AHIP Training — the Distinguishing Factor
The insurance industry is highly regulated on the whole, but Federally regulated Medicare takes the red tape to a new level. Read on to see why this is a GOOD thing for agents considering this path.
My journey in the world of Financial Services has been robust. I made sure to taste many of the opportunities that were available to me before settling into Medicare and Life insurance.
Starting out, I was an intern at a regional agency in CT that took care of commercial accounts, personal insurance, state liability and auto programs, individual and group life and health, and unique risks.
I learned a ton as an Account Executive there. I was helping individuals with their personal insurance and eventually received specialized training from Chubb, AIG, and Ace Private Risk on how to properly insurance complex properties, liabilities and robust personal collections.
Soon after, I found myself working at a nearly billion dollar Registered Investment Advisory in Tampa, FL. I assisted the owner of this firm directly with client facing appointments and sat down with all different kinds of individuals to discuss their retirement goals.
I also learned a lot about income planning as I assisted the financial analyst there with that piece (I have a degree in Finance so it was a natural fit).
Shortly after, I decided to start building my own practice with a Fortune 100 company that offered life insurance, disability policies, long term care, and retirement annuities to members of a fraternity. Fraternal insurance was an excellent experience and I met many wonderful people during this time.
I definitely enjoyed each role and what I learned at each company. They were all unique unto themselves. What I soon noticed, however, was that any time I met with someone close to or over 65, they wanted help understanding their options with Medicare.
For the longest time, I brushed these requests off and told them I couldn’t help.
But then it hit me — I had never been asked to help someone with something so consistently before. There was a massive need for experts in this field. So I did what any ambitious person would, I investigated and pursued this avenue.
What I’ve found is that the statistics are all true — something north of 10,000 people turn 65 and thus become eligible for Medicare (or are actively enrolling) each day in America. That’s each and every day.
That spells Opportunity with a capital O.
Here’s some information that might help you decide if this opportunity is for you:
The Market
In 15 years, Medicare is projected to have 80+ million beneficiaries. That is up from roughly 55 million beneficiaries today. The majority of these are baby boomers, with more generations to follow as they age into the program (assuming Medicare remains intact and a viable healthcare solution for seniors in America).
So what does this mean for anyone who has the wherewithal to get an insurance license and study up? Massive opportunity to help a lot of people who really need it and reap a financial reward for your efforts.
Compliance and Training
I will say — going into this field is not easy. The annual training that is necessary to become certified to help individuals enroll in a plan is daunting and exhaustive. But it’s doable. You need a 90% or better on the exam to pass.
This is your AHIP training — you’ll also need to pass product and compliance courses from individual carriers as well.
Then there are the rules you need to follow in order to remain compliant. Rules on engaging beneficiaries, contacting them, advertising, what you are allowed to speak about and when, how you display information and engage in conversation, marketing vs. communication, and the list goes on.
Honestly, though, this is what attracted me to the Medicare business. The more difficult something is, the harder it is for the masses to get involved.
This means less competition. It also means more time and energy put into the work of studying the business and healthcare models and remaining compliant, but fret not.
Nothing worthwhile comes easy.
To prepare for the training ahead (should you take the red pill and open your mind to the world of Medicare) and get an idea of what this market is like, you can take a look at some free resources that are available to the public from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS):
The first is the Medicare and You handbook — a comprehensive manual that is put out by the federal government regarding Medicare and all of the different information a beneficiary would want to know about.
CMS also has a great training library with all different modules and information that is made available online. You can check that out here.
Compensation
Maximum Medicare compensation (for most plans including Original Medicare, Advantage, Part D, MA-PD plans, etc. but not necessarily supplements) is set each year and varies slightly between certain states. Agents know what they will be paid ahead of the Annual Enrollment Period (AEP).
Medicare supplements and ancillary plans like dental, vision, etc. are generally set by individual insurance companies offering these products.
You can help individuals year round in this business, but most people are conditioned to make changes to their plan during AEP.
Like most insurance products, Medicare includes an initial commission amount and an annual renewal that is paid to the agent of record.
Technology, Leads, Resources
I consider myself pretty lucky — I was able to get in on the ground floor with an awesome broker general agent the first year they decided to jump into the Medicare business (2020).
They offer their proprietary technology free of charge and exclusive leads at cost (or less than cost) as well as top level contracts with some of the best national level carriers in this marketplace.
They’re a final expense and life insurance leader ran by internet and direct response marketing professionals that are technology driven at their core. I’ve been a fan of their model for some time and the Universe just happened to let this Medicare opportunity fall in my lap as they launched.
I’ve been impressed with the training and detailed videos they put together, making the transition of cutting through all this red tape and keeping up with deadlines seamless.
My long term goal is to build an agency with this team and help other agents find a home with them under my guidance as independent experts in this field.
In the short while I’ve worked with them I’ve been nothing but happy with the level of commitment and communication given to me as an independent agent within their network.
In Summary
What I like about this market most, is that once you become an expert, it’s rewarding and fun to know you are providing beneficiaries with the information they need. You can feel good about yourself and the fact that you are working hard to improve someone’s healthcare experience.
There are literally thousands of confused, overwhelmed and eligible beneficiaries that need a patient person and educated expert that they can trust to walk them through this process.
It always feels good to help.
The fact that you can get paid well for doing so is the second best part.
Another nice feature of this business is that many of your clients can use some help in other areas such as final expense life insurance or retirement planning. While this isn’t something that I’m offering this year, it very well may be in the future.
The options to branch out are only limited by your imagination (and compliance regulations — but again, this is a good thing in my opinion).
The Medicare Business is a “blue ocean” — meaning there is more than enough need for expert help to go around and not enough experts in the field.
If you have any questions about the process or my own experience during or after this years open enrollment, feel free to reach out with a private comment on this article.
I’m happy to help anyone who might be considering this as a career path themselves or has questions relating to getting started in the Medicare business.
