THE MEGA LIFE AND HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANY Health insurance plan is NOT what they claim North Richland Hills Texas

AH - Whats a $17 million dollar dent gonna do to Mega? .....not much more than continue to trash their name and validate all of our claims that Mega/HealthMarkets is a mess.

http://www.boston.com/business/healthcare/articles/2009/09/01/mega_life_settles_for_record_17m/

The practices of this particular company were really among the most egregious weve ever seen, Selig said.

Amen Mr. Selig......After 6 years of dealing with this company, I would have to agree.

People, I am an ex-agent with NASE and the MEGA Life and Health Insurance Company. I peddled their insurance plans in the 90's. All I can say is do your research. Stay away from benefit driven services steered into selling you an insurance policy. In order to buy the insurance policy, you have to be a member. Plans like this are always tied into and affiliated with the insurance company.

With sales tactics like this, it's a wonder that they are still around and offering these ridiculous policies that are nothing but filled with gaps and holes.

Contact your state insurance commissioner and do your research. Google the would-be company you are considering doing business with. If the company has a "rap sheet" the length of a major expressway, that is a pretty good indication that you will have future problems.

All I can say is Blue Cross, Assurant Health (formerly Fortis), Kaiser Permanente, and others are very good companies. Their track records speak for themselves. MEGA and other benefit driven insurance companies have paid hefty fines to state regulators and insurance commissioners for their ridiculous health plans. Why else do you think they change their name?

If you ask ANY reputable independent agent/broker about these programs, this is why they laugh. Their complaint history on ripoffreport.com, the BBB, state insurance regulators are miles long. When you buy health insurance, you are buying health insurance. If you want business benefits, get a membership to Sam's Club or COSTCO. It's that simple. You don't mix the two. I kind of compare this with buying a variable annuity. Why would you do this when you could buy a mutual fund 2-4% cheaper? In the investment world (which I actively work), you do not mix investments with insurance. They should always be purchased separately and not intertwined.

The bottom line is you pay for what you get and if you pay a little more with a reputable company, it's most likely that you will have no problems at claim time.

MEGA IS UNDERGOING AN MAJOR PUSH TO NEVER SAY THE NAME "MEGA AGAIN"......ONLY PROBLEM....IT STILL IS MEGA.

ITS FUNNY - CALL ANY MEGA AGENT AS ASK 'UM, AREN'T YOU GUYS MEGA" AND THEY WILL SAY ...OH NO, WE ARE HEALTHMARKETS!! HAHAHAHHA

GEE, I WONDER WHY THEY DON'T WANT TO USE THEIR OWN COMPANY'S NAME IN RECRUITING, SELLING AND MARKETING THEIR PRODUCT????

COULD IT BE REASONS LIKE A RIPOFFREPORT THRED 10 MILES LONG?

JUST WAIT - THERE WILL BE A NEW TREAD JUST AS LONG UNDER "HEALTHMARKETS" INSTEAD OF MEGA.

HEY MEGA - IF YOU FOUGHT TO PAY YOUR CLAIMS AS HARD AS YOU DO TO CHANGE YOUR COMPANY NAME EVERY 2 WEEKS, THEN YOU MAY ACTUALLY HAVE A DECENT COMPANY!!

Michael - after reading all of the post above and you are still interested in getting into a career with these guys, then you deserve them. First hand experience with them will teach you the best.

Unsure - happy to see you are having success. However, you are not a broker. Brokers are completely independent and on their own - direct with the insurance companies, generally getting paid "as earned." My understanding is that you are under a manager (or two) of an organization that pays you advances and offers you leads, trips, etc.....and you in turn offer this to agents below you? Or am I mistaken?

Nothing wrong with it, as it's what I have preached all along. Just don't want ex-mega agents that are leaving to think that they should go be brokers.....as they will surely struggle unless they can go 6+ months without earning a normal paycheck.

Good luck with your continued success!

Well, I have been out for awhile. Feel free to look at my responses from last year. I became a BROKER and it was well worth it. I was scared at first, but in reality, there is nothing to be scared about. I would NEVER sell those Mega plans again. Not to mention, Mega plans dont EVEN EXIST anymore.

I read the whole list of responses and looks like the fighting has finally ended. I was employed by BCBS and was laid off because of their dealings with the United Healthcare fines. I also think too that the bickering going on here was more of a misunderstanding of how companies sell their individual products. I am going to look into getting a interview with Mega/Heathmarkets because you always complain about the ones that take away the most of your business.

I am currently a customer of Mega life and Health. Every few months I will receive an letter from them stating that my monthly premiums will be increased. In 2008 along, they have increased nearly $40. I am a 25 year old non-smoking male and have never even used this policy. The company is garbage and so was the broker who sold me this policy. After one to many increases I will definitely be cancelling this policy for a company that doesn't try to rip you off every 3 months.

I just looked up my old DM's ads on Monster (Allentown, PA zip code 18104) for the fun of it. He's placed 4 ads since September 22nd. The reason is that they rotate through so many people in their district and can't keep people for more than a month. Once these agents get out and start selling, they realize that it is crap and leave!

To anyone who is even considering an interview with UGA: don't bother to waste your time. You will be smooth talked into signing up right away, without an actual interview.

Please do go to a interview show, you will be surrounded by others wanting to improve their lives. Tell them the truth about this company and how it has hurt so many people its a miracle they are still in business. Then call your senator and demand they be shut down ! Its time America said enough of your B.S. and let the management run back under the rock they came out from. I was there but left after seeing the deal first hand. Adios Healthmarkets - its slowly falling apart....

If you have an interview with Uga to sell Mega health insurance do your self a favor and run.

If you have an interview with Uga to sell Mega health insurance do your self a favor and run.

If you have an interview with Uga to sell Mega health insurance do your self a favor and run.

If you have an interview with Uga to sell Mega health insurance do your self a favor and run.

Jay - you need to get your facts straight before you sling your accusations. I don't know who you are talking to.

I'm not aware of any pending litigations against me. Perhaps you know something I don't. If Mega choses to sue me, then they will have to prove that I have done something wrong and caused them provable damages.

On the flip side, we have some of the best attorneys in the COUNTRY based right in Texas and they are very aware of Mega's ways. We are presently working on a class action suit from thousands of agents that were lied to and deceived by Mega, which caused huge numbers of agents to go bankrupt and many to lose marriages and family relationships, along with association health problems and depression.

You have the guts to jump on this board and accuse me of decieving agents, when I am their biggest advocate against Mega. So why don't you stop fighting me and get on board with the program?

Your comment about holding commissions is just plain wrong. We work with the nations largest marketing org's and MGA's which each reach close to $100 million AV a year. Several of our carriers pay the agents direct. So, I don't pay anyone....therefore I don't have the capability of withholding- even if I wanted to.

Why don't you send me an email and I will send you our 10 page list of agent testimonials who will take home the biggest 1099 of their career this year?

If I offended you, I'm sorry. I don't wish to take up this blog between you and I any longer.

The reason we are on here raising hell is that we have been screwed by this company, as you will too eventually. Open your eyes to the fact that this company is a scam and their policy's are well beneath industry standards.You pay interest on everything, thats the catch. You seen honorable, so buck up and leave while you can - go indendent with Aetna or United Health with a true major medical, not some half-a*s health plan that doesnt cover squat.

Adios Uga & the Berry's who lie like a rug - Its on in Va baby get a lawyer

Brian from Michigan...

You accuse MEGA of deceptive practices yet you use this site to attract agents and do not tell them the entire story about yourself. Maybe you should let people know about pending litigation your company is facing for deceptive practices, keeping agent's commissions, altering contracts.... or will you simply try and pass this off as paranoia?

Here's the Mission Statement that Mega had posted at their corporate offices:


We will effectively increase our profit margins in two ways:

1) We will offer limited benefit coverage at regular prices to first time buying, unsuspecting small business owners via our inexperienced UGA field force.

2) We will deceptively cause thousands for undeserving Americans to go bankrupt (even though they thought they had full health coverage) by hiding behind our fine print contracts which we know most of them don't read (cause if they do, well...then they won't buy...duh).

We will successfully accomplish this by teaching our Division Leaders and their Managers to lie to their newly recruited agents about how to sell insurance honestly. In addition, our Managers will shelter their little droids from the outside world and our ENEMY competition that offers real Major Medical insurance at prices we can't compete with. We will threaten to sue any recruiter that contacts our little mushrooms.

With great pride and loyalty, our ether sucking green horns will pound the pavement everyday, while we pay them squat commissions. In doing so, they will commit to omitting all the important aspects of the coverage, (like RX limitations, LTMax limits, per occurrence deductibles, Etc). We will wisely teach them to memorize their presentations and spend 70% of their time talking about extremely important areas like "road side assistance" offered by our bed buddies - the NASE.

Once the agents see that they were lied to and deceived and wish to leave, we will force them by law to pay back all of the loans we gave them...which are usually very high because everyone cancels our coverage once they use it. In other words, we hope to run them into the ground if they should decide to leave....but if they should choose to stay, we will give them continual false hope that they will cash out in 10 years with a million dollars in "stock" that we offer, hehjee (what a bunch of idiots)......

Finally, if we ever run into a jam where there is just too much negative media and our complaint ratios run off the charts....then we will simply market ourselves under a new name...all in the sake of protecting our high level Corporate money hungry *&%*heads like Troy McQuage who we had to cash out with over $5 Million right after his scandalous acts of bribing government officials to not sue us were brought to light.....(who's living large now with one of his whores in some mansion...which we are all secretly envious of and will probably do the same thing eventually).

We encourage all people of all walks of life (bus drivers, electricians, construction works, car salesman) to check out our amazing opportunity to make millions of dollars selling something you really won't know about until after a big group rah rah interview is over and you are really smitten by our Division President's charming personality!

Good luck - you'll need it

Your Leaders at:

Mega Life & Health...and NASE....and AFS...oh and Cornerstone....yes and lets not forget Midwest National Life of TN....oh and our wonderful UGA field force (the greatest sales force in the entire country, where "agent is King") ....and yes, our parent billionaire company that thinks of us as black sheep, Blackstone.

I'm wondering how much evidence you need to see that you almost purchased a turd ? Go to a independent agent and buy a Major Medical Plan, then you will be protected. Peace out

I'm in the middle of trying to choose an insurance provider and I think I was fortunate to come across this thread.

I haven't been able to read the whole thread, but I've been reading for about 3 hours and I've made some observations about the comments here that made up my mind about how I feel about this provider.

First, nearly ALL of the defense for this company has been from salespeople within the company. There's nothing positive coming from their customers, or from experts in an impartial position.

Second, I do find it highly suspect that they use group interviews to hire. I've been involved with companies that use group interviews before and I know why they happen. It's a tactic for creating hype and psyching people up so they don't care what they're selling and so they'll stick with the company no matter how much discouraging stuff they hear about it.

Thirdly, All the salespeople give numbers and facts to defend the company, but I find these meaningless. Partly because I don't always understand them, and partly because even if I did, they wouldn't give the whole picture. Unsatisfied customers and Ex-salespeople keep telling us how the numbers and facts didn't match the results. There was always something hidden.

And Finally, The defense for this company hasn't been doing a very good job at addressing the concerns people have brought up here. For instance, one poster presented a statistic showing that MEGA had a complaint ratio FIVE TIMES higher than the competition and even asked specifically for someone to address this. No one did.

That, I think, is the clincher. If a company gets that many complaints and can't justify it, then what else matters?

I hear salespeople talking about how "no plan is right for everyone" and "you should be sure and know what you're buying" and "sure, every company has a few unscrupulous or uninformed salespeople". Sure, these are true statements.

But in lieu of MEGA's complaint ratio, is MEGA even right for anyone? Does MEGA even make a decent effort to help people know what they're buying, or do they purposefully cover it up? Why do they seem to be KNOWN for having uninformed or unscrupulous salespeople? Are there ANY satisfied customers out there?

And really, somebody tell me please, WHY do they have a five-times-higher complaint ratio?

I'm in the middle of trying to choose an insurance provider and I think I was fortunate to come across this thread.

I haven't been able to read the whole thread, but I've been reading for about 3 hours and I've made some observations about the comments here that made up my mind about how I feel about this provider.

First, nearly ALL of the defense for this company has been from salespeople within the company. There's nothing positive coming from their customers, or from experts in an impartial position.

Second, I do find it highly suspect that they use group interviews to hire. I've been involved with companies that use group interviews before and I know why they happen. It's a tactic for creating hype and psyching people up so they don't care what they're selling and so they'll stick with the company no matter how much discouraging stuff they hear about it.

Thirdly, All the salespeople give numbers and facts to defend the company, but I find these meaningless. Partly because I don't always understand them, and partly because even if I did, they wouldn't give the whole picture. Unsatisfied customers and Ex-salespeople keep telling us how the numbers didn't match the results.

And Finally, The defense for this company hasn't been doing a very good job at addressing the concerns people have brought up here. For instance, one poster presented a statistic showing that MEGA had a complaint ratio FIVE TIMES higher than the competition and even asked specifically for someone to address this. No one did.

That, I think, is the clincher. If a company gets that many complaints and can't justify it, then what else matters?

I hear salespeople talking about how "no plan is right for everyone" and "you should be sure and know what you're buying" and "sure, every company has a few unscrupulous or uninformed salespeople". Sure, these are true statements.

But in lieu of MEGA's complaint ratio, is MEGA even right for anyone? Does MEGA even make a decent effort to help people know what they're buying, or do they purposefully cover it up? Why do they seem to be KNOWN for having uninformed or unscrupulous salespeople? Are there ANY satisfied customers out there?

And really, somebody tell me please, WHY do they have a five-times-higher complaint ratio?

I'm in the middle of trying to choose an insurance provider and I think I was fortunate to come across this thread.

I haven't been able to read the whole thread, but I've been reading for about 3 hours and I've made some observations about the comments here that made up my mind about how I feel about this provider.

First, nearly ALL of the defense for this company has been from salespeople within the company. There's nothing positive coming from their customers, or from experts in an impartial position.

Second, I do find it highly suspect that they use group interviews to hire. I've been involved with companies that use group interviews before and I know why they happen. It's a tactic for creating hype and psyching people up so they don't care what they're selling and so they'll stick with the company no matter how much discouraging stuff they hear about it.

Thirdly, All the salespeople give numbers and facts to defend the company, but I find these meaningless. Partly because I don't always understand them, and partly because even if I did, they wouldn't give the whole picture. Unsatisfied customers and Ex-salespeople keep telling us how the numbers and facts didn't match the results. There was always something hidden.

And Finally, The defense for this company hasn't been doing a very good job at addressing the concerns people have brought up here. For instance, one poster presented a statistic showing that MEGA had a complaint ratio FIVE TIMES higher than the competition and even asked specifically for someone to address this. No one did.

That, I think, is the clincher. If a company gets that many complaints and can't justify it, then what else matters?

I hear salespeople talking about how "no plan is right for everyone" and "you should be sure and know what you're buying" and "sure, every company has a few unscrupulous or uninformed salespeople". Sure, these are true statements.

But in lieu of MEGA's complaint ratio, is MEGA even right for anyone? Does MEGA even make a decent effort to help people know what they're buying, or do they purposefully cover it up? Why do they seem to be KNOWN for having uninformed or unscrupulous salespeople? Are there ANY satisfied customers out there?

And really, somebody tell me please, WHY do they have a five-times-higher complaint ratio?

Hey Jay from Chicago (and others) -I find this a bit humorous.

Go back to my post on 4/9 regarding the ratings being lowered, and then look at your response right after it......criticizing me about letting it out to all and that Blackstone will come after me.

Now, 3 1/2 months later your see it fit to post practically the same thing.....??

First of all - Get with the program!
Second - Blackstone never came after me.
Third, we still continue to bring agents to the light everyday. With all the problems at Mega (I.E. ABOVE)- NOW MORE THAN EVER!!! Agents can reach me on my email posted above.

For Immediate Release: Friday, August 15, 2008

*State Insurance Regulators Levy $20 Million Penalty Against Subsidiaries of HealthMarkets, Inc.*

COLUMBUS Ohio Department of Insurance Director Mary Jo Hudson announced that Ohio will receive nearly $541,000 in civil penalties as part of a $20 million dollar regulatory settlement agreement between 29 jurisdictions and MEGA Life and Health Insurance Company, Mid-West National Life Insurance Company and Chesapeake Life Insurance Company, subsidiaries of HealthMarkets, Inc, now known as UICI.
The companies involved with this settlement are addressing some serious violations of our consumer protection laws, said Director Hudson.
The regulatory settlement follows a three-year multi-state exam led by Washington and Alaska and assisted by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). The exam found multiple problems involving consumer disclosure, oversight and training of agents, claims handling and complaint-handling practices. The subsidiaries of HealthMarkets face up to $10 million in additional penalties if they fail to meet performance standards outlined in the settlement.
According to the terms of the settlement, the companies must implement an outreach program that includes the following:
Sending a notice to all existing policyholders whose medical policies were issued prior to Aug. 1, 2005, that includes a toll-free number, mailing address and e-mail address where policyholders can ask questions about their coverage. The notice also must include a Web site address for each company.
Ensuring each method of communication is staffed by someone able to provide detailed information about the policyholder's specific plan.
Establishing a web site with a frequently asked questions section, general coverage descriptions, a listing of contact information and information on how to appeal a claim or file a grievance.
In addition, the companies must report progress twice a year through Dec. 31, 2009, on performance standards targeted for improvement.
There are 13 areas in need of improvement, including:
Agent training and oversight
Claims handling
Identification of company
Transparency of the companies' relationship with associations
Complaints and grievances
Cancellation, nonrenewal and discontinuance notices
Establishing and maintaining a compliance program
The multi-state examination was initiated as a collaborative action under a single umbrella through the NAIC because the companies were the targets of separate investigations and consumer lawsuits in several individual states. Although violations were documented and fines levied in individual state exams, the companies' actions and complaint histories had not significantly improved at the time the multi-state examination was initiated.
The examination covers a five-year period ending Dec. 31, 2005, and stemmed from the volume, scope and nature of complaints made against the companies by consumers in many states, including Ohio.
According to the findings, the companies targeted their sales to self-employed individuals and sold the health plans through associations. MEGA agents sold policies through the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE), and Americans for Financial Security (AFS). Mid-West agents sold plans through the Alliance for Affordable Services (AAS). In many instances, the agent or the company did not adequately explain the benefits covered by the health plan.
To date, jurisdictions that have adopted the settlement agreement include: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Montana, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Jersey, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Additional states may join the settlement before an Aug. 18, 2008, deadline.
Ohioans with questions concerning insurance are encouraged to call the Department's consumer services hotline, 1-800-686-1526. Additional tips and more information about insurance, including a link to the Insure U web site, can be found at the Department's web site, www.ohioinsurance.gov .
Ohio Department of Insurance Contacts:

Robert Denhard, Public Information Officer
(614) 644-3366

Jarrett Dunbar, Public Information Officer
(614) 644-2475

Wait, so let me get this straight. You think Mega took money from you?

That is naive.

You worked for commissions and were paid advances by the company on the good faith that the policies you sold were good, quality products that would stay on the books for at least 6 months. NO ONE held a gun to your head and said take the money. It was a loan they gave you and you quit. Now you owe the money.

I don't owe any money and have a great living.

Wait, so let me get this straight. You think Mega took money from you?

That is naive.

You worked for commissions and were paid advances by the company on the good faith that the policies you sold were good, quality products that would stay on the books for at least 6 months. NO ONE held a gun to your head and said take the money. It was a loan they gave you and you quit. Now you owe the money.

I don't owe any money and have a great living.

Wait, so let me get this straight. You think Mega took money from you?

That is naive.

You worked for commissions and were paid advances by the company on the good faith that the policies you sold were good, quality products that would stay on the books for at least 6 months. NO ONE held a gun to your head and said take the money. It was a loan they gave you and you quit. Now you owe the money.

I don't owe any money and have a great living.

Wait, so let me get this straight. You think Mega took money from you?

That is naive.

You worked for commissions and were paid advances by the company on the good faith that the policies you sold were good, quality products that would stay on the books for at least 6 months. NO ONE held a gun to your head and said take the money. It was a loan they gave you and you quit. Now you owe the money.

I don't owe any money and have a great living.

As of July 24th, 2008:

Financial Strength Ratings
Rating: B++ (Good)
Affiliation Code: g (Group)
Financial Size Category: VIII ($100 Million to $250 Million)
Outlook: Negative
Action: Downgraded
Effective Date: July 24, 2008

Issuer Credit Ratings
Long-Term: bbb+
Outlook: Negative
Action: Downgraded
Date: July 24, 2008

As of July 24th, 2008:

Financial Strength Ratings
Rating: B++ (Good)
Affiliation Code: g (Group)
Financial Size Category: VIII ($100 Million to $250 Million)
Outlook: Negative
Action: Downgraded
Effective Date: July 24, 2008

Issuer Credit Ratings
Long-Term: bbb+
Outlook: Negative
Action: Downgraded
Date: July 24, 2008

As of July 24th, 2008:

Financial Strength Ratings
Rating: B++ (Good)
Affiliation Code: g (Group)
Financial Size Category: VIII ($100 Million to $250 Million)
Outlook: Negative
Action: Downgraded
Effective Date: July 24, 2008

Issuer Credit Ratings
Long-Term: bbb+
Outlook: Negative
Action: Downgraded
Date: July 24, 2008

As of July 24th, 2008:

Financial Strength Ratings
Rating: B++ (Good)
Affiliation Code: g (Group)
Financial Size Category: VIII ($100 Million to $250 Million)
Outlook: Negative
Action: Downgraded
Effective Date: July 24, 2008

Issuer Credit Ratings
Long-Term: bbb+
Outlook: Negative
Action: Downgraded
Date: July 24, 2008

Do not listen to anyone who tells you to ignore Mega and not pay them back. If an agent owes ANY insurance company money, not just Mega, and you do not pay them back you will get a vector filed againsed you and you will not be able to contract with any insurance company until that is resolved.

