High Percentage Selling

  In this segment of the High Percentage Selling Podcast series, Mark Chai, Regional Vice President of Sales for MGIS is joined by Tanya Martinez, a 14 year veteran on the MGIS Account Management team, to discuss the unique service levels and solutions provided by MGIS to clients of all sizes. Here are a couple of key highlights that distinguish great account service and help drive the highest retention rates in the industry. Listen to the podcast for the complete list of services. Licensed Account Managers The first difference you’ll notice is that with MGIS each group has a dedicated account manager. Unlike a call center, your clients always reach the same licensed insurance professional who knows not just the industry, but understands the contract and the unique needs of each group. Once the implementation process is complete the group will receive a welcome call from their account manager to introduce themselves and go over the details of their specific contract. “One of the details we like to make sure we discuss is the earnings definition. This can be a little confusing sometimes, and we find by making sure groups understand this upfront, it makes the claim process go much more smoothly.” Tanya Martinez, Account Manager, MGIS Help, Before you need it After the initial welcome call account managers proactively reach out to groups at least monthly to answer questions and suggest solutions that the group may not even be aware of. When a group does have a claim, their MGIS account manager will double check to assure it’s complete and to resolve any potential problems upfront – helping prevent slowdowns and reducing frustration during an already stressful time. For more information, check out the blog post “Selecting the Best Group Disability and Life Provider Partner for your Physician Clients: A checklist”

  Though the last 10 episodes of the High Percentage Selling podcast we shared with you some ideas on ways in which you could change the conversation about Group Disability with your physician clients. In this, the concluding podcast, hosted by MGIS Vice President of Sales,Professional Group Benefits, Kurt Meyer, uses the theme of an Olympic race to review the key differentiators in making your IDI Supplement approach successful with physicians. Read the blog post Income Protection Olympics: The Gold/Silver/Bronze Winners of Physician Group Disability Insurance Catch up on what you missed The entire series is available to listen to online, download, or subscribe via iTunes. Past segments include: the concept of positioning specialized physician group LTD  as a feature-rich IDI Supplement a review of group coverage features that physicians care about, such as definition of duties, part-time work, and Own Specialty/Sub-specialty definitions aspects of commercial LTD contracts that are detrimental to doctors at claim time I’m confident that by consistently implementing these proven concepts and carefully selecting products that offer true IDI supplement provisions, your clients will be better protected with high quality coverage customized to their specific needs – and that you will close a much higher percentage of your physician group cases. And, you’ll have a lot more fun along the way. On behalf of MGIS I want to thank you for joining us on this journey in transforming the physician group disability sales race from the Race to Zero to the Race for the Gold.

Back in episode four we talked about “Selling what you don’t have”, but what about helping your physician clients find the hidden value in benefits and riders they may not be aware of? High Percentage Selling: Emergency Travel Assistance and Retro Disability Benefits® In this segment, #10 in the 12 part series, Keith Mangrum, Senior Regional Vice President of Sales shares his insights on two often overlooked elements, the Emergency Travel Assistance benefit, and the Retro Disability Rider. Listen to this podcast (or subscribe) to learn why these two benefits are of particular interest to physicians. Hidden Value: Benefit Supplements Specialized for Physician Groups In addition to Emergency Travel Assistance, and the Retro Disability rider, MGIS and Sun Life Financial include several other benefits that provide additional value to physician groups. To learn more about these benefits, check out the blog post “Hidden Value: Benefit Supplements for Physician Groups.” Learn more about these benefits of particular interest to physicians to help your clients find the hidden value in a specialized physician Individual Disability Insurance Supplement program.

Don’t blink. The landscape of the medical group market is changing at breakneck speed. Many independent practices are being bought by hospitals; others are merging with similar practices or joining more loosely affiliated entities such as Accountable Care Organizations, Group Purchasing Organizations, and other multi-group organizations. No matter how you look at it, medical practices are coming together rapidly, which means today’s physicians need more than a one-size-fits-all group LTD program. The good news is that these physicians and groups can have a choice. Listen to this segment from the High Percentage Selling series as MGIS Senior Regional Vice President of Sales, Keith Mangrum, explains the advantages for these prospects when they select specialized group LTD coverage from MGIS. Click here for more highlights about specialized income protection for hospital-employed physicians. As one of the leading physician group LTD insurance program administrators, MGIS will help you evaluate opportunities, explore coverage options, and support you throughout the sales and implementation process. Think of it as an eye-opening experience for your physician clients.

