Medicare advisors are licensed professionals who will help you select and enroll in the right plan. Medicare can be confusing, which is why it’s important to have an expert guide you through the process.
Knowing how to spot a bad Medicare advisor is one of the first steps to starting this process. Since working with an advisor is so important, you should watch out for common red flags to know if you’re being misled or scammed.
Why Are Medicare Advisors Important?
You have to make a lot of decisions when enrolling in Medicare, from deciding when is the best time to enroll, to picking additional coverage plans and avoiding penalties. Because these decisions affect your future, many people will get professional help from a Medicare broker or agent.
Your Medicare advisor will help you determine what coverage and benefits you need, as well as how your overall Medicare experience will go. Because of this, you can’t afford to pick the wrong advisor.
Not all Medicare advisors are the same. In fact, some advisors may misguide or even scam you. Having the right advisor is important for ensuring your future is set, and you won’t have issues with your medical coverage.
Medicare Advisor Red Flags
Unfortunately, some advisors will not keep your best interests in mind. Consider the following Medicare advisor red flags to avoid any mistakes as you enroll.
Red Flag #1: Online Quote Request Forms
Beware of online quote request forms. If, in your search for an advisor, you come across an opportunity to get a quote online, don’t proceed if it asks for personal information. When you give these types of online forms your information, a lead generation company gathers it and sells your information to agents.
Protect your privacy and avoid the hassle of unsolicited sales calls by refraining from completing these online quote request forms.
Red Flag #2: Captive Call-Center Agents
When you directly call an insurance company to inquire about buying a Medicare plan, you reach a call center owned by a large insurance company and staffed with captive agents. Captive agents work for a single insurance company. This means they can only offer you a few different plans sold by their particular company. You may be in a market that offers 25 to 30 different plan options, but you’ll never find this out when talking with a captive agent. Instead, you’ll have to pick a plan from only two to three different options.
Many people think they’ll get a better price on a plan by directly calling an insurance company. The truth is, when you buy a Medicare insurance plan, no matter who you buy the plan from, the price is always the same. So, not only are you limiting your options and most likely working with an inexperienced call center staff agent who can’t provide much help, but you aren’t even saving yourself any money.
That’s why we advise everyone to work with an experienced, non-biased Medicare broker. Brokers can give you access to all your market plan options and typically have much more knowledge of Medicare and insurance, meaning they can help you throughout the whole Medicare process.
Red Flag #3: Door Knockers and Trunk Workers
Door knockers are the people who show up at your doorstep unannounced and uninvited, pressuring you to buy a plan from them. The reason they knock on doors is because the insurance company they work for knows some people will make an immediate, impulsive decision to buy a plan.
Though door knockers are typically friendly, they are very pushy and have only one goal — to sell you a plan. They aren’t there to help you through the Medicare process or make sure you get the best coverage possible. Instead, you’re just another potential sale for them.
Trunk workers come to your house because you invited them. They will try to convince you to buy their plans from the comfort of your own home. The problem with these types of insurance salespeople is that they are almost always newbies.
Most experienced insurance people would never conduct business out of their car trunks or enter strangers’ homes and try to sell them a plan. This is the mark of a newbie, and if you hope to get experienced Medicare help and enroll in the best plan for your needs, avoid doing business with trunk salespeople.
Red Flag #4: Charging for “Unbiased Medicare Advice”
The fourth red flag you need to look out for is advisors who charge you for what they call “unbiased Medicare advice.” This is one of the newer gimmicks in the Medicare field today.
In these situations, insurance agents may tell you they are completely unbiased because they don’t make any commissions from the insurance company. In exchange for their unbiased help, they will charge you a fee. While this may sound reasonable, it’s actually not.
The truth is, that almost everybody in the Medicare field today is unbiased. The only biased ones are those who work for one company (captive insurance agents). So, you end up paying someone $700 to $1,000 to give you “unbiased Medicare advice” when in reality, you could have someone else (like a broker) do the same thing for free.
Medicare brokers offer their planning services for free because the insurance company will pay them. All insurance companies offer comparable rates to brokers, meaning brokers get paid the same amount no matter which plans you decide to go with. So they are always unbiased.
Red Flag #5: Get the Sale vs. the Relationship
The fifth and final Medicare advisor red flag you should watch for is advisors who focus only on the sale. Some advisor’s only goal is to sell you a plan quickly and then move on to the next sale. These types of get-the-sale advisors are rarely ever heard from again.
Relationship-focused advisors, on the other hand, will help you through the entire Medicare process. They will get to know your individual needs and concerns, find out about your pre-existing conditions and life situation, and be available for years to come. This is the type of advisor you want.
If your advisor doesn’t ask you personalized questions, such as what medications you take or where you want your prescriptions to be filled, they are more than likely only focused on the sale. You want an advisor willing to go into the details with you to make sure you get the best Medicare benefits for your future.
Contact a Certified Medicare Advisor Today
At Medicare School, we understand how difficult making the right Medicare decisions can be. That’s why we’re here to offer guidance as you begin this process. To take the next step, take advantage of our free Medicare workshop, or schedule an appointment with a certified Medicare guide who can answer your questions, compare plan options, and even help you enroll. Give us a call anytime you have questions.