Yep,

I tried leaving with a $40K Debt. You can call the company and ask them to reverse your stock contributions and have it apply to your debt. That helped me. But they will only retro back quarterly.

I have heard a lot of people say not to pay a penny back.
I have heard people say ignore them
I have heard people say write them a letter saying you elect to have your renewals pay off your debt. However, the moment you are not contracted and fall out of good standing your renewal commissions get cut big time

Good Luck. If anyone else wants to share about exactly HOW to do this let us all know.

First, please excuse my writing, English is my second language. I also worked for (Midwest) in California. The management seemed nice. I came from the computer field. At the time, I lost my job and was fighting an ugly battle with my former employer. A very nice woman from Midwest called me and ask if I'd like to come in for an interview for a job to be my own boss. I could not wait to go to the interview.

Well, we all know how those things go, and now I'm not sure if I should be ashamed or grateful for learning my lesson. I paid the money, I knew nothing about insurance except what I was told by the managers. To look back, I was braking so many rules and misrepresenting the product the way I was taught. The first year I did everything my manager told me to do. After awhile I was making good money. Nothing like working in the computer field. But my manager told me, it takes time, and she believes in me and that I could do it. I was making about $3500 a month and I just knew I was going to make so much more as time went on. Well, I bought a very small house at the end of the housing boom. Then, after I was living the American dream. The people started to cancel their policies. In one week 3 people screamed at me saying that the insurance did not work! I was very depressed and did not sell for 3 weeks. My manager came to my house and again told me, how she believed in me, and that I was the only sale person in my ethnic group and that I was bound to be a top producer and that these people must have lied on the application, as to not have their claims paid. Well I did start selling again and this time I made it to number 24 in the company by the end of the year. I went on a very nice trip with the company. Then in January, the policies I sold to my own community started to cancel. I called everyone to get them to reinstate, I was told, the insurance does not work, over and over. I could not sleep, I got ulcers and felt very guilty. Not everyone I sold too could have lied on the application. So I left.

I got a letter stating that I owed $30,000 dollars. I almost fainted. After pulling myself back together I applied for a job as a (&&&) P & C rep. I have been there for 3 years now.

I went to school for P & C, paid for in total by (&&&), I was given a base salary and bonuses, 401k with co. matching, full health and life ins. I have never paid for anything, all our leads come from the company and walk in business is how I make my money. Besides the fact that this is a very good product. I have it, and my mother has it.

I want to say I'm sorry for selling this insurance to everyone I sold too, please forgive me.

Thank you for reading, I hope you find your peace.

Terri T.

I'm newly affiliated with NASE in my area so I do not have a huge investment yet. I am also NOT a newby (licensed for life and A&H for more than 10 years). But given the number of people who will swear to something as they remember that may have no relation to reality I have to ask the following.

How many of those who say they were sold a "crap" policy actually read what they were getting or asked the agent presenting any questions.

If you asked the questions did you LISTEN to the responses given or did you hear what you CHOSE to hear.

How many of you who were "enlightened" after that fact got your information from one of those "objective independent" agents that certainly have nothing to gain from slamming a competitor.

I don't, to my knowledge, know any of the posters on this thread. But if there is any producer out there who can hoestly say they have NEVER given straight skinny to a prospect/client and have something TOTALLY different read back I need to practice where you live.

If any of you as consumers have NEVER had ANY salesman/broker/rep/consultant mis-state a fact (assuming it was really stated as you recall and it was not a flat out crook you were dealing with) I want you to screen the vendors I deal with.

The sad fact (actually one of many) is that today, especially with the advent of the internet, everybody is an "instant expert". From cars to insurance to computers everyone is able to find a site that will make them an expert on buying anything. Just don't confuse them with the facts. Further proof that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. And of course none of those claiminig to have been ripped off could have any culpability in the matter.

I'm still doing my due dilegence, but so far the number of complaints vs the total volume seems to be on the side of this vendor. So I will at least give it a chance. And I will be sure to let my contacts know how they can reach me, and to do so if they feel I have misled them in some (any) way.

Oh, BTW, there was an earlier post that I think siad something like "no company can rate-up and/or cacel on an individual basis". According to the training I took (also covered in CE - that's 'continuing education' Joe) while neither a true group plan or an associated plan can rate-up or cancel on an individual basis an "independant/individual" plan can and does. And be sure to check out how much BCBS has raised their rates ACROSS THE BOARD on average the last few years.

TTFN

I think the direction needs to change on this board toward helping policyholders and clients a little more- so I'm gonna post this and be done for a while with this board.

These guys with all the broker advice have never really recruited anyone, let alone a Mega agent, allthough they most likely left because someone sent them and email and recruited them, worked with them and helped them leave, but in the 11th hour, they stabbed them in the back and chose to go down a different path without that person who helped them leave. It's a classic scenario.

They think that by sitting passively on the sidelines and speaking nothing of the problems at Mega when need be, it will get them somewhere with mega agents and earn them grand respect. They fully admit that Mega is a terrible, decietful place - but put down anyone who tries to say it in a recruiting email or blog...... stating that an invitation via mass email is wrong - while the reality is that no one's life will ever change because of their sideline contributions.

All the points about being a broker are true. but most of the mega, cornerstone, midwest agents i have seen that go brokers and get paid as earned go broke within 12 months-

Typical Mega Agent scenario: pushing hard to write 10K av/week consistency in order to make $750-1,000, no real sales trianing on how to sell properly, unknowingly decieving clients when they compare mega to thier competitors and losing sales left and right to competition, manager driving them nuts, manager taking all the cobra leads and giving them the left overs, sick and tired of paying for 80% of the their own leads, driving 500 miles a week with no-shows and burger king for lunch everyday, not selling enough to win any awards or trips, never see their little kids and wife working 65 hours a week at odd times, bringing home a 1099 of $43,000 while paying out $20K in over-head, in debt to Mega by at least $10-15K, late on their mortgage with $700 in credit card bills a month/mostly going to interest, 70% taken rate becuase of underwriting and clients dropping off, and scared, alone, desperate, feeling decieved, wronged and manipulated, wondering why they every chose to spend the time to get licensed and join this whole gig.

Then they get an email. And they think - could this be true? Could I actually make more money and spend time with my familiy???? So they work up the guts to email or call us, and after an hour conversation, they are filling out thier paperwork. 2 weeks later, they make more in 1 week than in a month previously. We have a 95% closing ratio of Mega agents that talk to us. But its not us - its the opportunity.

Sales 101- INVITE. Most mega producers, don't even understand thier own deal, let alone ours, so we must INVITE them to a better opportunity. We rarely talk about the problems there, because agents already know there are problems. Everyone has a different hot point. talking about the problems would take all day. We talk about what we do, and it's over.

If the invitation is too bold, well then doooooon't respond. If you are offended, ask yourself why? Cry if you want - post it if you want, but you will probably do it after you have left- so it worked...... The truth hurts when someone points it out and you don't want to hear it. If you don't know how ethical somone is, ask for testimonials of at least 5 other agents that left to them recently.

MEGA AGENTS - YOU DON'T NEED FLUFF, YOU NEED FACTS! call it whatever you want, if you are on the fence then you need some IN-YOUR-FACE honesty about they real story of your present situation- or else you will not see it necessary to make the changes you and your family need to make!

You need a reputable organization to help you succeed. You need a good mentor to walk you through the entire process. You need to make $300K/year! You need to never lose your book of business and have a product for every need and grow that $300K book untile you wish to retire on it. You don't need to be a broker and go broke-'r' out of fear of people like me. i've never scewed anyone.... I've put my email in previous post. Anyone looking to change thier life, I'm here along with my extrememly qualified mangers. you can't change unless we invite. Spend an hour on the phone with us and make your own decisions.

Good luck to all!!

Signing out -

Okay, I'm going to weigh in again.

This thread seems to have devolved into a ping-pong match between one ex-agent telling us to abandon MEGA and work as an agent (for him), and another ex-agent saying it's better abandon MEGA and sell direct. So here's my unbiased, unfettered opinion. Take it for what it's worth.

First, and importantly, both of these people agree on one thing: Get out of MEGA. Yes, MEGA has improved their product somewhat. Yes, MEGA and Healthmarkets has been recognized by Selling Power magazine for being the best insurance sales organization in the world. I guess their ability to sell such a high volume of an inferior product is worthy of recognition - although it's the same sort of rueful admiration one reserves for a snake oil salesman at a carnival who happens to be very good at finding his marks. That one shouldn't buy or represent MEGA has been well established in this thread.

As far as how one should continue (or salvage) an insurance career started in MEGA, there's really two ways to go, as these ex-agents have described.

One method is to simply apply for appointments with major, reputable carriers and sell direct. You'll need at least one million dollars of E&O (errors and omissions, i.e. malpractice) insurance to get your appointments, which will cost you about $800 to $1000 per year. This option is for people who have a large cash reserve and who have extra to invest in buying plenty of quality leads.

Since you will not be receiving advances on sales, you will not receive income until you start receiving commissions from the insurer. This will take months to gain an appreciable amount for reinvestment and even longer to gain significant profit. Nevertheless, you will not be paying overrides on your policies, so the upside is greater - the business is yours and yours alone.

Is this the wrong way to restart your insurance career? Absolutely not, but it is exactly like starting your own business: you must be financially prepared to invest in your efforts like any other start-up business, otherwise you will fail.

The other way to go is to join a brokerage and exchange part of your take (your commissions, which will go to your manager as an override) for the privilege of receiving advances on your submitted business. You will still need E&O insurance and you will still need to invest in bought leads if you want your book of business to grow at maximum speed. Note that any time you work for someone other than yourself, though, you are influenced by that person's methods, reputation and reliability. If your manager has to resort to exaggeration, insults, defamation and libel in order to recruit you, don't expect that you will be treated any better in turn.

As I've stated before, there are conscientous, reputable, honest managers who work in this industry. Typically they are not the ones who have to scream from the mountaintops: they, like all who do good in this world, have no time or tolerance for arrogance or anger. They are quiet and choose their acquaintances not in cattle-call droves or email bombings, but carefully, on a person's individual strengths and merits.

I wish all who read this wisdom and strength in their endeavors.

I believe you are doing a great dis-service to anyone that listens to your advice.

I just realized you have been away from Mega only a few months....you are just a puppy. You are still barely getting a hold of this 'real world' of insurance. That's probably why you didn't anwser my questions. Because you didn't anwser my questino, I am to assume you are selling a few apps a week, and barely scraping by with your overhead. No offense. I'm not defaming you, just taking a guess becuae I see it 100 times a week.

You forget that agents need help to learn how to really sell. Including you. I'm not talking about 1-2 apps a week. A monkey can do that in this industry. I'm talking 10-14 apps a week WHILE maintaining very low overhead, work less than 40 hours and NEVER prospect. That's what I like to call an "ALL STAR AGENT"

Tell me, are you selling 10 apps a week in less than 40 hours with low overhead while never prospecting? Not too many agents are able to say that they are worth $300/hour. Who's gonna teach you how to do that? You think someone at Blue Cross will - or Aetna - or Assurant ??? NEVER!!! maybe you can go to one of those seminars at the holiday inn they put on once a year.

If you wanted to become great a something (i.e. musical instruments, sports, business, etc) are you going to need to pay someone to help you? Of course you are. Did you know that the Self-Help industry is close to $4 billion/year. WHY? If everyone had your attitude, Brian Tracey, T Harv Eker, Bob Proctor, etc would be broke and the millions they influence would be as well....

WE WORK FOR YOU!!! You pay us an over-ride. So we MUST meet your highest expectations or you will find a better mentor to accomplish you desired goal.....

So, agents- do you give up a little pride by so that a real mentor you can make serious money the smart way, or do you broker yourself out to 10 carriers, get paid as earned, buy your own leads, with no competition rankings, no comradery- all alone and hope you survive????

Almost every agent that I have known that left us thinking that they would be more successful operating directly with the company has come back. We don't hold you captive to us and we don't force you into meetings. We can't. You are independent. We simply help you succeed. We have also built many excellent managers who are now mentors to others....and the cycle continues.

There, everyone - now you know your options. Jay went direct because he thinks he will lose money to a manager. I am with a solid organization that is pubically traded and the largest independent marketing org in the country. Non-captive.

Don't go direct. You'll barely break 100K/year. Just make sure you find a soild mentor/coach that will work hard for you! No-one is forcing you into anything.

Agents,

What people do not tell you is you can get direct contracts with all the carriers, get much higher commission splits, get access to all the trips, etc etc etc.

Why work for someone else, make them rich when it is not hard to do it on your own... we are independent reps... correct?

Also, if you want to see a HUGE bump in income write more life... 110% not th 20-25% you see on health.

People work hard to recruit you because they make money off of you, I work for myself... it is great!

Jay -
1) How long have you been away from Mega and how many agents have you recruited in your past? Are you a Broker independently contracted with carriers, or are you part of an agency with a manager?

2) Please email me the state law that indicates you are defaming if you tell the truth.

3) I will email you my list of Mega agents that will give you testimonials of thier incredible successes with my org.

3) You are pretty heavy about warning agents to do their homework, but you fail to tell us how many apps you are writing per week with your present independent gig.

4) Here is what my opportunity offers, and perhaps even you will want to talk to me: Agents- judge for yourself:

- Weekly 8-12 month advanced commissions on carriers that don't advance that
high anywhere else
- Number one marketing agency in the country for Golden Rule
- Lead programs on all carriers sold - quality leads
- Online selling 100%
- ZERO PROSPECTING SYSTEM
- Training geared to assisting all agents to reach 10 apps/week immediately
- 4 exotic trips/year on our carriers
- High commissions based (varies based on experience)
- Manager opporunity (based on apps, not politics)
- Extrememly low overhead
- huge commissions on critical care/anciallaires

I advise agents to not become independent brokers (like some on this board) because you can get so many more benefits and assistance, and increase your QUANTITY of SALES and QUALITY of LIFE by not fearing organizations like mine. I even offer agents a pre-release if they are unhappy with our performance.

Agents/ex-agent who post are not Mega's problem. It's the insane amount of new articles and insurance department that are after Mega.

You think the ROR reports are Mega's concern over Maine's action against them? If you read the Maine report you'll see Mega has a lot of growing up to do before they can play with the big boys.

