Alternatives to COBRA Health Insurance

ance, it is important to remember that you can face fines by not having insurance through the Affordable Care Act. When you feel like you cannot afford health insurance, it is important to realize there are other options available to you. 

• 01

   Short-Term Health Insurance

  

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  One option is to get short-term health insurance to cover the lapse between your current insurance and the insurance that you will get from

  your new employer. One of the advantages of this insurance is that the application process is quick. This insurance may have coverage limits, and is not meant to last longer than a year. Some policies are for a specific length of time. Other policies just have a limit as to how long you can qualify for the plan. Most short-term health insurance policies do not qualify as insurance under the Affordable Care Act, but may help fill gaps in your coverage.
  

  Short-term health insurance also has strict rules regarding coverage. If you are pregnant or if your partner or spouse is pregnant, you might have a difficult time qualifying for a short-term health insurance policies. Additionally the policy may have a low life-time and annual limit since this is not supposed to be a long-term solution. 

• 02

   Health Insurance Through Your State's Health Exchange

  Under the Affordable Care Act, you may qualify for help paying for your health insurance through your state's health insurance exchange. Losing your job and health insurance coverage counts as a qualifying event and you may be able to qualify without waiting for open enrollment. This is a viable option, and all policies will meet the Affordable Care Act health insurance requirements. 

  These plans may be a good option if you meet the income requirements for them. However, if you do not then you will need to look at the independent health insurance policies that are also available. 

• 03

   Independent Health Insurance

  Another alternative to COBRA insurance is an independent health insurance policy. There are policies that have good coverage at a lower cost than COBRA insurance. This is a good option if you do not have preexisting conditions or if you are single. This insurance policy can last for as long as you want it. The rates may increase each year. You can choose a deductible and copayment plan that best fits your needs. Your health insurance agent can help you make sure that the plan qualifies for the Affordable Care Act guidelines.

  You can look for these plans online or you can find an insurance agent that specializes in health insurance. Some companies may have agents just for its policies. You can also look for an independent agent that will show you a variety of policies from several different companies.

• 04

   High Deductible Health Insurance

  A high deductible health insurance plan is an excellent alternative to COBRA insurance. These plans have a lower monthly premium, but you have a high deductible to meet before coverage kicks in. This is a great solution if you are looking for ways to save money during difficult times. You can set up a health savings account in conjunction with a high deductible account.

  This is a good option if you think you will not use the insurance, but want to have it just in case. This type of policy will protect you from the most expensive health costs, but you will need to pay completely for your doctor visits until you meet your deductible. 

• 05

   Consider Using Your COBRA Option

  Additionally, you should consider the cost of COBRA and the coverage it provides when you make the choice. At times the coverage offered may be very good or you may need this type of plan because of your family or preexisting health conditions. Carefully consider the monthly premium costs as well as out-of-pocket costs for this plan when looking at your other options.

  COBRA gives you sixty days to determine if you need coverage. You may choose to wait with this option if you know you will have coverage in sixty days and then pay the premium if you end up needing the insurance. If you do this, you may face penalties under the Affordable Care Act though. 

• 06

   Choose the Right Alternative

  In order to make the correct choice for your individual situation, you should look at all the options available to you. At times the cost of COBRA may be less expensive than the alternatives. You may also go with short-term health insurance while you are waiting for approval on a high deductible or independent health insurance plan. If you have a family, you may want to consider using different insurance for each family member depending on the history of the individual. You should avoid things like health shares, which sound like health insurance, but really are not.

21 Insurance Sales Tips For Young or Inexperienced Insurance Agents

Selling insurance is different from selling everything else.

Insurance is one of the most expensive things people buy and they can�t see it, touch it, or hold it.

You�re selling ideas. You�re selling trust. You�re selling promises.

You�re selling yourself.

This is such a huge challenge that most insurance salespeople quit in the first 2 years and many agents are afraid to hire inexperienced salespeople.

I hate to see young producers fail and even more, I hate seeing agents miss out on the largest pool of cheap, passionate, and open-minded talent.

That�s why I created this resource. To help young insurance salespeople be successful and encourage hiring agents to consider young and inexperienced applicants.

If you know a young insurance salesperson please pass this article along to them. And if you are one:

Follow these 21 tips to be an inexperienced but insanely successful insurance salesperson:

1) Dress More Professionally

Obviously, if you dress more professionally clients are more likely to take you seriously. I don�t need to convince you of that.

But when you�re the sharpest dressed person in the office your coworkers and your boss will take you more seriously and most importantly, you�ll take yourself more seriously!

Sometimes confidence comes from the outside in. If you look the part everyone, including yourself, will start to believe it.

