We recently wrote about the expected increase in demand for individual health plans this fall. Millions of workers have lost their group coverage due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so they’ll be shopping for insurance in the individual market.
Life is full of risks, and as insurance agents, we help our clients reduce their exposure to some of these risks by selling them products that will indemnify them if they have a covered loss. However, as we all know, most insurance policies—and this is certainly true when talking about health insurance—do not provide total protection, and it’s impossible to insure everything.
A lot of independent agents work in a silo. They communicate with their clients and prospects but rarely interact with other brokers. And that’s a shame. Not only is there a lot to learn by getting to know your peers, but it could also help you get more leads and sell more business.
At this point, most agents have begun to realize that there might be a higher-than-normal demand for individual health insurance this fall. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced a lot of companies to furlough or lay off employees, causing them to lose their health coverage. While COBRA is an option for some, others worked for companies that have had to drop their group health plan altogether, leaving them with no continuation option.
We’ve all heard the expression “time is money.” From this statement, we can conclude that if we had more time, we could make more money—wouldn’t that be nice?
In the old days (and the old days weren’t that long ago), most business was done face-to-face or over the phone. In fact, that’s probably how many of you did business until the pandemic hit. While traveling to an appointment or having a phone conversation can be time consuming, they can also help you build relationships with your clients.
In a recent post, we mentioned that millions of people are losing their jobs and, as a result, their group health coverage because of the Coronavirus pandemic, and many of these individuals will qualify for COBRA continuation coverage.
You’ve probably seen the numbers. Week after week during the coronavirus pandemic, millions of people have been filing for unemployment. In fact, ABC News reports that, as of July 23, we’ve had 18 straight weeks in which “weekly jobless claims surpassed 1 million.” Since the pandemic began, “Approximately 50 million U.S. workers have filed for unemployment insurance,” and “at least 16 million workers are still receiving benefits.”
As we recently explained, the habits that both agents and their clients developed during the COVID-19 lockdown will continue well after we return to the office. Specifically, people are now accustomed to shopping online, so there will likely be less demand for face-to-face meetings in the months ahead.
The Internal Revenue Service has announced the 2021 deductible, out-of-pocket, and contribution limits for Health Savings Accounts (HSA). Here they are:
