Warning to ALL those with resumes on CareerBuilder etc. You've all read the many usacomplaints.com about MEGA Life/HealthMarkets etc. And the crazy way they treat their "independent contractors". This company (IPA, ABBA, IAC) doesn't want to make YOU rich, they want to make their band of brothers (all ex-NASE/Cornerstone) rich. Just like before, they will say ANYTHING to you to get you to do what THEY want. Funny thing is, they have so little creativity that they can't even find the time to make up new lies for you to tell your prospective clients!
You do not have to get in your car and "walk and talk" business owners in the rain, snow, 100% heat while paying $4/gallon for gas etc.in order to sell health insurance. And you do NOT have to charge someone a $95 application fee after already adding up to $90 in an association plan they do NOT need on top of incredibly overpriced health insurance.
Wake up people! It's 2008 and because of the internet and online applications, 95% of the health insurance written in this country is done over the phone... Not in person.
The captive agents sell Independence American health insurance (administered by IAC - a third party administrator) which in itself is not all that bad except for their lack of prescription drug coverage. The problem with the insurance is that it is extremely overpriced and your agent will LIE to you and say anything to get you to buy it because they have nothing else to sell.
If you are considering joining this company by thinking you will retire a millionaire in 10 years... Move on. You cannot maintain a book of business because a truly independent broker will come across your client and roll your business by simply showing your ex-client a better plan while saving them about $200 per month.
I've been captive and I've been independent. Captive advances are simply loans. Since 99.9% of agents hired into captivity flunk out of the business, they leave owing companies like this thousands of dollars and usually signed on NOT realizing this and/or being lied to about it as well as the "stock" accumulation program. You won't retire a millionaire in 10 years if the stock ALL your money is in takes a dive the year before you vest. Just ask some of the NASE/Cornerstone hangers on that have lost over HALF of their stock value just in the past 18 months.
The way these top tier managers/VP's are making money off your efforts is simple. They keep the $95 app fee, they make a killing off REQUIRING you to sell the ABBA membership which virtually gives your client nothing but a headache and is taught to be sold in a misleading way, they charge you interest on your debit balance and they charge you an average of $300 to join their little company. Multiply that by the 100's of recruits they hope to get every month and the thousands of app fees and ABBA memberships and the guys who left Cornerstone/NASE to start this deal are getting rich.
They also cash and deposit your client's initial premium payment WAY before the policy is ever issued which other health insurance companies DO NOT. You do the math. How much interest are they earning during the 2-8 weeks before that policy ever goes into effect? Multiply that by the soon to be 1000's of apps taken weekly... 60% of which will never be issued or not taken.
Yes, THEY are getting rich, YOU ARE NOT!!! You will be making a piddly 18%. Oops, make that 9%. They will only advance you 6 months and when that policy falls off the books you ARE charged back... They just call it a "taken rate". Soon, your taken rate will be around 40-50% (if that high) and your advance commission weekly will drop to about 4 - 4.5%.
In the REAL insurance world, you can negotiate a 25% contract, buy your own leads (don't get me started on the crap they call leads and the way they also make money off their so called manager's lead accounts), and if you get paid AS EARNED, you avoid chargebacks altogether.
This is purely a scam that these guys perfected in the early 90's over at NASE/Cornerstone America. Read HUNDREDS of usacomplaints.com about how badly the agents were/are treated there.
If you are in the market for health insurance, steer clear of the captive agent. They are only looking out for themselves and most of them haven't been in the business 6 months. Find an independent agent with at least 5 years of experience selling insurance for multiple carriers so you can feel assured that you are getting the best product at the best rate for your unique and individual needs.
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