2) Avoid Using �Young� Slang

Have you ever told a client or prospect that you were �all about� customer service?

Do you express agreement by saying things like, �Gotcha�, �Right on� or �For Sure�?

Don�t get me wrong, I believe in being yourself and not apologizing for it, but when you�re trying to sell, the more you speak like your prospect the better success you�ll have.

If your prospect doesn�t use those terms it�s harder to earn their trust when you do.

3) Find Common Ground

Regardless your prospect�s age or background there�s always something you have in common.

Find it.

Did you grow up in the same neighborhood? Like the same baseball team?  Shop at the same grocery store? Do you both love your family?

Ask questions and figure it out so you can focus on the commonalities and skip over the rest.

4) Ask Prospects About Their Kids

If you�re trying to sell to someone much older than you, try to find out if they have a child or grandchild your age and ask a lot of questions about him or her.

You�ll prime their brain to think about their loved one. This makes your prospect more likely to buy from you since they would want someone else to do the same for their child.

Plus, while you may be young and inexperienced, if you�re more polished than their child you�ll come off as a real professional by comparison.

5) Reference Combined Experience

Remind prospects that they�re not buying only from you.

�I passed my licensing exam 3 months ago and I�m so lucky because our office has over 45 years of insurance experience! In fact, every single policy I write is double-checked by the owner of the agency.�

If experience may be an issue for your prospect, make sure they know you�re up to your ears in it.

6) Learn From Experienced Coworkers

Technology has created a very unusual situation in the business world.

It makes younger people think they�re smarter than they are.

As a tech guy myself, I know it�s hard to take advice from someone you just watched peck away at a keyboard to write a one sentence email.

But I also know more multi-millionaire insurance agents than almost anybody and I have found almost no correlation between their tech abilities and their success.

That�ll change for your generation, but learn everything you can from those who�ve been around.

7) Be Enthusiastic

Have you ever seen an infomercial without enthusiastic people?

Everybody likes enthusiasm and as a young salesman, you can display unbridled enthusiasm without looking like an idiot.

People will just think you�re young and have a lot of energy.

They�ll like it. And they�ll buy into it.

8) Follow the Markets

If want to relate to a more mature and professional audience, follow the stock market.

You don�t have to be an expert, just know enough to ask questions that don�t make you sound stupid.

After you�ve qualified someone by asking if they follow the market, ask something like, �What sectors do you think are going to do the best in the next quarter?�

And don�t turn into one of those Cramer wannabees who think they always know the sleeper stock. It�ll make you look inexperienced to someone who has followed the market for years.

9) Listen to Your Phone Voice

Record your voice on the phone while talking to some clients.

Do you sound smart?

Do you sound confident?

Do you sound like a little kid who picked up the phone in Daddy�s office?

10) Sell to Other Young People

There�s one group you have a huge advantage with in selling� other young people!

And guess what�

There�s millions of them!

Millions buying homes, millions getting married, starting businesses, having kids, buying expensive stuff!

Go get them!

11) Don�t Ignore Sales Fundamentals

I�m sorry to burst your bubble, but Facebook, Twitter, Text Messages and QR Codes don�t sell insurance.

People do.

Of course there are tools that can make things easier and more effective for agents, but social media will never replace the basics.

Read �How To Win Friends and Influence People� by Dale Carnegie. It was written in 1936 and teaches you how Teddy Roosevelt, Henry Ford, Benjamin Franklin and a lot of other old people become successful long before Mark Zuckerburg.

Everything in that book is just as relevant today as it was 75 years ago.

12) Speak Less, Listen More

As a young or inexperienced salesperson, there�s always an impulse to demonstrate your knowledge.

You want prospects to see you know your stuff because you�re a bit worried about it yourself.

The more you talk or explain things they didn�t ask about, the more obvious it is how much you don�t know.

And the more likely you�ll elicit a question you can�t answer!

13) Bring Up Age First

The best way to avoid an objection is to bring it up and overcome it before the prospect has a chance to.

Make a joke about your inexperience and be open about it.

Once you�ve brought it up, you have the excuse to explain why your prospect shouldn�t be concerned.

(you�re well-trained, you�re licensed, you ask questions when you don�t know answers, etc)

Here�s the greatest example ever.

14) Be Better Prepared

If your inexperience makes you feel inadequate as a salesperson then find a way to get around it.

Work harder, work longer, learn more about your products. Have an answer for every possible question.

Read books about sales, listen to sales audio tapes, go to seminars about sales.

Get in front of a mirror, a colleague, or a friend and practice your sales scripts, practice your rebuttals, your closes.

Nothing comes to you. Prepare yourself and go get it.

15) Expect to Live In the Trenches

Selling insurance is hard, hard work.

Insurance agents you see with big houses and nice cars playing golf around the world didn�t get there overnight.

They sold and sold and sold.

And sold more.

It�s the only way to become super successful in this business and if you want to be successful you�re going to have to do it too.

16) Become a Marketing Expert

You can�t rely on the agency or carrier you work for to come up with all the marketing ideas and generate leads.

Here�s a few marketing resources to get you started:

• Free Marketing Book for Insurance Agents
• 100 Insurance Agent Marketing Ideas
• 100 Insurance Social Media Marketing Ideas
• 100 Insurance Lead Generation Ideas
• Insurance LeadFinder Tool

You�re not just a salesperson, you are a marketer.

17) Don�t Spew Features

When you�re new to selling it�s common to focus on product features rather than benefits.

At some point you learned all 10 features of a product and you�re anxious to prove your knowledge by telling customers about all 10 of them.

Unfortunately they don�t care about all of them.

There�s maybe one or two features that interest them and  you�re better off asking questions to identify the client�s needs so you can explain how your products will satisfy those needs than trying to explain everything.

Don�t spew features on your clients; identify their needs and satisfy them.

18) Don�t Use Jargon

Nothing says �bad salesperson� more than using jargon to someone that doesn�t understand it.

There is no better way to show prospects you don�t give a %&#! about them than by using terminology no one outside your industry should know!

When you�re new, you have a unique advantage of being able to relate to clients as an outsider. People will actually relate better to you if they feel like you�re still on their side. You haven�t crossed over to the �insurance salesman� side.

Don�t use jargon, it only makes you look like you�re hiding something.

19) Recognize and Act on Buying Signals

I�ve witnessed a lot of new salespeople shoot themselves in the foot because they didn�t know when to shut up.

When someone is ready to buy, let them do it.

If it�s that important to explain everything then go ahead and do it� after you get their signature and a check!

20) Don�t Sell on Price

I get it� people are shopping on price, they�re comparing on price, and they�re buying on price.

You buy everything on price too, right?

Wrong.

Here�s the bottom line:

If you honestly believe people only buy on price then quit today. You�re in the wrong business and the industry doesn�t need you.

We�re not going to survive with a bunch of price-checkers. The entire industry will suffer if you don�t get out now.

Need some ideas for selling value?  Read this.

21) Embrace Your Youth

Be crazy. Be reckless. Be passionate. Be young!

No one ever had a mid-life crisis and became an insurance salesman. Don�t be afraid to breathe some life into this business!

Smile. Laugh. Be fun.

Who would you rather spend an hour talking about insurance with?

Don�t Just Read This Article:

1. Make a list of strategies that are going to help you.
2. Develop an ACTIONABLE plan to follow through.
3. Share this resource with every insurance school classmate or young co-worker so they�ll owe you a favor.
4. And click �Like� to show me you want more material for new salespeople.

Good Luck!

3 ways to save big

Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog. I hope that you all are having/had a great Wednesday ?? 

Today I am continuing my save big series by giving you all some easy ways to save money. The holiday season is vastly approaching and I�m sure that we all can use the extra money.

So let�s jump right into it�. Open A New Bank Account: 
I know that you all are thinking, how can I save by opening a new bank account? Well, I�m going to tell you. I suggest opening a account with a bank that is difficult to withdraw from like an online banking account, then make an initial deposit�and keep making small deposits. This separate account allows you to track your positive progress and it also builds momentum.

 Analyze Your Bills: 
With really analyzing your bills you are sure to find ways that you can save money. For example, with care insurance companies they usually makes the most money off of the people that has been with them the longest. Just think about it. If you have been have a good driving record and have been with your car insurance for years your premium has either went up or stayed the same. Why? Because they think you want leave them. That�s exactly what you should find another company that will save you money and that fits your needs.

 Ask For Your Savings: 
 That�s right! Don�t be afraid to ask for the savings that you want. I am always asking for companies to waive fees. When I upgrade my phone, I ask if they can waive the $30 activation fee. So far, I have not paid activation fees for my upgrades. I mean, what�s the worst that can happen with asking. They are more likely Togo along with whatever you are asking becauthey want to keep your business. 

I hope that you all found these tips to be helpful. No, they are not tips that can be used only for the holiday season but can be used all year around to help save money for anything. Such as a family vacation or something else.

The Benefits of Bundling Insurance

There are a number of advantages when you choose to bundle your insurance. Not only is it convenient, but you can also save money.

