Change is Coming to Medicare in 2010—Are You Ready?-eNewsletter

Senior Market Sales, Inc. Agent Advantage eNews - Providing a secure future for insurance professionals and their clients.

2010 Medicare Supplement portal
Change is Coming to Medicare in 2010—
Are You Ready?


The current recession and our government's reaction to it have brought significant change to the Medicare system. Soon millions of seniors and insurance agents will begin feeling the effects. But what will those effects be?

Find out by reading Dwane McFerrin's article, which includes a detailed list of some of the major changes coming to Medicare in 2010. Read More about 2010 Medicare changes

www.2010MedicareSupplement.com

Senior Market Sales has also unveiled a new website, www.2010MedicareSupplement.com, which includes up-to-date information concerning the coming changes to Medicare Supplement plans in 2010.

Visit the site to learn about new benefits and old ones that are going away. Get detailed coverage information on new Plans M & N. Get answers to frequently asked questions on 2010 Medigap changes. When carriers begin to release their 2010 plan information it will be stored here as well, so remember to check back often.

Call one of our Medicare Experts at
1-877-888-9996 to find out which carriers will likely offer these new low-premium
Medicare Supplement plans M & N.

Medicare Supplement      TOP

Visit MedSuppForAgents.com SLAICO Takes Med Supp Apps Online--Eliminates Paperwork
Standard Life and Accident (SLAICO) and American National Life Insurance Co. of TX (ANTEX) now offer the most versatile and agent-friendly Medicare Supplement Electronic Application platform in the industry. It allows agents to submit SLAICO and ANTEX Medicare Supplement applications for their clients. The Agent simply completes the e-application on the secure SLAICO portal for the client, then submits it directly to Underwriting. Upon receipt, SLAICO calls the client for a voice signature, confirming their approval. Within 48 hours, the Agent can view the decision online.

If you're already contracted with SLAICO or ANTEX, visit www.slaico.com and log into the producer access center to try the tool yourself. Download instructions here.

If you're interested in getting contracted, call your SMS Marketer at 1-877-888-9996 to find out what states SLAICO and ANTEX are competitive in.

Health Care Reform Update
Insurance Industry in the Crosshairs

It was only a short time ago that President Obama stood on a stage surrounded by insurance industry executives and applauded their efforts and commitment to reforming the health care system and cutting costs. Fast-forward a couple months and liberal Democrats are calling these same insurers "villains" and "immoral." What happened? Read More

Medicare Advantage      TOP

Visit MAForAgents.com Hit the Jackpot with Low-Premium MA Plans
Looking for competitive $0 and $10 premium plans in your area? Need to fill holes in your portfolio created when other carriers pulled out?

Position yourself for success this season with low-premium plans from CIGNA, Coventry, Pyramid and American Progressive. Senior Market Sales can get you contracted.

Get contracted to sell MA with CIGNA

Get contracted to sell MA with Coventry

Get contracted to sell MA with Pyramid/American Progressive

For more details on plan designs or premiums in your area, go to SeniorMarketSales.com and log into Agent Advantage, or call 1-877-645-0147 to speak to a marketer.

Seniors Defend Their Medicare Advantage Plans
The program has been described as "wasteful" by President Obama, but seniors who use Medicare Advantage say they enjoy benefits not offered by Original Medicare. Read More

Also included:
Medicare Advantage enrollment by year and by state

CMS Medicare Marketing Guidelines
CMS has released revised Medicare Marketing Guidelines effective Aug. 7, 2009.

Highlights:

  • One of the big items is the waived requirement that an agent must provide a Summary of Benefits to the client, at least as it relates to Part D.
  • In 2011, CMS will prepare its own exam which will most likely make AHIP certification obsolete.
  • Employed agents are exempt from agent/broker compensation requirements.
  • Plan types will now be required in product names. For example, Aetna's Golden Medicare could be shown as Golden Medicare (HMO).
Download the full communication from CMS here.