If Maine's not enough read up on the Mass. attorney general lawsuit and if that's not enough look at the Delaware $500,000 recent fine. Read the PBS article on them.

This company operates outside the regulations and gets caught all the time. Read up on the Washington State cease and desist a few years back and a pattern will start to emerge for you.

And even if all that can't open your eyes hit the NAIC.org site and run complaint searches on various carriers. Mega has the nation's highest complaint ratio among individual health carriers.

Agents/ex-agent who post are not Mega's problem. It's the insane amount of new articles and insurance department that are after Mega.

You think the ROR reports are Mega's concern over Maine's action against them? If you read the Maine report you'll see Mega has a lot of growing up to do before they can play with the big boys.

If Maine's not enough read up on the Mass. attorney general lawsuit and if that's not enough look at the Delaware $500,000 recent fine. Read the PBS article on them.

This company operates outside the regulations and gets caught all the time. Read up on the Washington State cease and desist a few years back and a pattern will start to emerge for you.

And even if all that can't open your eyes hit the NAIC.org site and run complaint searches on various carriers. Mega has the nation's highest complaint ratio among individual health carriers.

Blackstone, they own Mega, is not going after anyone for recruiting. If you would take time to read evreything you would see this. They are going after people for breaking insurance laws for defaming them, true or not. (The law does not care) This was simply put out there as a heads up to people posting on this site that send information directly to current mega agents. Blackstone is a multi-billion dollar private equity firm that will not care about the little guy.

As was stated in earlier posts, people will challenge them, and I think this is good, it needs to be done, I just don't think one person alone will have the resources available to do this.

Again, agent be careful and watch out for other agents who try to recruit you but do it via negative attacks and scare tactics.

Mega Life or Healthmarkets can't go after anyone for recruiting agents. Mega agent's are not employees - they're independent contractors (ie: self-employes) which means Mega cannot assert any control over them. Yes, they might attempt to scare someone recruiting agents but that's about all it is - a scare tactic.

That would be a great court case: "Yes your honor, they sent our independent contractors emails."

Aside from that, how can Mega agents be recruited? If UGA has the best deal (best products, commissions, overall package) then they wouldn't care at all. In fact, independent agents are sent mailers all the time from various agencies trying to get them to sell their products. I didn't realize that was illegal.

So I really don't see what Mega's concerned about. Happy agents are gonna stay, unhappy agent are gonna leave anyway. UGA wants unhappy agents to stay? Wow..that's gotta make for some great atmosphere in the meetings.

What UGA doesn't want their agents to know is:

1) Most health insurance sales are being made online and as time goes by almost all sales will be online

2) Agents can get 20% contracts with advances from day one

3) There's no need to drive all over your state, waste gas, get stood up, get told "I'd like to think about it" when most agents around the country and signing their clients up from home

4) Agents can show, compare and sell all major medical products in their state instead of putting on a dog and pony show in the home

If agents are worried about a support network when they leave just look into organizations like the Independent Health Insurance Agent Association (IHIAA.) They're set up to help and there are a lot of ways for agents to get out of Mega and become successful.

Thank you Chuck for your insight. I believe that is why Blackstone Group, (they own healthmarkets) is considering going after this person. There are many opportunities out there. Take some time and see what is a good fit for you. Try and avoid negative people, this week they bash mega, next week it will be someone else, the cycle will never end.

This is a great industry, you can do a lot of good for people.

Thank you Chuck for your insight. I believe that is why Blackstone Group, (they own healthmarkets) is considering going after this person. There are many opportunities out there. Take some time and see what is a good fit for you. Try and avoid negative people, this week they bash mega, next week it will be someone else, the cycle will never end.

This is a great industry, you can do a lot of good for people.

Thank you Chuck for your insight. I believe that is why Blackstone Group, (they own healthmarkets) is considering going after this person. There are many opportunities out there. Take some time and see what is a good fit for you. Try and avoid negative people, this week they bash mega, next week it will be someone else, the cycle will never end.

This is a great industry, you can do a lot of good for people.

Wow, there are a lot of nervous, skeptical agents out there huh? Mega kinda makes you that way I guess. I looked at the email as an invite to sell better rated carriers, because I have been feeling like Mega is going downhill. I think the email was intended to get agents to look, because I deleted all the emails that looked normal and invited a change. My managers told me to. I think there are many agents that need to be pushed into change, because it's easy to look the other way for so long, that I grows too late in the hour to think its even possible.

I conversed back and forth with the agent with many questions, and he gave me straight answers and actually impressed me with his knowledge. We eventully spoke at length, and I am now extremely excited about this new opportunity to sell on my own. He said the reason he is careful with giving out his name is because Mega will take any agent that tries to recruit theirs, and try and taint them in the eyes of the agents so they don't ever look again. He said that that the confidentiality goes both ways and that I wouldn't want him telling other Mega agents that I am looking to leave...which makes sense.

All I have to say is THANK YOU! Who cares how I was pulled out, I am now FREE!!

I think the majority of the agents that are out, probably forget to thank the guy who emailed them that invite to change their life......because had they not received it, they would probably still be there. I know I would be.

I know a lot of MEGA agents browse this site. They could be true believers drinking the Kool-Aid, and they could be desperately looking for the exit door. Both of these groups are often plagued by recruiters because it doesn't take much of a crowbar to pry many licensed agents out of MEGA. Most of the newbies have been on the fence since Day 1.

I'm no defender of MEGA by any stretch, but there is a particular health agent recruiter out there who is trying to deceive and cheat MEGA agents in order to recruit them. This week, a highly deceptive and fraudulent email has been tearing through the country alleging that HealthMarkets (MEGA's parent company) has "new, lower ratings" by A.M. Best. A link is provided in this email that leads one to believe MEGA's rating has been lowered from A- (Excellent) to BBB- (Good) - a precipitous drop by any measurement.

What the author of the email utterly fails to divulge is that the A.M. Best rating he cites is specifically for HealthMarkets' holding company, which has a separate listing. In fact, the issuer credit rating of BBB- for HealthMarkets' holding company has been BBB- since at least May 25, 2007. One is led to believe that HealthMarkets itself has suddenly been "lowered" to BBB-, but in fact HealthMarkets, MEGA and all other associated companies have retained their A.M. Best "A-" rating, which has also been in force at least since May 25, 2007.

There are plenty of opportunities out there in the insurance world for conscientious, hardworking producers. No reputable manager or agency would ever need to stoop to such tactics to recruit new agents for their sales force. MEGA agents, beware of anyone who has to resort to false allegations to bring you out of your situation. Although you are likely in desperate straits, resist the impulse to cling to the first thing you see floating. It may very well be a shark.

I left Mega last year for a number of reason. But the biggest reason is that I felt un-ethical about what I was selling.

I am now an independant agent and have ZERO issues with the companies I am selling. (Humana, Aetna, Blue Cross).

Yes I am not getting big advance checks, BUT I also don't owe any company anything if a policy falls off to soon!

I don't have to worry about taken rates, etc. Or competing against agents who have deep pockets for marketing to win contests and bonuses. I either hit the number of policies needed or I don't. No questions.

Being able to talk to underwriting BEFORE selling a policy to someone has helped me keep more business on the books.

I don't have to waste gas driving somewhere to get a "no" or "I'll think about it". I do get those answers, but since the companies I rep all want the applications done on-line, the most I am spending is on my phone and internet bill. Hell of a lot cheaper then gas now a days.