American Family Insurance offers insurance diacount when you combine your home , auto , motorcycles and life insurance. Consider it our way of rewarding you for proactively protecting what matters most.

Bundle and Save

Whether your home is a house, condo, apartment or manufactured home, you can enjoy the convenience of insurance packages and take advantage of bundled insurance discounts. American Family agents know our products inside and out and can help you identify what�s best for your situation. Talk to your American Family Insurance agent to see which of the following discounts may apply to you.

Auto & home. Save money on your auto premium when you bundle your auto and home insurance.

Auto & renters. If you�re a renter, take advantage of a discount on your auto insurance premium when you bundle auto and renters insurance.

Auto & life. Just another reason to proactively protect what matters most � bundle auto and life to get a discount on your auto insurance premium.

Motorcycle & Home Discount. By bundling your home and motorcycle policies with American Family, you could get insurance discounts on specific motorcycle coverages.

Home & Auto Discount. If you�re a homeowner, you�ll definitely want to consider adding car insurance to maximize your savings. In contrast to the Auto & Home discount, you can save money on your homeowners, condo or renters premium when you bundle home and auto.

Home & Umbrella Discount. You may qualify for a discount on your homeowners, renters or condominium policy when you purchase the additional liability protection of an American Family Umbrella policy.

Does Car Insurance Cover Theft?

Imagine walking to your car after a long day at work and discovering that your car isn�t there. Or, finding your vehicle, but it�s got a broken window and all of your belongings are missing. These are exactly the type of situations where you want to have insurance on your side � and we�ve got you covered! The key is knowing what type of insurance you need and how it will help you.


In the above scenario there are two different types of theft that happen � and each one would be covered by a different type of insurance. If you have comprehensive car insurance, then you�re covered if a thief takes off with your vehicle. Your car policy will also cover up to $200 in personal property. If you have more valuable items in your vehicle, your home owners or renters insurance will step in after the deductible. So is theft covered? You bet � but different types of theft need different insurance, and it won�t always be covered by your auto insurance.

If you�re wondering about the broken window in the first example, or any vandalism for that matter � we�ve also got you covered. Your comprehensive insurance steps in to help you pay any out-of-pocket expenses that may arise from vandalism.

Because a car theft or theft of items in a car can be complex and involve different types of insurance, it�s a great idea to contact the police and file a report, take lots of pictures, make note of anything that was stolen and all damage done to the vehicle. And finally, call your agent to see if they have any advice for you while you�re on the scene.

What Theft Does Comprehensive Insurance Cover?

If you�re wondering specifically what types of theft your auto insurance covers, then we should explore comprehensive auto insurance more thoroughly. The following chart is an easy way to do just that!

Your car is stolen

Yes

Your hubcaps are stolen

Yes

Your locks are wrecked in a failed theft

Yes

Your tires are stolen

Yes

Your vehicle is vandalized

Yes

Windows are broken

Yes

It�s important to note that comprehensive coverage is optional. So to get the coverage, you�ll need to add it to your policy.

Choosing a travel insurance

I have been very busy preparing for my upcoming trip, so I have not been making much new content lately. One thing I have recently been working on is choosing my Travel Insurance. So far, this has been one of my least favourite aspects of preparation but I know it is important, so I am taking it very seriously.

This is a lengthy, time-consuming exercise if you want to do this properly as you have no idea what you are getting unless you go over the lengthy Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) with a fine tooth comb. It is important to note that they may advertise that they cover you for X amount of dollars for medical, dental, personal luggage etc. but these things all come with a list of conditions � situations they won�t cover you for, so you need to look into this in depth. A lot of people might not be getting what they think they are really paying for without taking the time to research.

I regularly read horror stories in the news where Australians go overseas (mainly to Asian countries) and are in motorcycle/moped/scooter accidents and sustain serious injuries and they wind up being in a lot of trouble as they aren�t covered by their insurance. They end up making �Go Fund Me�s� and relying on the kindness of others to compensate. Despite these stories many people don�t seem to know that you are not covered when driving those kinds of vehicles without a motorcycle license (from your home country normally). It is super important to know what activities you are covered for and the conditions that go along with it.

I have read a lot of very popular bloggers shoving one brand of travel insurance down peoples throats but this insurance is one of the most expensive ones you can get and the reviews are horrendous. Even worse, you cannot truly depend on reviews, especially with negative reviews because how can you determine if that individual did adequate research into what they were getting?

