How To Get Started In Medicare Sales
The Medicare market is snowballing, and becoming a Medicare agent has much potential for some. It also offers promising career growth and financial stability because it can be lucrative. In addition to plenty of earning potential, some other perks of being a Medicare agent are the freedom to work from anywhere, flexible work hours, and self-direction.
Being a Medical Insurance agent is not an easy task. It takes a lot of planning, preparation, and PATIENCE. Let's learn how to build a career path to being a successful medical insurance agent. Below is some helpful info on how to start your Medicare sales career.
What do Insurance Agents Do?
They sell health care insurance policies based on the requirements of their customers. They evaluate the needs of an individual, and after assessing, these representatives suggest insurance that their prospects can choose. They also can distribute required enrollment kits for Prescription Coverage and other programs their clients need. For this article, we are focussing on Medicare Sales.
What are the Types of Insurance Agents?
There are three insurance agent types: Captive Agents, Independent Agents, or Brokers. In the Medicare field, Independent Agents and Brokers are pretty much the same.
A captive agent works only for one insurance company. Typically the insurance company provides training, leads, and support. The agent only has to talk with prospective clients (prospects), explain the insurance company programs to the candidate, and sell. A captive agent is not allowed to offer plans from other carriers.
Independent Agents and Brokers generally represent more than one company, so they can be more qualified to find you the plan that works for your needs.
All agents who represent Medicare plans get paid by the insurance company. They are not allowed to charge broker fees to their prospects. When they engage in Medicare Sales, which is actually helping a prospect enroll in either Medigap or Medicare Advantage Plans, the carrier will pay them.
Are you disciplined enough to work without supervision? Prospecting is the most challenging part of the job. Because of this, many agents start as captive agents and then switch to becoming a broker when they have enough experience. Something to consider is that when you leave a captive agent status, you will often not be able to bring your "book of business" with you and will need to start getting new clients.
Steps to becoming a Medicare Sales Agent:
You'll need to get your INSURANCE LICENSE. You must generally pass an exam before applying for a license in your home state. Below are a few places to start getting your pre-requisite courses completed for becoming an agent.
Once you pass your exam, you'll need to apply for a health insurance agent license in your state. The exam prep company can assist you with where to go.
Next is choosing your FMO. FMO or Field Marketing Organizations are approved companies that support and offer health insurance plans to independent brokers and agencies. A good FMO will always secure the best contracts with major companies and deliver them to brokers and other agencies. You can then sell these products once contracted by your FMO: Medicare Advantage, Prescription Drug Plans, Medicare Supplements, and Final Expense Insurance.
COMPLETE and PASS AHIP Certification - The passing rate for this certification should be at least 90%, and this certification starts in late June or early July. You will be able to sell to your clients the following year after your certification. This certification costs $175 retail, but your FMO or one of your carriers can usually get you a $50 discount.
Get errors and omissions insurance (E&O insurance). E&O insurance can help protect agents when they accidentally give out wrong information or leave something out. The coverage of this policy is up 1 to 3 million dollars, which will generally cost $300-$500 annually.
To engage in Medicare Sales, you'll need to get contracted and appointed with one or more Medicare companies. A broker must have contracts with carriers to be appointed and to be able to sell. Being appointed and contracting with multiple carriers takes patience because each carrier has different processes to get an insurance broker ready to sell. The following lists are the requirements that insurance carriers require to appoint an agent to sell:
Copy of current resident and non-resident state health insurance licenses
Copy of current E&O policy
The complete legal questionnaire provided by the insurance company (The FMO will provide you with this)
A background check
Passing the annual certification exam (carrier-specific annual certifications)
Complete your Annual Carrier Medicare Certifications - These certifications are similar to AHIP but particular to each carrier. Most Carriers require agents to pass the annual certification well before the Medicare annual election period (AEP).
Maintain Your Health Insurance License - Continuing education requirements vary in different states. Medicare agents must go through training and testing requirements to ensure that the license stays active and can continue receiving commissions. Dedicated hours of Ethics & Anti-Money Laundering training and Dedicated hours in your respective area of concentration are the requirements of most states.
What are the skills that a Medicare agent should possess?
Here are five characteristics that will help you thrive in a Medicare career:
- The joy of helping and giving assistance to seniors - Remember that the age of your clients is 65 years and above. Assisting them can be done online, but most want in-person assistance. It would help if you met them regularly to discuss their insurance needs, and you also have to help them create their account and enrollment. Also, be prepared to answer any questions about the plan and services they will receive.
- Attention to detail - Agents must carefully follow all marketing and communication policies.
- Organizing - There are election periods with strict dates to follow throughout the year. On that note, a Medicare broker should properly manage existing client records and other documents so the client won't miss any deadlines.
- An entrepreneurial impulse - As mentioned, being a Medicare broker gives you the freedom and control over your career. You control your success.
- Empathy - There are times that clients will share their personal life and health struggles, or sometimes their financial difficulties. You need to listen and help them find the right Medicare plan for their needs and respond with empathy.
You are now ready to become a rockstar Medicare sales agent! In addition to these requirements, here are some helpful tips to succeed in your chosen career.
- You should take product and sales knowledge seriously. Nothing beats a Medicare sales broker who KNOWS what they are selling and what they can offer to his client. Clients will find themselves engaged with a broker who sounds authoritative and can present the best plan options.
- Find the right LEAD GENERATION SYSTEM - This is how you get your clients. You can run social media campaigns for free. One solid strategic way to obtain leads is when you can create a hosting event in the senior community. These events will help you educate them on what particular plan you can offer that suits their needs. There is also an option where you can purchase leads. And experienced brokers can get leads by joining this site, https://CertifiedMedicareAgents.com.
- Know your PROSPECTS - Each client is unique. You have to understand how your prospects work and how they think. The Medicare sales agent should know the product offerings that he needs to present. It's hard to determine whether the client can get the best benefits by enrolling in a Medicare Advantage Plan or keeping Original Medicare and adding a Medicare Supplement plan.
- Find the right Medicare company to join - If you are planning to be a Captive Agent, finding the right Medicare company can contribute benefits to your career. They will help you to continue to grow as a Medicare sales agent. The right Medicare company provides training protocol to help you prepare and become a top producer.
Suppose you've decided to move your career to a Medicare sales agent. In that case, the steps and tips above are beneficial for becoming a successful representative. You can join https://CertifiedMedicareAgents.com for free at the Bronze level.
