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Adding Individual Health Insurance Sales to A Worksite Routine

Small employers are slashing benefits to offset skyrocketing health insurance costs. From 2001-2004, average yearly costs for employer-sponsored plans soared 50%... to $3,696 per single.
The expenses have been hard for employers to ignore. Jobs offering medical insurance fell 6% between 2001 and 2004 - costing 5 million people access to employer-sponsored health care.
For group producers, this means a loss in clients and a shrinking market. But by selling individual medical, there's a way to turn it around into a can't-refuse offer to win sales.

Selling The Small Employer On Individual Insurance

Why would an employer care about individual health coverage?

  • Individual policies are typically much cheaper than similar coverage through an employer-sponsored plan (compare $3,696/single employer coverage to $2,268/individual coverage!).
  • Employers can reimburse the employee in the amount they choose – tax-free.
  • Employees get renewable plans that can follow them from job to job.
  • Employees can choose their own individual quality of coverage and doctors.

The small employer needs to be educated on the alternative ways they can contribute to their employees' health care costs. Employer-sponsored plans have inflated costs. Individual health insurance is relatively cheap.
Show the employer how they can set up a defined contribution plan. They decide how much they want to give each employee, tax-free. The employee can then use the contribution to pay for their individual policy premiums. Employees can even use the money to contribute to increasingly popular Health Savings Accounts.

You may already have a good list of small employers to work. Focus on:

  • Those who have recently dropped their coverage
  • Those who were already quoted, but couldn't close because of cost

These are employers who have shown interest in offering coverage to their employees - but circumstance has forced them out of it.

Before calling up employer prospects, do some quick homework.

  • What options are available from your carriers?

Do they have plans tailored for employers who can't afford traditional contributions? Some companies have already begun responding to this emerging market with new individual health insurance products, including automatic payroll premium deduction and other insurance technology.

  • Call up regional reps and ask for their recommendations.

You may have missed a new product a carrier has begun offering. Don't worry - reps can provide tips for working this new angle.
If you can't close the employer, make sure they've got a big stack of your cards. Tell them you'd be happy to speak with any of their employees one-on-one about their individual health insurance needs. You still might earn a few individual leads or sales.
Rather than losing a group client, get in position to gain several individual ones.
Jeremiah Desmarais oversees the marketing iniatives for Norvax, a company whose technology help insurance agents consistently increase sales and cut admin time. He is also editor of the Norvax Newsletter, delivering helpful tips and marketing strategies to 15,000+ Insurance Agents monthly. For more information, visit http://www.norvax.com/

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