It is probably impossible to find the perfect travel insurance (they are businesses after all who exist to make money) but finding the best for my criteria, that will look after me if the worst happens, that is doable

If my inane ramblings haven�t made you run for the hills, this was my process for choosing my travel insurance:

I visited the Choice website, they are a consumer advocacy group in Australia, who provide independent reviews of a huge variety of products and services and defend consumer rights. They have a buying guide and they have evaluated what seems to be every single Travel Insurance product on the market available to Australians. I selected a handful of their top-rated Travel Insurance products, for my additional analysis.I researched travel insurers for long-term travel, I hand-picked the insurers that allow the longest amount of travel.I created an excel spreadsheet with important points from my personal criteria. I proceeded to fill out each section for 8 different brands (I started with 10 and automatically excluded 2 from the start due to the ridiculous prices), including 1-2 policies from each brand.I selected my top 2 policies based on my evaluation of the spreadsheet.I printed out the PDS for each product I am interested in and read them thoroughly and see what I am really being offered. Surprisingly my top 2 were very similar but had some points that set them apart.I contacted both insurers with some questions I couldn�t answer by reading the PDS.Choose: I have chosen to go with Itrek and get their top-notch cover (Pioneer).

If you are also looking for travel insurance here are some reasons I choose to go with Itrek:

-Activities: They automatically cover a wide range of activities include loads of snow activities. As I will be spending winter in some snowy destinations, I like to have the peace of mind that my options are open in terms of doing these activities and being covered by my insurance. A lot of insurers charge substantially more to have this type of cover.

-Price: Considering a lot of snow sports are included this is a bargain compared to other insurers. This was a compromise for me as it is a mid-range price � I wasn�t prepared to blow my budget out on a ridiculously priced insurance but didn�t want to just go for the cheapest cover and hope for the best.

-Length: You can extend for up to 18 months with Itrek � so it is one of the longer length insurers.

-Luggage & Personal Effects: The policy I am purchasing comes with a decent level of cover for luggage including for computers, cameras and mobile phones (with limits, of course). I know that some people who have more expensive equipment sometimes purchase a separate insurance just for all their gear but that isn�t necessary for me.

I hope you find that my methods gave you some insight on factors you might want to consider when selecting your travel insurance. I know some people just choose the cheapest one and go for gold (not judging but you are playing Russian roulette, mate!!) but I implore you to spend a couple of hours making a decision and looking into this. This is about your health and safety, very important aspects of your survival and wellbeing. If you can do your part to know what you are entitled to, what you shouldn�t be doing etc. you can adventure away with the peace of the mind that if worst comes to worst your insurance company will probably have your back.

3 types of insurance? everyone should have

There are a lot of different types of insurance, but it isn�t always clear why you need them. Insurance can feel like you are paying a lot of money each month or year for something that �might� happen. You might feel like insurance isn�t worth getting, but you would be wrong. Here are three types of insurance that you simply need to have:

Car Insurance:

It is illegal to drive and operate a car without insurance. That is a simple truth. You need to get car insurance, but how much coverage you get is up to you. You might feel that you only need the minimum and that you will never get into a car accident. But what if you do? What if you are in an accident and then have to make a huge payout either to fix the car or to somebody else? What if your car breaks down by the side of the road and you have to pay extra or can�t get a road site pick up? What if you lose the only key to your car and can�t get into it?

There are so many things that can go wrong when driving and owning a car and the above are only a few possibilities. You want to ensure that you are covered for a myriad of problems. They might just be something that could potentially happen, but you will be kicking yourself in the behind if it does happen and you aren�t covered. Instead, you want to make sure that you have roadside assistance, key coverage, breakdown coverage, and decent all around insurance to make sure that you can drive safe in the knowledge that you are properly insured.

Medical Insurance:

Medical insurance is something that you might not need to use for years, but then you are suddenly ill, and it becomes the most important thing in the world. If you have a health & medical insurance plan, then you are ensuring that you will be taken care of should you become ill. This might be something as simple as needing to have your appendix removed or something as serious as having cancer. You need to make sure that you have decent medical insurance. It might be costly, but you need it. If you become ill and need to go to a hospital without medical insurance, then your standard of care will be far lower, and you might not be able to get treatment for certain things without paying incredible sums of money that you cannot afford. The amount that you get back if you need to claim your medical insurance dwarfs the amount that you would be paying each month or year.

Home & Contents Insurance:

Home and contents insurance cover your house in case you are burgled or if something else happens to your home such as a flood, burst pipe, or anything that will damage your property or your items within. If you own a lot of expensive goods such as electrical items, then you should get the insurance to cover them and make sure that if they get stolen or break, then you aren�t left having to pay out of pocket for new ones. Home and content insurance is just another cost of living that you need to factor in, because if you don�t have it and something happens, then you might be left with nothing.

Paying for insurance is an admitted hassle, but can you imagine the trouble you would be in if you went without it?