One City Built to Last

services; and (10) pediatric services.
“Choosing a plan is a little easier,”
Wilson said. Clients view side-by-side
comparisons of carriers on his company’s
website. They can look at co-pays
– how much, for example, one carrier
requires, as compared to another.
“In 2011,” Wilson said, “commissions
were cut in half.” He
had to reduce his costs and add
new products to sell – all part of
changing his business model.
With underwriting then, “if you
wrote 100 policies, maybe 90 percent
qualified,” he said. “Of the
remaining 10 percent, maybe 7
or 8 percent would qualify with
a rate-up.” That is a policy surcharge
to accommodate a potential
client’s medical condition.
If people were not going to be
able to qualify or had limited
resources, then agents couldn’t
spend too much time with them. Time
was critical when, as Wilson put it,
“You had to write a lot more policies.”
“As ACA emerged in 2014, commissions
were cut again,” he said. “Though
premiums increased, it wasn’t enough
to offset the reduction in commissions.”
Yet, agents no longer had to consider
how a carrier would view a potential
client with a pre-existing condition –
underwriting was gone.
“Another change affecting how
agents conduct their business,” Wilson
noted, “is a shrinking selling season.
Last year, open enrollment was October
to the end of March. This year, it’s
November to February.”
Wilson said that he wrote about 250
applications during the open-enrollment
period last year. In the first eight
months of 2014, he has written 200 applications.
“And, the number of carriers has
diminished,” he said, remarking that
they’ve gone out of business, or more
likely, have left the health-insurance
market.
With its 10 essential health benefits,
ACA has moved the industry toward
uniform standards. “Yet, state control
of pricing should exist,” he said. “Some
states – like Alaska and Florida – just
have different needs.”
“In an ideal world, you’d make every
carrier offer the core benefits, but
you’d get to choose what you think you
need.”
When he started in the business, Wilson
said that he’d sit down with
as many people as he could to
acquire clients. No-shows meant
time wasted. On other occasions,
he’d drive distances to see potential
clients, sell the policy, and
then the new client would cancel
it almost immediately. “People
felt compelled to buy because you
had driven out to see them.”
Contemporary technology like
electronic signatures and web
conferencing, has changed all
that. “There’s no pressure with
online meetings,” he said. Wilson
also blogs to drive traffic to his
website, writing topical essays,
such as “Not all Cancelled Health Insurance
Policies were ‘Junk.’ ”
I Sell Health, Inc.
Office: 815-372-1363
Toll Free: 888-448-5370
www.isellhealth.com
THE SUIT MAGAZINE p.43