Does your client intend to sell their business? This is a question that I think we, as advisors, assume we know the answer to.  I realized recently while working on a case with one of our agents, that I don’t ask this question enough. We bumped into competition with another agent on a group of business owners looking at re-writing the life insurance that funds their buy-sell agreement. We threw several ideas at them including: checking company financials, underwriting medically with multiple carriers instead of one, and even a structured payout on the death benefit to reduce premium. All three ideas were of interest to the owners, but none of them got us applicat...

Kathleen Sibelius of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has taken the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' (NAIC) advice not to impose cost sharing in Medicare Supplement Plans C and F. “I value the NAIC’s expertise on Medigap and other health insurance issues and the strong partnership between NAIC and the U.S. Department Health and Human Services," Sibelius said. "This partnership has been instrumental in the effective implementation of numerous provisions of the Affordable Care Act.” The advice from NAIC was as follows, “We were unable to find evidence in peer-reviewed studies or managed care practices that would be the basis of no...

When The Cason Group stepped into the Life Insurance arena, we asked ourselves, “How can we help our existing agents grow their life insurance business regardless of what lines of coverage they currently focus on?” One way we have found success over the last two years is with Performance Evaluations of existing Life Insurance contracts. We have found that when agents talk to people about their existing Life Insurance policies, the consumer often knows little, if anything, about the policy that they own. And in turn, when asked to go and get the in-force information, it can take days, to weeks, to never, to get it. The Cason Group is offering free performance eva...

When helping brokers implement a Worksite strategy, most of the conversations center around the Medical plan, and rightfully so. However, it is also very important to have clear communication of the products, which would include delivery of the message. This communication is greatly increased when the Worksite sales conversation with the group’s decision maker (and in turn the employees) is conducted a couple of months prior to or after the Medical renewal. For this reason, and for increased exposure on communication to employees, it may be a good idea to look at the 1/1 and 2/1 Medical renewals that were just completed to see how Worksite can fit with their current me...

I am sure you are aware by now that most carriers are offering early renewals. The realization that many groups may experience rate shock at their renewal in 2014 is in full stride. The factors that will change many rating factors will become effective at the group's 2014 renewal date. Early renewal is only a temporary solution. These are opportunities for groups to have more time to prepare and make plans for 2014 as we understand more about the implications of healthcare reform. Most carriers have their own set of rules for early renewals, including: Deadlines Deductibles and out-of-pocket carryovers Whether Grandfathered groups will be recognized Group eligib...