  Three Physician Group Disability Insurance Riders that Can Round Out an Optimum Coverage Package While a broad spectrum of riders is available to round out your physician disability package, these three are most requested by physician clients. Note the specific features that differentiate these riders for physicians. Click here to read the full article on these and other physician-focused riders. Check out these Case Study Snapshots on how brokers can use riders in specific physician client situations. Note: The IRS has requirements that may apply to the Pension Contribution Rider. We advise employers to consult with their plan advisors about whether there are any plan qualification tax issues related to payments made under this rider and whether the plan must be amended to accept payments under it. Group disability insurance policies are underwritten by Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (Wellesley Hills, MA) in all states, except New York, under Policy Form Series 93P-LH, 07P-LH-PT/07C-LH-PT, 12-STDPort-C-01, 12-GP-01, and 12-DI-C-01. In New York, group life and disability insurance policies are underwritten by Sun Life and Health Insurance Company (U.S.) (Windsor, CT) under Policy Form Series 13-GP-LH-01, 13-LTD-C-01-MGIS, 13-STD-C-01-MGIS, 13-ADD-C-01-MGIS, 13-GP-LF-01, 13-LF-C-01-MGIS, 12-GPPort-01, 13-LFPort-C-01, 13-ADDPort-C-01 and 12-STDPort-C-01. Administration for physician products is provided by Medical Group Insurance Services, Inc. (MGIS), in all states, except as follows: in CA by MGIS Insurance Agency, Inc.; in NY by MGIS Insurance Agency. Product offerings may not be available in all states and may vary depending on state laws and regulations. The disability policies provide disability income insurance only. They do NOT provide basic hospital, basic medical, or major medical insurance as defined by the New York State Insurance Department. This coverage does not constitute comprehensive health insurance (often referred to as “major medical coverage”) and does not satisfy the requirement for Minimum Essential Coverage under the Affordable Care Act. © 2015 Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, Wellesley Hills, MA 02481. All rights reserved. Sun Life Financial and the globe symbol are registered trademarks of Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada. Visit us at www.sunlife.com/us. For producer use only. GGEL-PHY-4902 SLPC 26511 04/15 (exp. 12/15)

  Are you meeting resistance when presenting Group LTD to physicians in their early 60s? They may wonder what’s in it for them? Aren’t they “too old for group LTD”? Most group LTD still provides a monthly benefit for employees who become disabled near or after they have reached Social Security Retirement Age (SSNRA). The difference is in the duration of this benefit. Traditional Group LTD policies only provide the minimum number of monthly benefit payments required by law, while the MGIS/Sun Life Physician LTD policy provides at least six additional months of LTD benefits for physicians who become disabled at 63 and older. Depending on coverage specifics, this can add up to $90,000 more in benefit payments for these older docs. Listen to this week’s High Percentage Selling podcast for tips on how you can present MGIS Physician Group LTD to your doctor clients in a way that is meaningful to them. Learn more Download the “Too Old For Group LTD?” guide for a chart showing the difference in protection between MGIS Physician Group LTD and traditional group coverage. The time you take to educate your clients on this point alone can be a deciding factor in their decision to purchase a Physician LTD plan from MGIS/Sun Life.  

