Senior Market Advisors is a Medicare Advantage Field Marketing Organization that markets, sells, and distributes various insurance products with a focus on Medicare Advantage.
We offer top-tier commissions, a diversified product portfolio, eContracting capabilities with leading Medicare Advantage carriers, product insight & training and more.
The way we do business is fundamentally different. Senior Market Advisors takes an unbiased approach to medicare advantage market sales, and we encourage agent engagement with our sales and marketing staff.
SMA works hard to provide you with the best sales tools and practices to grow your agency.
The best way to receive the highest compensation rate, sales training and marketing tools for your agency, is to partner with an FMO. Most major carriers won’t work directly with agencies unless they partner with an FMO.
In most cases, an FMO can offer health insurance contracts to agencies they wouldn’t otherwise receive due to the high production requirements carriers place on them.
It can be difficult to spend time listening and educating your customers while also focusing on the backend of your business. That’s where Senior Market Advisors comes in.
We are here to help grow your business while taking care of the time-consuming details for you. This will create space for you to focus on making a difference in the lives of your customers.
10,000 people turn 65 every day in the U.S. according to AARP. That is 10,000 people every day looking for an agent to navigate them in the right direction to enroll in a Medicare plan.
With many different plan options to enroll in, Medicare-eligibles won’t know the best plan needed for their health care needs. Original Medicare (Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B) isn’t enough coverage for some, and need guidance on the benefits they could receive from choosing a Medicare Advantage plan.
Typically, insurance carriers offer higher commissions for Medicare Advantage plans than Medicare Supplements or Part D plans. A Medicare Advantage plan may offer your client the lowest cost for the benefits they want.
For example, some plans have $0 monthly premiums and they offer benefits Original Medicare does not cover such as gym memberships.
Note: You’ll have the most sales success if you have all three products in your portfolio, because each type of plan serves different needs. For example, your clients may not want additional health care benefits.
A Medicare Supplement (Medigap) plan might work better for people who just want coinsurance or copays covered. Your clients cannot have both.
Researching various FMO’s with your agency’s needs in mind will be the driving force in taking your business from good to great. Some questions to consider when choosing a great FMO are:
Becoming a licensed insurance agent is more than just deciding what kind of insurance you want to sell. There are some steps you need to take in order to be an official Medicare Advantage insurance agent.
Errors and Omissions Insurance is a needed form of liability for many insurance agents. This kind of insurance can protect you and your agency from claims that without the insurance, could cost you hefty legal fees.
AHIP is a required certification for any insurance agent who wants to sell Medicare Advantage plans. The test costs $175.
It’s really a small price to pay for the amount of money you can bring in from selling Medicare Advantage, especially during AEP. Ready to get started?
The AHIP website is simple to follow. You’ll start by either creating a new account or logging into your existing account.
Select the plan year that you are certifying for, and then choose whether or not you want your AHIP training to give you continuing education credits (you should). Complete the modules and test quizzes so you can prepare, and then pass the AHIP exam with a 90% or better.
Then, you can print, save, or transmit your certificate. We recommend doing all three so you don’t lose track of it!
If you contract with Senior Market Advisors, you can receive weekly newsletters and regular emails that include information like notices about other AHIP certification discounts (no cost to you).
Many people think you can only enroll in Medicare Advantage when you turn 65 or the Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) comes around. Although some of this is true, there are other enrollment periods outside of AEP when you can sell Medicare health plans. Enrollment periods include:
The Open Enrollment Period (OEP) also lasts from January 1 to March 31, but the only Medicare Advantage change your client can make is switching from one MA plan to another MA plan. Your clients can also drop MA coverage and enroll in a Part D plan to go with Original Medicare.
This is three months before someone turns 65 to the three months after, which is a total of seven months to enroll in Medicare for the first time.
The majority of your clients will have to wait until the Annual Enrollment Period (AEP), which is from October 15 to December 7 to switch from Original Medicare to a Medicare Advantage plan.
Other clients may qualify for a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) if they have certain life changes like moving, losing coverage, financial eligibility, or chronic illnesses. SEPs may be temporary or life-long.
Clients with life-long SEPs may qualify for Special Needs Plans (SNPs), which are Medicare Advantage plans that are specific to certain health conditions and/or financial needs. They can make one change to their coverage per quarter from January to September.
Clients who miss their IEP can enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan during the General Enrollment Period, which is from January to March. They may have to pay a penalty, and their coverage won’t start until July 1, however, so it’s important that they enroll when they first have the opportunity.
Note: This IEP is only for beneficiaries enrolling for the first time.
Learn your demographic! It’s important to not only learn who your target market is, but also to understand their needs to better service them which in turn will generate more medicare sales. While you will make a commission selling Medicare products, this should not be the why behind your sales meetings.
Medicare-eligibles tend to be some of those most in need of enrolling into the right plan for their needs. Presenting a variety of plan options positions you as the expert and builds trust with the beneficiary.
Selling from this perspective will create better relationships between you and your client.
According to a recent study from the Pew Research Center, 91% of medicare eligible seniors use a cellphone. Of the 91% of seniors that use a cellphone, 53% noted using a smartphone.
Taking this information into consideration, it could be determined that utilizing digital tactics could be the best way to sell medicare. Converting to digital efforts also allows you to make the transition to selling medicare supplements from home, which would cut down on building costs.
In order to sell Medicare by phone, you don’t have to live in the state you want to sell in, you just need a license to sell Medicare in that state. That means you’ll be able to reach more people than ever before as long as you have the right skills, education, and certifications.
Selling Medicare over the phone gives you the unique opportunity to connect people with quality and affordable health coverage. People don’t want to spend time sorting through thousands of plans online.
They want someone to point them in the right direction and make suggestions based on their budget and lifestyle needs.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) sets maximum compensation amounts that carriers can pay agents for sales. For Medicare Advantage commissions 2020, you can make up to $510 in most states for new Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplement enrollments.
You can make up to $255 for Medicare Advantage plan renewals in most states. For California and New Jersey enrollments, you can make up to $636 for new enrollments and $318 for renewals.
Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and District of Columbia sales can earn $574 for MAPD enrollments and $271 for renewals.
Starting with the big national insurance carriers is the best way to begin your Medicare Advantage career. These carriers will most likely hold the biggest market share in your area, so it’s safest to begin partnering with them.
SMA was developed by insurance agents for insurance agents. Our CEO, Jeff Pita began his career as an independent insurance agent, so he knows the hard work it takes to be successful. He and the SMA team are educated on the best tools and practices to close a sale.
Don’t you want an FMO that is experienced, educated and truly cares about your success? We serve underserved insurance agents by providing unparalleled support across all departments.
From medicare training to marketing and everything in between we’ve got your back so you can focus on selling.
“Prior to coming on with SMA, I worked as a life insurance agent working six days a week to have three days of production. Now I work five days and have five days of production.”Kurt R.
“For the past seven years, I’ve been showing up and closing enough to make over $200,000 a year and still have the flexibility to coach a high school soccer team. Life is good thanks to SMA.”Ray Dover
“I’m truly grateful for the business model and tools the company provides each agent which have helped me grow my book of business rapidly in a relatively short time.”Chris Goodrich
If your business doesn't grow with SMA, you're free to find another home. But we'll do our best to convince you to stay!
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