Mega teaches people here in Texas that you are required by law to see the customer in person and every insurance plan must have an association with it.

If it was the law, why are all the major players (and I mean, real insurance companies) wanting everything done on-line? And for associations? BS. Some plans have them, some don't. BUT it is NOT a state law.

IF you like living in a deficit to a company that is heading downhill fast, God bless you.

By the way, why did Troy McQuage step down? Was UGA falling that bad?

This is nothing personal, I just think agents need to look into everything that is out there. I also think if you plan to continue to do business in the state of Illinois you should get a copy of the state insurance code and you will see that my reading of the law is correct. Also, it is not MEGA who is looking into you.. Blackstone is another animal. I am glad to hear you will fight them, I think someone needs to.

One other point, you send emails with information and a number, you post about the great opportunity you company has, yet you never give the name of the company or where we can get more information prior to contacting you.

Is there anything you are hiding? Why do I have to send you my information first to get information on your company? Mega took this approach and we know how well that worked out for some people.

Agents, just do your homework...

So, how does saying "true" things about a company constitute being unethical? Please explain that one..... If I say that Mega has the highest complaint ratio in the industry, am I being unethical? If I discuss their ratings, or their coverage limitations, or their recent lawsuits, am I unethical?

Blackstone cannot sue someone for recruiting agents whose names and emails are publicaly displayed invited people to email them. They have tried, they have nothing to go on. All agents we email are found on National databases, just like all the rest of the agents we talk to, outside of Mega. But it does speak of Mega when they try and sue you because you attempt to recruit them......
If they do try and sue us again, we are ready. Mega loves to tie agents up in courts. They don't care if they lose, they just want to tie some recruiter up with attorney's fees and court cost for a year with some ridiculous suit that makes no sense and has no ground. That's their little trick.

I know I'm being a little defensive here, but many, many agent's lives have changed from the assistance I and my managers have given them. I have spent countless hours helping agents that I have never made one dime off. They thank me almost everyday for "showing them the light"

I invite all to read my past post and ask yourself how unethical I am. Judge for yourself. Don't just take Jay's word for it. I'm not afraid to say what needs to be said and expose Mega for who they really are - ideas of attorneys and suits don't scare me like they do him. I don't hide what I know under sealed lips out of fear.

To all current, past, and perspective Mega agents: Sadly most of what you read here is true. I too was a Mega agent and left because there were things going on I did not agree with and wanted to do the right thing for my clients.

Are there better opportunities elsewhere? Yes. Is the stock program real depends how you look at it. (Conversation for another day) Please, however, be weary of what some people are posting, specifically, what they are saying. We all took classes to get licensed, and we all know bad mouthing another insurance company, true or not, is not legal or ethical.

So why would you want to go work for someone who is a repeat offender of this on this site?

This same person, who has many of the preceding posts, has even gone so far as to directly email current Mega agents with the same things he posts here. He might already know this, and if not you are being forewarned, the powers that be at Blackstone, (they own Healthmarkets) protect their investments closely and legal action is in the works.

Agents, take time to look and see what else is out there, there are a lot of opportunities, ask questions, do research, and don't trust unethical people.
Have a great day.

WOW, MAYBE WE AREN'T THAT STUPID AND DISGRUNTLED AFTER ALL! MAYBE WHAT WE'VE BEEN SAYING ALL ALONG IS TRUE?

ANYONE WHO DOES AN OUNCE OF RESEARCH (BELOW) ON THIS COMPANY WILL UNDERSTAND THAT MEGA/HEALTH MARKETS IS JUST PLAIN CACA CRAPPY! HANDS DOWN, THEY CAN'T COMPETE!

AGENTS - WAKE UP! STOP KILLING YOUR PRESENT IN HIGH HOPES TO SECURE YOUR FUTURE!! TIMES HAVE CHANGED THERE AND YOU CAN'T WALK AWAY FROM THE COMPANY IN 10 YEARS WITH A MILLION COOL CASH! NEVER GONNA HAPPEN TO THE STANDARD AGENT WRITING $400k-/AV/YEAR. REGIONAL MANAGER, MAYBE.
YOU ARE SO MUCH BETTER OFF SELLING GOOD PRODUCTS TO DESERVING PEOPLE AND MAKING $100-300k YR WHILE SLEEPING WELL AT NIGHT. I DO IT, MOST OF MY X-MEGA AGENTS DO IT TOO. SO CAN YOU!!!! DON'T BE SCARED.


AM Best Rating:
http://www3.ambest.com/ratings/FullProfile.asp?Bl=0&AMBNum=58107&AltSrc=1&AltNum=&URATINGID=1786931&Ext_User=&Ext_Misc=


AM Best long term outlook - Negative:
http://www3.ambest.com/news/NewsSearch.aspx?Text=HealthMarkets&both=1

CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.

WOW, MAYBE WE AREN'T THAT STUPID AND DISGRUNTLED AFTER ALL! MAYBE WHAT WE'VE BEEN SAYING ALL ALONG IS TRUE?

ANYONE WHO DOES AN OUNCE OF RESEARCH (BELOW) ON THIS COMPANY WILL UNDERSTAND THAT MEGA/HEALTH MARKETS IS JUST PLAIN CACA CRAPPY! HANDS DOWN, THEY CAN'T COMPETE!

AGENTS - WAKE UP! STOP KILLING YOUR PRESENT IN HIGH HOPES TO SECURE YOUR FUTURE!! TIMES HAVE CHANGED THERE AND YOU CAN'T WALK AWAY FROM THE COMPANY IN 10 YEARS WITH A MILLION COOL CASH! NEVER GONNA HAPPEN TO THE STANDARD AGENT WRITING $400k-/AV/YEAR. REGIONAL MANAGER, MAYBE.
YOU ARE SO MUCH BETTER OFF SELLING GOOD PRODUCTS TO DESERVING PEOPLE AND MAKING $100-300k YR WHILE SLEEPING WELL AT NIGHT. I DO IT, MOST OF MY X-MEGA AGENTS DO IT TOO. SO CAN YOU!!!! DON'T BE SCARED.


AM Best Rating:
http://www3.ambest.com/ratings/FullProfile.asp?Bl=0&AMBNum=58107&AltSrc=1&AltNum=&URATINGID=1786931&Ext_User=&Ext_Misc=


AM Best long term outlook - Negative:
http://www3.ambest.com/news/NewsSearch.aspx?Text=HealthMarkets&both=1

CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.

WOW, MAYBE WE AREN'T THAT STUPID AND DISGRUNTLED AFTER ALL! MAYBE WHAT WE'VE BEEN SAYING ALL ALONG IS TRUE?

ANYONE WHO DOES AN OUNCE OF RESEARCH (BELOW) ON THIS COMPANY WILL UNDERSTAND THAT MEGA/HEALTH MARKETS IS JUST PLAIN CACA CRAPPY! HANDS DOWN, THEY CAN'T COMPETE!

AGENTS - WAKE UP! STOP KILLING YOUR PRESENT IN HIGH HOPES TO SECURE YOUR FUTURE!! TIMES HAVE CHANGED THERE AND YOU CAN'T WALK AWAY FROM THE COMPANY IN 10 YEARS WITH A MILLION COOL CASH! NEVER GONNA HAPPEN TO THE STANDARD AGENT WRITING $400k-/AV/YEAR. REGIONAL MANAGER, MAYBE.
YOU ARE SO MUCH BETTER OFF SELLING GOOD PRODUCTS TO DESERVING PEOPLE AND MAKING $100-300k YR WHILE SLEEPING WELL AT NIGHT. I DO IT, MOST OF MY X-MEGA AGENTS DO IT TOO. SO CAN YOU!!!! DON'T BE SCARED.


