Type “health insurance” into Google, and you get just over 39 million results. That beats about 27 million for “life insurance,” 13.3 million for “annuities,” and less than 1.5 million for “long term care insurance.”
Now, type in “health insurance” + “quote,” and you’ll get nearly 2 million Web sites offering health insurance quotes, applications, and policies.
People buy shoes and clothes online. They buy books and computers, food and wine, all without stepping foot in a brick and mortar store. So it only makes sense they’d shop for their health coverage online, as well, especially given the wealth of available options.
Liz Kenneally, vice president of business development for Oxonia Insurance Group Inc., a national health insurance agency, said she has noticed a sharp upward trend in the number of major medical policy sales made over the Internet or the telephone.
“I feel the Internet will facilitate the sales of health insurance,” said Kenneally. The key word here is facilitate. Lots of consumers use the Internet in an attempt to self-diagnose health problems, after all, but that doesn’t mean they’re not going to the doctor.
“(Clients) will need the assistance of an educated, licensed agent to discuss the different options,” she said. “The face-to-face, though, I think that’s going to dwindle because as our population gets older, consumers are more savvy on the Internet. What consumers are looking for is the ease of buying something without the hassle of having someone come to your home.”
And not only has the online health insurance market changed the way agents sell policies, said Kenneally, it’s changed the way they must market themselves, as well.
“It’s like ‘location, location, location,’ and the location is the Internet.”
Kenneally talks more about health insurance technology on page 26, as part of our 2007 Health Insurance Selling Guide. We kick off the section with the results of our Producer’s Health Insurance Survey, which asked producers about their experiences in the health insurance, consumer-directed health care, and disability markets. Those results and the accompanying analysis start on page 16. We also include articles about group health, limited benefit plans, and recent HSA changes that may make it easier — and more lucrative — to do business.
Will you become disabled?
I once had a job where, in the first week, I had a question about the benefits I was signing up for. I needed to know what was included, as some benefits were completely paid for by the employer, and I inquired about the premium for the long and short-term disability benefits.
I got a curious look from the HR supervisor.
“Gosh. Disability? I don’t know. Why do you need that?”
I paused. “Well, in case something happens to me.”
“Isn’t that what your parents are for?”
This is a true story. People have the craziest ideas about where the money will come from should something, God forbid, happen to them. That is, if they have any ideas at all, which I’d wager that most consumers don’t.
In fact, according to a recent study conducted by Milliman Inc. for the Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education, the probability of a white-collar worker becoming disabled for 90 days or longer be-tween the ages of 35 and 65 is 27 percent for men and 31 percent for women. And a 35-year-old, white-collar male who suffers a disability lasting 90 days or longer will be out of work for an average of about six years.
Yet, according to another study conducted by the Council for Disability Awareness, 56 percent of workers didn’t realize that the chances of becoming disabled had risen over the past five years, and nearly 60 percent of workers have not discussed how they would manage an income-limiting disability.
It’s the same reason some people put off going to the doctor or taking their car to the mechanic. They don’t want to think that something is wrong, and they don’t want the bad news. Buying disability insurance is somewhat akin to admitting you may eventually and prematurely lose your ability to earn a living. It’s a big step.
This month, we offer a few articles on disability insurance, explaining the need for it, and assessing when it’s appropriate — and when it’s not. This all starts on page 32. Judging from the number of consumers who underestimate the chance of a disability affecting them, and the number who overestimate the cost of insuring against that disability, your clients have a lot to learn. So get out there and start educating.