Don’t Overlook the Sweet Spot: Why 5–10 Life Groups Deserve Your Focus

If you’ve read our recent post on why every agent is capable of writing 51+ sized groups, you already know that expanding your mindset is key to growing your book. But let’s talk about another opportunity that often gets overlooked—groups with 5 to 10 enrolled employees. This size segment can quietly become one of the most rewarding parts of your business. These groups are approachable, quote-friendly, and frequently underserved. They’re not just “filler” business—they can be profitable, loyal, and often lead to referrals and growth down the line.   🎯 Why 5–10 Enrolled Groups Make Sense Easier to Quote and Manage Compared to large groups or small groups under 5, these employers typically have fewer moving parts: You don’t need to chase down complex data or wait for a long decision-making process. You usually only need a simple census, and most carriers will return quotes quickly. There’s often a single decision-maker—usually the owner—so proposals move faster. More Time-Efficient Than You Think Many agents assume bigger groups = more reward, but the reality is that smaller groups often require lessongoing service and follow-up. They don't have internal HR teams, and they value [...]

2025-04-30T00:22:15-05:00Uncategorized|

What to Do When You Get Ghosted After Presenting a Group Health Quote — And How to Prevent It Next Time

You gathered census data, ran the quotes, analyzed plan designs, and crafted a polished, custom proposal. You finally sent it off or presented it live—and then? Crickets. No reply. No feedback. No next steps. Welcome to one of the most frustrating parts of selling group health insurance. But getting ghosted doesn’t have to be the norm—and it certainly doesn’t have to happen twice. Let’s break down why prospects go silent, what to do when they do, and how to reduce ghosting going forward. 🧠 Why Prospects Ghost After a Group Health Quote Before you take it personally, know that ghosting is usually more about them than you. Here are the most common culprits: ❌ You didn’t set clear next steps. ❌ The quote felt transactional—not like a solution. ❌ The decision-maker wasn’t engaged or empowered. ❌ They were shopping around and not serious. ❌ They didn’t know how to say “no.” Whatever the reason, it’s a signal that something in your process needs tightening.   🔍 Look in the Mirror First: Are You Creating Ghost-Worthy Experiences? Sometimes, it’s not them. It’s us. As agents, it’s easy to blame the prospect when communication drops off—but [...]

2025-04-30T00:24:35-05:00Uncategorized|

Unlock the Full Power of Your General Agency Partnership

Partnering early and often with your General Agency is the key to unlocking new growth opportunities.  As your General Agency, we’re here to support you — but true success comes when agents  use us for more than just solving problems.  Yes, we’ll always be ready to assist when challenges come up, whether it’s an enrollment  issue, billing discrepancy, or carrier delay. But that’s only a small part of what we can do for  you. Our goal is to be a proactive partner in your growth — whether your current focus is group  health, individual and family plans, or Medicare. We’re committed to helping you build a  stronger foundation, expand into new markets, and create new growth opportunities — all  while strengthening the relationships you have with your clients.  By involving us earlier and more often — not just when an issue arises — you’ll find you can  work more efficiently, position yourself more competitively, and deliver even stronger  service to your clients.  Here’s how you can start utilizing our support more strategically — and unlock even more  value from our partnership.    Use Us Before You Quote  Your General Agency [...]

2025-04-30T00:13:59-05:00Uncategorized|

Breaking Into the Mid-Market: How Smaller Agents Can Win Groups with 51-150 Employees

For independent and smaller insurance agents, the mid-market space – employers with 51-150 employees represents a strong growth opportunity.  While it’s a competitive space, many of these employers still feel frustrated with generic solutions, reactive service and being treated like just another number in a large book of business. Even if you haven’t sold to mid-market groups before, you can absolutely position yourself to succeed.  By leveraging your strengths – agility, service, local insights – and investing in the right tools and messaging, you can win over clients who are ready for a fresh alternative to big agencies and PEOs.   Why the Mid-Market Still Wants More Not Underserved - But Often Underwhelmed Mid-sized companies often get lumped into high-volume quoting cycles with little strategy behind the scenes.  They’re used to seeing recycled proposals, minimal follow-up and brokers who show up once a year at renewal. This creates a perfect opening for agents who are committed to being proactive, strategic partners.  It’s not about years of experience in the segment – it’s about showing up differently and delivering better.   How to Position Yourself Without Mid- Market Case Studies Leverage [...]

