A new Sheriff in Town

Did I say Sheriff?  I meant there’s a new insurance carrier in town.  Sorry about that.

The strangest thing has happened.  As long as I have been in the insurance industry, there have been very few NEW insurance companies added to the list of options.  In fact over the past ten years, we have lost quite a few.  Lifeguard was a really nice plan and my friends who worked there said it was a fabulous place to work.  NYLCare was bought out by Aetna back in 1998.  Great West Life was bought out by CIGNA a couple of years back.  Recently a few small players in the medical arena, Principal and Guardian exited the medical part of their insurance companies.

But here we are with a new hopeful carrier on the horizon.  We really need more insurance carriers.  That’s what makes things more competitive.

COMING TO YOUR RENEWAL SOON!

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you the name.  See Change Health Insurance.  What I really like about this carrier is they are wellness oriented.  I love the wellness stuff.  It’s much less expensive to catch a disease in the beginning stages than the end stage.  And See Change makes a point of rewarding the enrollees for their wellness efforts.

What’s the clencher?  Okay, their rates are a little too high in our market to be competitive.  But I have faith that the rates will soon be more competitive.  Or maybe I just like the concept so much that I am wishing them to be more competitive in the new future.

WELLNESS, WELLNESS, WELLNESS

Don’t let me sell the other carriers short when it comes to wellness programs.  Some of the carriers have developed some interesting websites with a wellness twist.  Kaiser Permanente for instance is always about wellness.  They just recently developed a tool kit to help employees avoid holiday weight gain.  Now that’s important.  The holiday season starts with Halloween and continues through the New Year.  YIKES, that’s two full months of See’s Candies.

What ideas do you have to avoid the holiday eat frenzy?

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