Target the clients that you want. If you want to sell health insurance to prospective clients, do not spend all of you time promoting automobile insurance. Conserve your efforts and time to what you want to accomplish.

Keep your future clients interested. Do not fill your webpage with too much fluff. Instead get straight to the point and sell the product you want them to buy. Just give the facts, but do not forget to quantify those facts. Make your future clients want what you provide. Read through it a few times before posting; if you cannot convince yourself, you probably cannot convince someone else.

Tell you success stories. One of the best things that you can do is market your successes. Let people know how you have helped other people. Furthermore, do it with the testimonials of clients. If your future clients see that you current clients are happy, they will be more enticed to do business with you.

Whatever you do, do not brag or boast. It is one thing to take pride in your work and show people what you have accomplished, but know when to stop. When you provide too much to the potential client, they may just walk away. Sometimes being brief will accomplish a lot more.

There are a lot of things that you can do to make your online marketing campaign successful. These were just a few basic internet marketing tips for health insurance agents that you may be able to use. Just remember, target the clients, keep them interested, share your successes, and do not brag.

Your Office Before Internet Marketing

Your Office After Internet Marketing

Medicare is a social insurance program that is providing medical coverage for several Americans. If you are a health insurance agent and plan on working with older adults or an individual approaching age 65, it is very important to understand this government program.

Medicare is a federal health insurance program that is composed of two parts. It provides medical coverage for older adults and for those who qualify with a disability. Medicare has Part A – Basic Hospital Insurance and Part B – Supplementary Medical Insurance.

All individuals age 65 or older, who are entitled to Social Security or Railroad Retirement Benefits are automatically eligible for Medicare benefits. These benefits are available to the individual on the first day of the month, in which the individual turns age 65. It should also be noted that individuals under age 65 who have qualified for Social Security disability payments for at least two years and those who have end stage renal disease are also eligible for Medicare. Part A provides coverage for inpatient hospital services for up to 90 days in each benefit period. Benefits also include payment for prescription drugs only while in the hospital. No coverage is provided for the first three pints of blood that may have been received while in the hospital.

Under Part A, skilled nursing care is provided for up to one hundred days, in which the first twenty days are fully paid after the deductible is met. The next 80 days fall under the coinsurance amount of coverage. Home health services are provided for medically necessary home health visits as well as hospice care. Psychiatric hospital care is covered up to one hundred ninety days during the individual’s lifetime.

Part B is a voluntary medical insurance plan available to all who are entitled to Part A. Part B pays benefits for physician and surgeon fees, medical services and supplies, outpatient hospital services, x-rays, lab tests, and other services such as ambulance service and durable medical equipment. For Part B benefits, individuals pay a monthly premium and have an annual deductible. Straight Medicare Part B has a coinsurance of 20%, however, individuals may purchase private plans that may not have coinsurance. Under this plan, there are certain exclusions such as: eye and hearing examinations, routine physical exams, foot care, immunizations and private nurses.

Part C are Medicare Advantage plans, which allow participants to opt out of the traditional Part A and B and enroll in a coordinated care HMO, PPO, PSO or a private fee for service plan. Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) require services to be provided by its own providers, except in an emergency. Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs) allow beneficiaries to receive services from providers outside the plan, but with higher cost sharing. Provider Sponsored Organizations (PSOs) are similar to PPOs, but they are operated by a group of physicians and hospitals. Private fee for service plans are like PSOs but they may pay providers more than Medicare recognizes and can charge beneficiaries additional premiums and cost sharing payments.

If you are an individual approaching qualification for Medicare it is best to contact a health insurance agent that specializes in Medicare products. You may also want to contact your Medicare office or contact your local Area Agency on Aging.

When preparing for underwriting you will want to have a list of your current prescriptions and any prescriptions that you have taken in the previous two years. It is also important to understand the declinable conditions that most insurance companies use to determine eligibility for health insurance coverage. You can view a list of declinable conditions here. Some insurance companies will provide coverage for health conditions such as asthma and acid reflux, although they may charge a higher annual premium.

