Enacted in 2010, the Affordable Care Act, hit the insurance industry like a wave of storms. It has tested the endurance of benefits agents across the country. In the beginning, they feared it signaled "career-end." Would the exchanges put agents out of business? Would agents continue to be paid for the consultation, service, and advocacy work they do? No one really knew but benefits agents found themselves in uncharted territory. Today, we stand to learn a lot from the choices they made...
The potential threat of ACA sent many benefit professionals fleeing the industry, selling their books, taking early retirement, changing careers. Fear scattered the group.
Yet the majority of agents decided to wait it out. Maybe someone would stop ACA, outlaw it or at least stall it for a very long time. But the high achievers dug in. Listening to Million Dollar Producer, Terry de Decker, (her interview is here on NDOI) and others, I realized that some agents knew intuitively that regardless of what happened, ACA would be both an incomplete solution and confusing for consumers. Those agents had the advantage. They refused to operate out of fear. As ACA experts, they would be in demand and their advice would be highly valuable.
In 2013, the government—probably unknowingly—hit the industry with another major curve ball. They gave small groups the opportunity to extend their existing insurance program and rates if they opted to do so by December 1. The idea of giving people more time to figure out how to work within the new law was good, but the side-effect was traumatic...over 90% of small group health insurance programs would now renew on December 1. Imagine having your entire client base renew on the same date...the marketing, the proposals, the open enrollments, the delays, the questions, the insurance carrier melt-downs.
By December 2015, ACA pressure crushed benefits agents across the board. Stories of lack of agent response, misinformation and dissatisfaction have been commonplace among consumers. And yet, somehow, the super achievers seem to not only have survived but thrived in the chaos.
If you really want to find out who the A-players are, just put them in a situation that is more than they can handle. A-players will figure it out. These agents picked up more Broker of Record letters this past December than ever before. They saw the opportunity in the challenge, made themselves indispensable, held their carrier partners close, offered technology and tools to handle the overload, wowed clients and reached million dollar producer status in the process. It's a powerful strategy that can work in any area of insurance.
If you are a Million Dollar Producer (or know one you'd like to learn from) just let us know. The insurance industry wants to learn from you. Nominate a Million Dollar Producer by emailing us at [email protected].
