Get on Your Clients' Calendars Now

Now that you're allowed to meet with clients, the most important thing you can do is schedule those appointments, starting with the clients you most want to retain. A proactive phone call or email from you lets your clients know that you have their best interest in mind before they’ve even started to think about potential coverage changes and enrollment for next year’s coverage.

Alongside scheduling, send notes and letters to clients and let them know AEP has arrived. Summarize any plan changes you’ve observed and how it may affect them. One message goes a long way.

Equally as important is to ask clients about any changes on their end. Have they started seeing a new doctor? Been prescribed a new medication? Or stopped a prescribed medication? Those types of details and updates will help determine whether their current plan is still the best fit for them. Remember, you are essentially their healthcare advocate. 

Know Your Strategy and Know the Plans

By this time of year, your strategy for AEP should already be in place: which clients you'll prioritize, which markets you're targeting, and how you'll balance retention with new business - and how you plan on supporting your clients in their healthcare choices. 

Equally as critical is knowing the relevant plan changes inside and out. Premiums, formularies, provider networks, copays, and supplemental benefits can all shift from, and your clients rely on you to translate those changes into plain English and what it means for them and their health. 

Front-Load Your Appointments Before Thanksgiving

Aim to get as many appointments as possible done before Thanksgiving. As we all know, many people tend to avoid meetings around the holidays as everyday life gets more hectic and chaotic with family plans and travel.

That leaves a very short window after Thanksgiving through the December 7 deadline. Treat that time period as your final week for follow-ups, final decisions, and catching the clients who waited until the last minute, not as the time to start your season.

Support Clients Whose Plans Are Going Away

Some of your clients will face a more difficult situation this year: their plan may be leaving the market entirely. Clients in these situations will need your guidance, quickly. When a plan exits a market, affected beneficiaries have extra time beyond the December 7 AEP deadline to choose new coverage. However, this may still be a tumultuous time in your senior clients’ everyday lives, so make sure that clients that are affected by plan exists fully understand their timeline, whether they qualify for a special election period, and that they feel supported by you as their healthcare advisor. Too often, people who miss the deadline simply end up uninsured. Identify these clients early, reach out directly, and don't assume a notice in the mail was enough to prompt action. 

Get Paid Faster for the Work You Do

AEP is oftentimes the busiest season of the year for insurance agents. The last thing agents want to worry about is to wait months to be paid for their work. Commission reconciliation can at times be a slow, manual, error-prone process that leaves agents chasing payments and questioning whether their statements are accurate. With Kizen, agents are getting their commissions faster [link to insurance page] 

The Season Starts Now

Everything covered in this series comes down to this moment; book your appointments, reach out to your clients, know the plan changes, show up in your community, and pay special attention to anyone whose coverage is at risk. The agents who act early and stay organized will finish AEP with stronger client relationships and a healthier book of business.

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