It is also important to know your most current height, weight, cholesterol and blood pressure. Higher cholesterol, blood pressure and weight does not always mean that you will be declined health insurance; however, you may be “rated up” and pay a higher premium. The above mentioned factors will be evaluated when you complete your medical or paramedical exam. These exams are often a condition to be evaluated for health insurance coverage. The insurance company will not only review the results from your paramedical exam, but they will also review your past medical records from your physician(s). It may help to make a time line of medical events and treating physicians to help you track your treatment and provide any anecdotal information to the insurance company and their underwriters.

To enroll in a Medicare Advantage Plan, a beneficiary usually must: 1.) meet the Medicare Part A and Part B criteria; 2.) live in the service area of the plan; 3.) continue to pay the monthly Part B premium (unless paid for by Medicare); 4.) not have End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD); and 5.) must enroll during the enrollment periods set by the Center for Medicare Services (CMS).

A beneficiary must enter into a MA plan through an enrollment period. There are several different types of enrollment periods. The Initial Coverage Enrollment Period (ICEP) is the period of time, in which the beneficiary first becomes eligible. This window is 3 months before and 3 months after their eligibility date. When this 7 month window closes, the ICEP is over. Each beneficiary has only one Initial Coverage Enrollment Period. The Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) is from November 15th to December 31st of each year. Therefore, enrollment is effective January 1st of the following year. There is one AEP enrollment or disenrollment choice during this period.

There are Special Enrollment Periods (SEP) during which beneficiaries can enroll in a different MA plan. Reasons for enrollment include:

Beneficiary moves outside of the plan’s service

Beneficiary’s service contract with CMS is not renewed or is terminated

Beneficiary was enrolled in plan based on government error or wrong information

Beneficiary is inadequately informed of non-credible coverage

Beneficiary looses coverage

Beneficiary was diagnosed with a new disease (may enroll in a Special Needs Plan)

Beneficiary qualifies for a full or   partial Low Income Subsidy (LIS)

Open Enrollment Periods (OEP) applies to Medicare Advantage/Prescription Drug Plans only and the enrollment period is January 1st to March 31st. Enrollments during the OEP are limited to the type of coverage. For example, a beneficiary with Part D coverage must choose another Part D plan. A beneficiary without Part D coverage must choose another with Part D benefits.

Health insurance agents that sell Medicare Advantage plans are encouraged to understand enrollment periods and marketing ruless by reading the “Medicare and You” booklet provided by CMS. This updated publication describes updated Medicare guidelines and can be viewed at this site:

http://www.medicare.gov/Publications/Pubs/pdf/10050.pdf

Health insurance agents should follow ethical guidelines related to presenting information appropriately, as to not confuse, mislead or pressure a prospective client. It is best to walk away from a potential sale and seek appropriate advice when potential confusion or a misunderstanding exists.

Eligibility – Those covered by a qualified high deductible health insurance plan and are not covered by any other health insurance or enrolled in Medicare, and cannot be declared a dependent on another person’s tax return.

HSA Contributions – 100% tax deductible from gross income.

Qualified Medical Withdraws – Tax Free.

Interest Earned – Tax deferred; if used for qualified medical expenses; tax free

Non-Medical Withdraws – Income Tax + 10% penalty tax (under age 65); income tax only (for age 65 and older).

Death, Disability – Income Tax only – no penalty.

High deductible plans usually accompany the HSA. This is the actual major medical insurance that the client purchases. As a health insurance agent you want to make sure a high deductible plan and HSA is appropriate for your clients. Be sure to explain all of the tax implications and deductibles with your clients. Those who may benefit from a high deductible plan are those who are willing to take financial responsibility for routine healthcare expenses in exchange for a lower premium; those seeking lower cost protection from unexpected accidents and illness; and those who retire early and need a bridge to Medicare.

