If your agency offers Medicare products but not marketplace plans, then we think you’re missing out. Adding agents who sell Affordable Care Act (ACA) plans brings many benefits to your insurance business.
“But there’s not as much money in it,” you might object. While it’s true that overrides for ACA are smaller than they are for Medicare products, we still think more than enough advantages exist that can benefit your business in the long run. Explore our top six reasons your Medicare agency should sell marketplace plans and see for yourself!
1. Offer a Product Agents Want to Sell
For some of the reasons we give in our 8 Reasons Why Medicare Agents Should Sell ACA Plans post, agents want to sell marketplace plans, but they need your help. As an established upline, you can help them break into the market and provide the resources they need to train, certify, and sell. Just like we recommend that independent agents offer a diverse portfolio to keep their clients happy, so too should agencies. With an array of product offerings, you’ll satisfy your agents and keep more contracts under one roof.
With an array of product offerings, you’ll satisfy your agents and keep more contracts under one roof.
2. Collect More Leads for Everyone
When word gets out in your community that you sell health insurance products for an individual’s lifetime, your agency will start collecting more leads. Your satisfied Medicare clients will tell their children and grandchildren that they can get help with ACA plans. Small employers in the area that don’t offer health insurance, but refer their retirees to your business for Medicare help, can send their current employees to your agents for assistance.
When your agency sells both ACA and Medicare products, that means overlapping busy seasons. While selling both products can be challenging for an individual agent, as an agency, you can distribute leads as you see fit among your downlines. Spreading out the workload aids newer agents who are trying to establish a client base and gain the valuable experience they need.
3. Establish a Medicare Pipeline
When you create natural opportunities for your clients to stay with you during the transition to Medicare, you build what’s called a Medicare pipeline. You can do this not only for individual agents, but also for your entire agency by offering marketplace plans. Is your T65 client leaving an employer plan but their spouse now needs coverage? What about their children or grandchildren? If you offer ACA plans to these types of eligibles, they’ll be more likely to stick around when they need Medicare, too. Develop and generate more Medicare age-in sales when you represent the marketplace.
If you offer ACA plans to these types of eligibles, they’ll be more likely to stick around when they need Medicare, too.
4. Create Long-Term Growth
Related to your Medicare pipeline, when your agency builds a healthy ACA business, you can focus more on the potential for long-term financial growth. Although we mentioned that overrides for marketplace plans are lower than they are for Medicare products, they can still add up as your leads and pipeline evolve. While carriers pay Medicare overrides and commission annually, they pay them for ACA policies per member per month, which means the more people on a plan, the more a sale can earn. Per member per month really adds up!
5. Help More People
We encourage all agents and agencies to hold helping clients as a core tenant of their business. Branching out from your agency’s Medicare comfort zone means reaching more people who need you. Selecting a health insurance plan can be confusing for consumers, and beneficiaries are even putting off medical care because they don’t understand their coverage and fear a big bill. Both the marketplace and Medicare arenas need knowledgeable agents to help them wade through the sea of choices.
Branching out from your agency’s Medicare comfort zone means reaching more people who need you.
6. Benefit from Ritter’s Guidance
Adding ACA to your agency’s portfolio may seem daunting, but you’re not alone in your endeavors. Ritter Insurance Marketing is here to walk with you. We offer agency-level contracts, and our agency and ACA teams partner with agencies to help them get started and grow in the ACA market. Gain access to training and certification assistance, tailored sales support, portfolio recommendations, educational resources, and more.
New to ACA? Learn the ropes in our eBook, The Complete Guide to Selling Affordable Care Act Insurance Plans! Then, reach out to us for help expanding your agency.
Selling ACA products can increase your agency’s lead and earning potential while helping you recruit more agents who will be happy for the chance to sell a diverse collection of options. Watch your Medicare pipeline grow as you reach more clients of all ages!
Give your agency an annual health checkup and consider adding more variety to your portfolio. Register for free with Ritter to enjoy all our resources and sales support.
Not affiliated with or endorsed by Medicare or any government agency.
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