medicare supplements to your clients, you can position yourself as a trusted adviser who’s exceeding their expectations and looking out for their best interests.
Once a client decides to give Medicare supplements a try, there’s a good chance that they will sing your agency’s praises to the folks in their network. Sooner or later, at least one of those people will pick up their phone and call you!
2. Commissions
Selling supplemental Medicare insurance can also deliver big results. Believe it or not, when selling Medicare supplements, you are able to earn the same commission for at least seven years. Get enough new clients on board, and you’ll generate a steady stream of residual income.
How To Get Started With Selling Medicare Supplemental Insurance
Consider Your Selling Options
Before you dive into selling Medicare and Medigap plans, it’s important to know the legal guidelines first. For example, if you’re selling Medicare supplements, it’s illegal to visit a client’s home without an invitation to promote or sell anything or ask for personal information over the phone, such as Social Security, bank account, or credit card number. The exception to this is if the visit is necessary to confirm membership, ascertain eligibility for enrollment, handle an enrollment request, and more. To see all the marketing rules for selling Medicare supplements, you can find them here.
Over the Phone
Have a Prepared Script
Now that you’ve gotten up to speed with the marketing rules, it’s now important to prioritize different channels of communication for selling insurance, including over the phone and in person.
For both methods, it’s vital that you can create a great script to successfully sell Medigap. When crafting a script, keep the following steps in mind to nail your pitch:
- Have a strong opening line
- Highlight the benefits of your plan compared to competitors
- Address concerns and pain points
- Practice your script with peers
- Don’t get discouraged; revise and refine until you see better results!
Why Is a Script Important?
By generating leads through cold calling, you may increase sales and create a network of future clients.
In-person
While many processes have shifted to online or over the phone, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t sharpen your selling skills for in-person encounters. Here are a few ways you can do so:
- Leverage anecdotes and stories to highlight your business
- Aim to meet all your client’s needs through upselling or cross-selling
- Cultivate relationships with existing clients
- Utilize social media to market your business
- Take advantage of positive testimonials and reviews
Understand the Available Options
Medigap extends to multiple plans. From plans A to N, it’s easy to get confused about the ins and outs of each one. To understand everything about each plan, you can learn more here.
Know Which Leads To Target
Since selling Medicare supplements pertains to those who are eligible for Medigap, it’s important to understand those candidates and how you can target those leads with helpful tools and best practices.
One way to do this is through cross-selling. Cross-selling allows you to cover all the needs of your clients. For example, while a client may believe they have the coverage they need, they may be unaware of potential changes that have happened to their plan. This is where you can boost your business and help your clients out via cross-selling supplemental coverage.
Knowing which leads to target can improve your cross-selling capabilities by allowing you to tailor each offering to clients based on their needs and eligibility. Since many seniors look for Medigap plans to help them with costs that Medicare can’t cover, they are a great starting point for lead generation. Nobody can foresee every health condition, and many conditions can cost seniors a fortune if they require numerous doctor appointments, advanced medical equipment, and several hospital treatments. Many of these charges are out-of-pocket extras that Medigap insurance can assist seniors with avoiding hidden or unforeseen costs.
Focus on Improving Relationships With Existing
Establish relationships with your clients and get to know them which makes selling Medicare supplements easier. A focus on retaining existing clients has been shown to improve profits by up to 95%, making it imperative that you tailor your marketing to existing clients, not just leads.
Make Selling Medicare Supplements Easier With a Quoting and Enrollment Tool
If your agency is looking to overcome the post-AEP lull, there’s no better time than today to see which of your clients are interested in strengthening their current coverage.
One way you can do this is with the best technology for selling Medicare supplements for brokers and agents. That’s where Quotit enters the picture! With our end-to-end customer relationship management (CRM), quoting, enrollment, and lead-targeting tools, you can maximize your business, regardless if it’s during AEP or not.
Request a demo with us today and discover the full power of Quotit!