Health insurance agents may also want to consider Short-Term coverage to bridge client’s gap in health insurance coverage. These types of plans are becoming more popular and you can create a niche in your business by locating clients with this need. Good candidates for this type of insurance are those who:

-Recently lost coverage due to a job loss

-Are students no longer eligible for coverage under their parent’s plan

-Are seasonal workers

-Retired and are waiting Medicare eligibility

When your clients get sick, they need to focus their energy on getting well, not on dealing with financial crisis. A Critical Illness policy covers expenses related to a critical illness that are not covered by health insurance. Expenses like:

• Mortgage Payments and Daily Living Costs
• Coinsurance & Deductibles
• Travel & Lodging

The Critical Illness benefit is paid as a lump-sum directly to your client.
Most policies are based on a 10-year or 20-year term life insurance policy with an Accelerated Benefit Rider, Critical Illness Insurance provides a lump-sum cash payment up to 100% of your client’s life insurance benefit in the event he or she is diagnosed with a covered critical illness. Most policies include the following:

• Benefit options from $10,000 to $100,000
• No Medical Exams (simplified underwriting)
• A death benefit is paid if a critical illness does not occur.

Critical Illness that are usually covered are:

• Cancer
• Heart Attack
• Stroke
• Advanced Alzheimer’s Disease
• ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or Lou Gehrig’s Disease)
• Kidney Failure (End-Stage Renal Disease)
• Terminal Illness
• Major Organ Transplant Surgery
• Occupational HIV Infection
• Paralysis
• Blindness
• Severe Burns

Guaranteed Issue Health Insurance

As a health insurance agent, it can be difficult to get clients through underwriting if they have a pre-existing condition. Sometimes guaranteed issue plans may be a good match for this type of client. A guaranteed issue policy is usually an indemnity plan that pays first dollar coverage. This means that there is no deductible and the premiums are usually cheaper than major medical insurance. A guaranteed issue policy pays a specific amount of money per medical treatment, so your client is responsible for whatever is not covered. It is very important that your clients understand that this type of policy is usually not major medical insurance. Although, some guaranteed issue policies will provide a PPO plan as well as generic prescription drug plans. Guaranteed issue plans are sometimes referred as mini-medi plans and often offer the following benefits:

Physician Office Visit- Pays a specified benefit each time the insured visits a doctor. There may be a limited amount of visits that the plan will pay benefits for.

Hospital Confinement- Pays a Daily Hospital Confinement Benefit for each day that an Insured Person is charged for a room as an Inpatient when that Insured Person becomes confined as an Inpatient to a Hospital for treatment of Sickness or Injury.

Surgery Benefit- Benefit of payment for a scheduled Surgical Benefit when an Insured Person undergoes a surgical procedure for treatment of Sickness or Injury. It is important to review the covered surgery benefits and benefit payment amounts.

Generic Only Drug Benefit- This prescription drug benefit covers most of the commonly prescribed generic drugs. In addition, this benefit sometimes allows members to purchase brand name drugs and non co-pay generics at a discounted rate.

Intensive Care Benefit- Benefit payment for an Insured Person under the Hospital Confinement Benefit. If the Insured Person becomes confined in an Intensive Care Unit, this pays an additional Daily Intensive Care Unit Benefit for each day and Insured Person is confined in and charged for an Intensive Care Unit.

Emergency Room Benefit- Pays a per accident benefit shown when an insured person has an injury that, within 72 hours of the accident that caused the injury requires the person to receive emergency room treatment.

Another way to achieve business success with the use of the internet is online web leads. Most online insurance leads are prospects that submit their information online and this information is sent to the agent via e-mail. This can be a cost effective way to talk to prospects quickly. Most health insurance web leads allow you to filter the leads to meet your specific niche. Usually, the more filters that you choose, the more expensive the lead costs. Leads can cost anywhere from $3-$20 on average. Usually online leads are shared with other agents, so you will have to earn your prospect’s business.