Physician financial “gotchas”? Well, that’s putting it mildly. Because in the real world of physician group LTD insurance – and in the event of a real-life disability — these gotchas can translate into killer financial mistakes, especially when it comes to protecting your physician clients and ultimately your livelihood. Potential Gotcha #1: Pre-tax versus post-tax? If your physician clients never use their disability benefits – whew! — they’ll save money by paying their premiums with pre-tax dollars. But if they need their disability benefits, using post-tax dollars to pay their premiums places them in a better financial position. Click here to see examples of a physician who pays premiums for $10,000 of monthly disability coverage for 10 years and is then disabled for the next 10 years. You’ll see how a $10,000 tax savings (pre-tax approach) could cost almost $400,000 of benefits (post-tax approach) in the long run. Potential Gotcha #2: K-1 Income. Does your physician group policy penalize highly compensated partners and shareholders? Some carriers include K-1 income as part of your current monthly earnings or disability earnings, which can result in a reduced benefit when the physician is partially disabled. And if you’re not careful, your LTD policy may consider K-1 income as a direct offset or other income, which means your monthly LTD benefit may be reduced dollar for dollar for K-1 income received while disabled. Click here to view the four questions that partners and shareholders need to ask with regard to their physician group LTD plan and Schedule K-1 income. Say good-bye to the gotchas.

  Understanding the rules, rates, and risks of physician group LTD will help you create a plan of disability benefits that best meets the needs of your physician groups. For starters, check out our Rules, Rates, and Risk blog post. It highlights some of the basic rules about group LTD policies versus individual plans, including rules – yes, legal matters — about employee classification and benefit discrimination. The blog post also explains how carriers typically determine rates and some of the risks associated with LTD plans (for instance, you may not be able to take your plan with you if you terminate employment). If you’re ready to drill down into the details of the minimum number of covered physicians and the number of staff employees required, click on the podcast above to listen to the latest from our High Percentage Selling series. Featuring MGIS expert Keith Mangrum, the podcast also highlights the monthly LTD maximum benefits and other key issues to keep in mind as you build your physician group benefit plan. When you’re ready to grow your book of physician business, use these risk guidelines for quoting LTD, STD, Basic Life, and AD&D to help ensure a timely and accurate quote for your physician group.

  Sell From an Empty Wagon to Close More Physician Group LTD Business Selling from an empty wagon could be your key to success with physician group LTD — by emptying out the provisions in traditional group LTD that can be detrimental to doctors at claim time. These nine provisions are typical of those often included in traditional group LTD policies that can cause challenges for your physician clients: Self-reported limitations Maximum capacity requirement Part-time work requirement International travel or living restrictions Click here for the complete list: Sell what you don’t have.pdf Physicians have specialized needs that require specialized group LTD coverage – excluding provisions they DON’T need. Get the details in our blog post view the infographic or subscribe to the High Percentage Selling podcast.

  When a doctor is injured there are many factors that can push them to return to work. As the primary source of income for a practice, they are often under pressure to return to work as soon as possible. It’s no wonder that physicians are ten times more likely to return to work than the overall population (Source: MGIS and Sun Life Financial industry data). However, physicians often return to work in a different, lower paying specialty, or even part-time work if they are unable to work full-time in their chosen specialty following a disabling incident – factors that can significantly impact the disability benefit paid by their group LTD policy. In this week’s High Percentage Selling podcast, Keith Mangrum outlines the potentially dramatic difference in benefits that may be paid to your physician clients based on the partial disability formulas stipulated in their group LTD policy – a difference that can be up to $100,0001 or more in the second year alone. Learn more. Proportionate Loss formula? 50% Offset formula? Or the Dual Residual “Best of Both Worlds” approach? Which is better for your physician client? Read our blog post Physicians Love to Work…and get paid for more details on the important difference this detail can make in their yearly group LTD benefit payments. Brokers and their clients should carefully analyze the partial disability fine print of their policies to avoid the “worst of all worlds” surprise faced by far too many physicians. 2Assumptions: Proportional Loss Formula = (1 – (Current earnings / indexed pre-disability income)) X Total Disability Benefit. MGIS/Sun Life indexes at flat 5% per year compounded 50% Offset Formula = Total Disability benefit – (Current Work Earnings X 50%). MGIS/Sun Life’s minimum policy benefit of the greater of 10% or $100 Typical Group LTD plan with a a $100 or 10% Minimum net monthly payment Monthly total Disability Benefit of 60% to $10k Assumes no other income offsets Assumes income while working stays constant Does not include additional 10% benefit for claimants participating in an approved Rehabilitation program