To bridge the gap caused by high deductibles, Empower has added National General Insurance Company to their carrier portfolio. They have a whole host of ancillary products. In addition, they have short term medical, which is a great option, especially for those people that may not be getting much of a subsidy or no subsidy at all. So rather than paying the exorbitant amount of premium for a qualified health plan, people can instead opt for a short term plan for up to eleven months until the plan changes. Moreover, qualified plans mean having a very narrow network in order to see doctors and hospitals, and for the insurance to actually work, people have to remain in-network – another reason for short term medical.
In the video below, Jeff Hess, the ancillary, group, and individual insurance expert here at Empower, shares more reasons why all agents should add National General to their list of carriers this ACA season.
Low Costs to Clients
As for costs, clients are going to have it for about a third of what they paid for a qualified health plan. Plus, they also have what they call their plan enhancers, such as trio-med. They have many ancillary products, which work as gap plans, for either a qualified health plan or a short term plan. This cost issue primarily affects those, who are partially subsidized, meaning they’ve got some out-of-pocket exposure. In other words, they don’t have the zero deductible with $200 max-out-of-pocket. For those that are somewhere in between and all the way up to 1000% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), they need some sort of plan to help cover their deductibles or out-of-pocket exposures. With the short term plan, which is a third of the qualified plan premium costs, you can add a complete gap plan. They’ve actually designed this gap plan through National General Insurance to package with a qualified health plan so that it helps balance the out-of-pocket exposures.
As an agent, you want to be able to give your clients as many options as possible. However, when it comes to the Affordable Care Act and also the open enrollment this year, there’s very few options. The client’s out-of-pocket exposure has jumped all the way up to $7,150. For a family, it’s twice that amount – $14,300 maximum-out-of-pocket exposure. If premiums are affordable but then the deductible and out-of-pocket exposure are too high to use the insurance, what use is the insurance?
Faster Commissions for Agents
Ultimately, this is a product that every agent needs. Not only does it give you an edge, you’re going to make as much money selling the ancillary product, if not more, than what you would make on the sale of a qualified health plan. It helps your client, and it helps you. Lastly, these products pay a lot faster. You’ll be getting money in November, December, January, meaning a nice Thanksgiving, a nice Christmas, and a nice start to the new year. Then, you start getting paid on your Affordable Care Act plans at the end of January and the first of February. That’s why you need National General Insurance Company.
Earn an extra $100 when you do either of the following:
- Sell three Short Term Medical (STM) policies with October effective dates to receive your bonus after 60 days; or,
- Sell six STM policies with October effective dates — we’ll trigger your bonus payment after the sixth policy is issued.
To learn more about commissions and the bonus guidelines, check out our other post, Nat Gen Comp & Cash Bonuses!
National General Quoting Engine
Once you add National General to your carrier portfolio, you’ll gain access to their online quoting tool – QuoteNatGen.com – to help you land sales FAST & score cash bonuses!
While you’re on QuoteNatGen.com, try quoting more of National General’s available out-of-pocket solutions:
- TrioMED (Accident Medical Expense plus Critical Illness and Accidental Death and Dismemberment coverage)
- Plan Enhancer (Accident Medical Expense plus optional Cancer and Heart/Stroke and Sickness Hospitalization riders)
- Accident Fixed-Benefit
- Cancer and Heart/Stroke
- Critical Illness – Term Life
- Dental
ACA Express Engine Access
Another great thing about National General Insurance Company is that they’re actually going to be our ACA Express Engine, which we use for on exchange enrollment. With just a click of a button, you can package a gap plan for your client. You don’t have to go to another website. You don’t have to do all the adding and completing several applications for one client. The Engine simplifies the process, by allowing you to complete it all with just a click of a button and a couple of questions.
Fill out the ACA Express Engine Registration form today!
Short Term Medical Plan and TrioMED Updates
Short Term Medical (STM) changes:
- They have removed the network fee and monthly admin fee
- Association-issued STM plans are no longer available in Kansas and Iowa. However, STM will remain available in those states as Individual plans
TrioMED changes (accident and critical-illness coverage):
- They no longer require a $2,000 deductible for customers without major medical coverage;$250 deductible applies to all covered persons
- Increased payout for spouses and child dependents: the spouse benefit increased to 100% and the child benefit increased to 50%
- Payout percentage decrease to 25% for Critical Illness CABG benefit
- TrioMED Guaranteed Issue options now include Dismemberment options
Agents
We hope that this information on National General is useful to you.
Empower Brokerage is dedicated to helping you make informed decisions about your health and finances. Whether it’s through webinar training, one-on-one calls, seminars, or marketing plans, we want you to be successful!
Give us a call at 888-539-1633 or leave a comment below if you have any questions.
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Article Updated: 03/13/2024
