Health and Medicare products are lines that I am able to offer but they are not a focus for my agency. Because of this, I’m basing this page on some feedback from colleagues that focus almost exclusively on health insurance and Medicare supplement products.
With recent and ongoing changes in health legislation most of the general public have very little current knowledge of their health insurance options. This is especially good for brokers. Not only are there millions of people without insurance and in the market, but just as many are interested in changing policies as a means of saving money. This holds true both for individual consumers as well as employers of all sizes.
As an agent, your goal should be to generate as many hot health insurance leads as possible.
Some of the most common lead acquisition methods include:
- Purchasing leads online
- Direct mail
- Cold calling
- Referral marketing
While all of these methods can be effective, purchasing leads online has moved to the forefront. With this strategy, you are able to control your efforts while ensuring that you always have enough leads to stay busy.
When you purchase health insurance leads online, rather than focusing on traditional marketing strategies, you can benefit in many ways:
- Present your policies to prospects when their interest is at its highest
- Filter leads based on location, age, and risk factors among other criteria
- Control your marketing budget to improve return on investment
The ability to purchase both individual and group health insurance leads online has transformed the industry for the better.
Group Health Insurance Leads
Despite the fact that group health leads are out there, lead generation can be a difficult process.
Rather than rely on cold calling HR departments and networking tactics that resemble stalking I would qualify this category as a good candidate for online leads. You will typically find that group leads will have a lower close rate than other lines due to the magnitude of importance for the buyer but I’ve known several agents that have booked huge commissions with just one really good client from internet leads.
The benefits of buying group health insurance leads online are as follows:
- No long hours cold calling HR professionals who are not interested in what you are selling
- The ability source a regular stream of leads
- Engage more prospects when they are most interested in buying
I recommend internet leads, highly target pay per click advertising for health insurance in general. You may be able to leverage the lack of legislation knowledge in the market to also attract individual and small businesses with more traditional techniques such as print, direct mail, radio and telemarketing. It is also important to note that health and Medicare products sales will be more volatile than other lines with open enrollment and AEP windows dictating much of the demand from prospects.