When making the shift to partial or complete online insurance sales, you must revisit your business plan. You will have some new costs and may be able to cut other costs out of your budget. It is highly likely that you will be spending less on gas and will be in a position to talk to more prospects. If you are selling insurance in other states, you will have the cost of the additional licenses from those states. You may also need to increase your phone system to include a toll free number and/or an answering service. You may spend more money on developing or optimizing your web site. You may also need to purchase new web meeting software and computer equipment. When considering making the change to an online sales format, check out your competition. What are they doing? Can you do this too? Do you have the motivation to make the change to online sales? How can you get the knowledge to make this change?

If you search for a health insurance policy online, you may have several different agents contact you. This may be slightly annoying, however it provides you with the opportunity to shop for the best policy and get different agent’s perspectives on different types of insurance plans. The health insurance agent or health insurance broker’s responsibility is to help you determine your needs, explain the best plans to fit your needs, and help you choose the plan. It is important that your health insurance agent obtains the most accurate health insurance information in order to be able to qualify you for health insurance.

When choosing a health insurance agent it is important to check with your State Department of Insurance to make sure that the agent is licensed to sell health insurance products and is in good standing with the Department of Insurance. It is also a good idea to ask your prospective agent for references or testimonials from previous clients.
You should have a basic understanding of health insurance terms or ask your health insurance agent to clarify specific terms that you may not understand. See the terms listed below.

Deductible

The amount a customer pays toward covered expenses before the plan pays benefits.

Office Copay

Office Copay is a benefit that allows you to pay only a flat dollar amount for eligible in-network physician office visit services. This option may not be available with all plan types.

Coinsurance Percentage

Coinsurance percentage refers to the amount of covered expenses you pay after the deductible. You usually share the cost of covered expenses with the insurer. For example, a coinsurance percentage of 75% means that, after the deductible, the insurer pays 75% of covered expenses and you pay 25%.

Coinsurance Out-of-Pocket

Coinsurance is the percentage of covered expenses the plan pays after the deductible. After the Out-of-Pocket maximum is met, the plan pays 100% of covered expenses.

Lifetime Maximum

The amount of the total lifetime benefit of the policy per person covered by the policy.

Annual Maximum

The amount of benefit paid per person covered on the policy during the calendar year after the insured has satisfied all out-of-pocket expenses. This option may not be available with all plan types.

Do you want to become a health insurance agent? There are several steps that you have to take to be able to sell health insurance. Your state Department of Insurance will have a listing of all of your state specific requirements. Often, each state requires that you complete a certain amount of pre-licensing training. This training is usually available in a classroom, online, or through independent study. When the pre-licensing training is complete, you will have to schedule, pay for, and pass a licensing exam. Most states require that you score at least a 70% on your pre-licensing exam. After you pass the exam, you will have to apply for an Accident & Health producer license. You can often download these applications on your state Department of Insurance web site. The Department of Insurance will usually conduct a background check and then issue your license. College education is not required to be a licensed insurance producer.

In order to maintain your license, you will have to maintain good standing with your state Department of Insurance. You will also have to complete a certain amount of continuing education hours. Usually your license will need to be renewed every 2 years and you usually have to complete 24 hours of continuing education. Continuing education credits may be earned through classroom, online, or self study training. You will often have to pass test(s) to demonstrate your understanding and completion of your continuing education requirements. There are several pre-licensing and continuing education providers available. You need to decide what type of training meets your learning style before you spend the money on the courses.

Now that you are licensed health insurance agent, you need to decide if you want to work for an insurance company as a captive agent or as an independent health insurance agent or broker. A captive agent works for one company and sells only products provided by this specific company. An independent agent or broker is in business on their own. The independent agent is able to sell health insurance products from several companies. The independent agent will often use field marketing organizations to help with contracting with all of the insurance companies. Field marketing organizations also provide back office assistance and marketing help.

A health insurance agent is able to sell major medical insurance, disability insurance, long-term care insurance, Medicare products, among others. Each type of insurance product may involve certain requirements and further training before you are able to sell the specific product. Often, as a captive agent and as an independent agent or broker, you will have to purchase Errors & Omissions insurance to protect yourself from professional liability.