Travel Insurance      TOP

More Than Just Travel Insurance . . .Hurricane Protection from TravelInsuranceCenter.com:
Keep Your Vacation from Blowin' in the Wind
The official Atlantic hurricane season lasts from June 1 to November 30. To maximize vacation protection from storms and hurricanes, travelers should buy insurance when they make their travel plans—before a storm or hurricane is announced. Once the National Weather Service issues a storm or hurricane warning, it is considered a foreseeable event. So policies purchased on or after the warning date do not cover losses related to that event.

Shop Online for Hurricane Coverage

Call Brandon, Alan or Dan at
1-866-979-6753 or 1-402-343-3699 info@TravelInsuranceCenter.com

The SMS Agent Advantage newsletter is posted on the home page at www.SeniorMarketSales.com

Send contact changes to sms@seniormarketsales.com

What's New

Quote of the Week
“It's more important to reach the client who counts than to count the clients you reach.”

Milton M. Kleinberg

Special      TOP

Join the SMS Group on LinkedIn
Join the Senior Market Sales
group on LinkedIn


Join the "Better Buckets Beta"
group on LinkedIn

"Better Buckets"
White Paper

Learn about our revolutionary new retirement income strategy and software called the Sequent Income Model™, which takes the old concept of "Bucket Planning" for retirement and optimizes it. Senior Market Sales spent years developing and perfecting this system. Now we want to share it with you.

Download the "Better Buckets" white paper here.

E&O Insurance
Premiums as Low as
$395 a Year!

By contracting with SMS, you can get a $1 million, 12-month E&O policy for as little as $395.50—just over $1 a day. Pricing depends on coverage limits and products sold. Life and Annuity options are available.

Request Pricing and Coverage Information

Online Enrollment Available for SMS Agents

Annuity      TOP

Rate Increase for American Equity's Guarantee 5
The rate for American Equity's 5-year MYGA product has increased to 4.00%! For more information on this product or to get contracted with American Equity, call 1-877-645-4939.

Great News!
Aviva is Back in the
1035 Business

Aviva USA has announced it is ready to once again accept applications for rollover business.
Read more for details.

Please call 1-877-645-4939 to speak to an SMS Marketer if you have any questions at all about submitting 1035 business, or if you need new Aviva materials.

151A Update from
American Equity

American Equity reports incredible progress has been made on legislative efforts to overturn Rule 151A. H.R. 2733 has 30 co-sponsors and S. 1389 has six co-sponsors. Read More

Life Insurance      TOP

Assurity E-Application: You'll Never Use Paper Again
You can now submit Simplified Whole Life, Nonmed Term 350 and Term 350 Plus policies electronically!

E-Apps come into the new business processing queue immediately, saving time and getting you paid faster. Plus, the electronic form will prompt you to fill out all the necessary fields, so amendments are rare.

Get answers to all your E-App questions at AssureLINK, or call the Life Department at 1-877-888-0166.

NACOLAH's New Custom Guarantee UL and New ADDvantage Term
NACOLAH has redesigned its go-to UL product for clients who want maximum death benefit and its line of term products. Call the Life Department at
1-877-888-0166 for more details.
The newest Custom Guarantee will offer great benefits, including:

  • New competitive rates! Great rates on guaranteed death benefit coverage up to age 120
  • Guaranteed no premium payments on the base policy beyond age 100
  • Guaranteed Exchange Privilege – allows an exchange without evidence of insurability
  • Low minimum face amount of $25,000 – Great for final expense cases!
  • Two Year Rolling Target Premium
  • Preferred Best Available To Face Amounts As Low As 25,000!
Also: New Term ADDvantage 10, ADDvantage 15 and ADDvantage 20 now available for sale.

Sales Concepts:
Retirement Supplement with an Indexed UL

How to get cash-value growth within a fixed universal life insurance product

Estate Planning with AssetMax

Long Term Care      TOP

“Learning Curve”
LTCi Education Key in Controlling Health Care Costs

It hasn't gotten a lot of attention on Capitol Hill or in the media during the health care debate, but make no mistake: Long-Term Care insurance has an integral role to play in containing health care costs for both seniors and the government.

Read More


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