2025-04-11T14:41:22-05:00Uncategorized|

Why Every Agent Should be Offering Level-Funded Health Plans to Their Clients

In today’s competitive healthcare landscape, businesses are constantly looking for cost-effective ways to offer quality health benefits.  Traditional fully insured plans often come with rising premiums, little transparency and no opportunity for cost savings, making it essential for agents to explore alternative solutions.  Level-funded health plans have emerged as a leading option, offering employers the cost predictability of a fully insured plan while providing the potential for savings if claims are lower than expected. As an agent, offering level-funded options is no longer just a value-add-it’s a necessity to remain competitive.  With more businesses seeking alternatives to traditional plans and more agents incorporating level-funded solutions into their portfolios, staying informed about these plans ensures you’re meeting client demands and standing out in the industry.  Here’s why level funding should be a key part of your group health strategy.     1. Cost Savings and Potential Refunds One of the biggest advantages of level-funded health plans is the potential for cost savings.  Unlike fully insured plans, where premiums are fixed and any unspent funds go straight to the insurance carrier, level-funded plans allow businesses to get money back if their claims [...]

2025-03-18T12:12:35-05:00Uncategorized|

Understanding Health Insurance Key Terms and Definitions

As an insurance agent, you know that the language of insurance can be full of complex terms that leave clients feeling confused. Whether it’s explaining "deductibles," "premiums," or "exclusions," these concepts can be overwhelming for someone without a background in the industry. In this blog, we’ll explore how you can use clear, simple explanations of common insurance terms to empower your clients. By breaking down these terms in a way they can understand, you’ll help them feel more confident in their decisions and build stronger, trust-based relationships. Let’s work together to make insurance less confusing and more approachable! Here are some terms and definitions that are helpful to share with your clients:     Allowed Amount - The maximum payment the plan will pay for a covered health care service. Health care providers are permitted to charge other than this amount. A network provider agrees to accept the allowed amount as payment in full. Appeal - A request that the health insurer or plan review a decision that denies a benefit or payment (either in whole or in part). Balance Billing - When a provider invoices the member for [...]

2025-03-05T14:26:47-06:00Uncategorized|

Blue Options/Blue Choice Options Plan Hospital Search

The Blue Options/Blue Choice Options plan continues to be a great option for groups to offer to their employees. However, one of the main concerns members have is if their hospital is in the Blue Options plan. To explore this, I tried an experiment to confirm if the hospitals in the large BCBS PPO network were all in the Blue Options plan. Using the BCBS IL provider finder:  I created a list of all hospitals within a 100 mile radius of 60173 in the large PPO network. 122 hospitals were listed. I clicked on the name of every hospital on the above list to see what networks were listed. Most showed Blue Options/Blue Choice Options as a network. For those hospitals that did not show the Blue Options/Blue Choice Options network, I individually checked under the Blue Options/Blue Choice Options network. All of the hospitals on this list showed the large PPO network. Every one of the hospitals on the list in item 4 showed they were Tier 2 in the Blue Options/Blue Choice Options network. Advocate Lutheran General Hospital Tier 2: Participating Provider Organization Advocate Lutheran General [...]

2021-06-15T21:46:10-05:00Uncategorized|

Streamline your BCBS IL group enrollment with DocuSign

BCBS IL and DocuSign   Imagine a world where all you need is your portable electronic device and you can complete the enrollment paperwork for a business to apply for a BCBS IL small group health plan.     Recently, BCBS IL presented the DocuSign enrollment tool to the staff at MIBS.   We were all impressed and played at being agents, sending out enrollment paperwork and filling it out too.  I was excited to see how easy and fast it actually was.   Each step of the process is designed to save time, increase accuracy of entered data and provide legible electronically signed documents to the group, the agent, and your MIBS CSR without printing forms, hand writing information, scanning or faxing. Ok, I know some of you will jump on this like, “Patty, tell me how!”   And there are those of my friends who will groan and sigh and say, “I can’t do that technology thing.”   Well, it really is not that hard. In an effort to make this as easy as possible, MIBS created a guide with step by step instructions on how to use Docusign.   You [...]

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