Preparing for the Group Health Sales Presentation
By: Lori Liles – New Business Consultant
Once you’ve received your Group Health Insurance Quote back from your CSR, you’ll notice that it’s very long. Very, very long! The average quote could be anywhere from 70 to 100 pages in length! Please don’t email the quote to your client, and expect them to know how to read it. You will be more successful when you take the time to help your client understand what they’re looking at and help them pick the plans that best fit their needs.
Based on the knowledge that you have on your Group, you should have enough information to help you come up with a presentation.
Some of the information that will be the most helpful will be:
- What are they budgeting for a monthly premium? What percentage will the employer be contributing?
- What kind of a deductible and out of pocket is the Group comfortable with?
- What size Network will they need? Are there any out of state employees?
- Narrow – Blue Choice Preferred (BCE)
- Large – Blue PPO (PPO)
- Tiered – Blue Options (OPT)
- HMO – Blue Precision (PSN)
- Are they interested in offering an HSA Plan?
- Will the group be doing Age or Composite Rates?
- What about Ancillary Products? Dental, Vision, Life, STD or LTD
Look through the quote, and come up with a few plans that you’d like to present to the Group. Some agents want to give their Group all of the options available, but if you’ve asked enough questions up front, you should have a good idea of what you should be narrowing the choices down to.
After you’ve chosen a few different plans that you’d like to present, it’s time to organize them on a Spreadsheet. You can either create the Spreadsheet yourself, or reach out to your CSR, or myself, and I’ll be happy to assist you in putting the Spreadsheet together for you. The Spreadsheet will highlight the benefits in a little more detail than what you’ll see on the quote. It will also be easier for your client to read and understand.
Remember, if your client is interested in a different type of plan than what you’re presenting, that’s okay. Have the Quote handy, so you can see if there’s a better plan that will fit what they’re looking for. You can always offer to spreadsheet the new plan, and get them the SBC for that plan later.
Below is an example of what a typical Spreadsheet could look like:
You’ll also need to make sure that you bring copies of the Summary of Benefits and Coverage, otherwise called the SBC, for each of the Plans you’re going to present. The Plan Information included on the Spreadsheet won’t be as thorough as the SBC. The SBCs can be found in Blue Access for Producers.
Below are the instructions on how to use the SBC Tool.
Below is a sample copy of the Summary of Benefits and Coverage:
Don’t forget to review the Ancillary Options. Ancillary Products are a great added value that an employer can offer their employees at a low cost. The Ancillary Benefits can be offered as either Employer-Contributory or Voluntary (some restrictions may apply).
You can also give Brochures from Blue Cross to your client so they can review the additional Benefits that the Carrier offers.
The last step before you conclude your Presentation is go over what the next steps will be. If your client needs time to look over the plans before they make their decision, let them know what date you’ll be following up with them to find out what they’ve decided on. Let your client know what documents BCBS will need from them if they decide to move forward, so they can start getting that information together. Give them the timeline of when everything needs to be turned in to you by. If the Group doesn’t think they’ll be able to get everything in to you by the deadline you’ve given them, you may need to choose a different effective date for the policy to start. Start managing the expectations of the group now instead of when it is too late.
If you have any questions, or need any help with your Presentation, please reach out to me. I am always happy to help!
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