How to Sell Individual Health Insurance
Successfully selling individual health insurance requires the same dedication and follows the methodology used for marketing other insurance products. Health insurance is merely a different product line that protects a patient from the expenses incurred if he gets sick or injured. Other insurance plans cover the expenses associated with cars, homes, boats and businesses.
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Instructions
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Choose your carriers and products. A plethora of insurance companies exist, offering countless coverage options to sell to interested prospects. You're more likely to be successful if you focus on a small handful of products from one or two major carriers. Being intimately familiar with the complex intricacies of a few insurance policies is more advantageous than having a broad understanding of several companies and their products.
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Organize and implement a marketing plan. Selling health insurance requires consistent and repeated advertising and marketing. Develop an advertising strategy that will reach your target market in as many ways a possible and as often as possible. Regardless of your actual marketing method, continue your efforts for a minimum of one calendar quarter before deciding whether or not abandon the technique in search of something else. At least three months of data is necessary to properly evaluate the success of any health insurance advertising plan.
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Contact prospects and responders. When your marketing efforts begin to yield results, interested people will respond to your advertisements via telephone and email, or in person. Time is crucial in closing individual health plan sales. Reply to all inquiries as soon as possible to avoid the potential of losing clients to a competitor. Prompt contact with prospects will significantly increase your chances of selling a health insurance policy.
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Gather relevant details and generate quotes. After you’ve established positive rapport with interested prospects, obtain the relevant information necessary to generate a sample of health insurance quotes. In addition to basic personal information, ask important medical history questions to become more familiar with the patient's situation. Enter personal data into your quoting engine and generate price estimates for health plans that will adequately serve your potential client's needs.
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Meet with prospect and present the information. Arrange face-to-face appointments in which yo present your findings in a competent and professional manner. Describe the basics of the policies you quoted, confirm how they will meet the prospect’s needs and fit within an allocated monthly budget.
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Address any questions or concerns. Most leads, prospects and even existing clients don't understand all of the details in a health plan. Be prepared to review your health insurance presentation a second time to clear up any confusion. Discuss any specific health queries or issues that the potential client has, assuring him that you will put together a health plan that meets his individual needs.
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Complete the health insurance application. After your client agrees to a particular plan, contact the carrier for an application kit. You will soon receive a package containing additional consumer materials and the policy application form. Provide all of the client's relevant data and verify that the paperwork has been completed properly. Mail the application forms to the insurance carrier, along with a check or money order for the first month’s premium.
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Follow up with the carrier. Allow time for the insurance company to receive your prospect’s paperwork and supporting documentation. In most cases, individual health plans are issued quickly, as compared with other forms of insurance that require extensive investigation, background checks and other underwriting procedures.
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Deliver the policy information to the client. Once the carrier has approved your prospect’s health insurance application and received his initial premium check, it will send the health insurance packet and preliminary membership identification cards to your office. Contact your new client and schedule an appointment to deliver and review the materials.
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Tips & Warnings
Most health insurance companies require new applicants to submitted their paperwork no later than two weeks before the requested effective date. If your prospect is slow in returning the paperwork, his coverage start date may be pushed back by two weeks or even a month.
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