AM Best Rating:
http://www3.ambest.com/ratings/FullProfile.asp?Bl=0&AMBNum=58107&AltSrc=1&AltNum=&URATINGID=1786931&Ext_User=&Ext_Misc=


AM Best long term outlook - Negative:
http://www3.ambest.com/news/NewsSearch.aspx?Text=HealthMarkets&both=1

CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.

I am glad you are happy with your plan. I am glad you really understood what you bought. About 99% have No IDEA what they actually bought. If you keep going to those dr. visits - you will run out of coverage - hope you do not have to see a specialist several times.

You might of used your card and paid almost nothing upfront, but just wait and soon you will see what all the Fuss is all about. You should start receiving in the mail many letters from MEGA saying that they are reviewing your claims- this will last for months. You will then call the company and get different answers from different people, especially if you have to keep calling back. Give it time, keep using your card, and then post another note for all to see where you are 15 months from now.

Also, keep in close contact with your agent so you can vent all your future frustration on MEGA to him. Most people who buy the plan never stay in touch with their agent. Your agent most likely will not be around next year.

I have a mega plan. I have not had to pay a dime out of my pocket for our doctors visits yet, and have a family of 5. I have had a copay after my deductible on my medications, but I knew that was the way it would be. When I had another plan before this, I was so worried about taking the kids to the doctors, that I made myself sick with the stress. My son broke his ankle, and I got cash from NASE that paid for my out-of pocket under the insurance. It really helped alot since I couldn't work for three days, taking care of him. I thought I broke my toe, and only paid a $50 copay even though the ER person ordered all kinds of x-rays for my foot and ankle.

I did have a copay on my annual testing, but I have a friend that had a Blue Cross Plan that only covered about 20% of testing for his son once everything was said and done.

As long as I knew what I was buying, I'm ok with it since another friend of mine is paying over $1,000 per month for him and his wife, and they hardly ever get sick! They are on a fixed income and it is so sad to see them go through that. I can't imagine what I would pay for that BC plan they have.

I wrote back in Feb. of 2008 (two months ago). I was in 40K debt from working with MEGA. Now I am about 22K debt with the company. A big thing that helps lower that debt is if you call the company -MEGA Admin. and stop contributing to the DEF stock with renewals. They reversed my contributions going all the way back to Jan. I'm almost out and hoping not to go to court for the rest.

If you are thinking about joining MEGA please consider doing a word study on the "concept" of what it means to be in "captivity". Do a historical study of people who have been in captivity. For those of you who are Bible believers, do a Bible Study on captivity - then make up your mind if you want to work for NASE.

Being a "captive" agent has a connontation of being a slave. People who have been with Mega longer than 5 years convert that to mean "Golden Handcuffs" yet the concept is still there - SLAVE.

You become a slave to the company. Look at me and all the posted comments above. You get financially stuck with their dream for your life and once you become conscience of what you are selling - if you have been there for anytime over 5 years, you have to harden your heart and close your mind off to the reality of what you are selling.

This article was posted on a local news station where I live. This was also on the Noon report....


Thousands of Mainers Due for Insurance Refund
AUGUSTA (NEWS CENTER) -- An insurance company that overcharged Maine policy holders for years has been ordered to pay a $1 million fine to the state, and refund its policy holders $4.6 million, plus interest.




Maine Insurance Superintendent Mila Kofman says the Texas-based company, Mega Life, ignored state findings that its rates were excessive.

She says Mega Life continued to overcharge policy holders for four years, from 2003 to 2007.

It's one of the largest fines and restitution agreements ever in Maine. State officials said the settlement involves approximately 9,830 policies.

Mega Life has 30 days to notify the Bureau of Insurance of how it will allocate the restitution to specific policyholders.

Consumers can reach the Bureau of Insurance by calling 1-800-300-5000 in state; or by writing to: Bureau of Insurance, 34 State House Station, Augusta ME 04333.

You can also go to their website. Just click on the related link.

This article was posted on a local news station where I live. This was also on the Noon report....


Thousands of Mainers Due for Insurance Refund
AUGUSTA (NEWS CENTER) -- An insurance company that overcharged Maine policy holders for years has been ordered to pay a $1 million fine to the state, and refund its policy holders $4.6 million, plus interest.




Maine Insurance Superintendent Mila Kofman says the Texas-based company, Mega Life, ignored state findings that its rates were excessive.

She says Mega Life continued to overcharge policy holders for four years, from 2003 to 2007.

It's one of the largest fines and restitution agreements ever in Maine. State officials said the settlement involves approximately 9,830 policies.

Mega Life has 30 days to notify the Bureau of Insurance of how it will allocate the restitution to specific policyholders.

Consumers can reach the Bureau of Insurance by calling 1-800-300-5000 in state; or by writing to: Bureau of Insurance, 34 State House Station, Augusta ME 04333.

You can also go to their website. Just click on the related link.

This article was posted on a local news station where I live. This was also on the Noon report....


Thousands of Mainers Due for Insurance Refund
AUGUSTA (NEWS CENTER) -- An insurance company that overcharged Maine policy holders for years has been ordered to pay a $1 million fine to the state, and refund its policy holders $4.6 million, plus interest.




Maine Insurance Superintendent Mila Kofman says the Texas-based company, Mega Life, ignored state findings that its rates were excessive.

She says Mega Life continued to overcharge policy holders for four years, from 2003 to 2007.

It's one of the largest fines and restitution agreements ever in Maine. State officials said the settlement involves approximately 9,830 policies.

Mega Life has 30 days to notify the Bureau of Insurance of how it will allocate the restitution to specific policyholders.

Consumers can reach the Bureau of Insurance by calling 1-800-300-5000 in state; or by writing to: Bureau of Insurance, 34 State House Station, Augusta ME 04333.

You can also go to their website. Just click on the related link.

This article was posted on a local news station where I live. This was also on the Noon report....


Thousands of Mainers Due for Insurance Refund
AUGUSTA (NEWS CENTER) -- An insurance company that overcharged Maine policy holders for years has been ordered to pay a $1 million fine to the state, and refund its policy holders $4.6 million, plus interest.




Maine Insurance Superintendent Mila Kofman says the Texas-based company, Mega Life, ignored state findings that its rates were excessive.

She says Mega Life continued to overcharge policy holders for four years, from 2003 to 2007.

It's one of the largest fines and restitution agreements ever in Maine. State officials said the settlement involves approximately 9,830 policies.

Mega Life has 30 days to notify the Bureau of Insurance of how it will allocate the restitution to specific policyholders.

Consumers can reach the Bureau of Insurance by calling 1-800-300-5000 in state; or by writing to: Bureau of Insurance, 34 State House Station, Augusta ME 04333.

You can also go to their website. Just click on the related link.

I have to say that what I have read on here...and as you know is quite a bit, is all pretty much word for word true. Last friday I had an agent from NASE/MEGA come to the house to try and CON me into a policy. After reading this report, and TOO many others like it, there were things she would say that were exactly what has been written on here.

Amazing the amount of time she spent on explaining NASE, and lack of time she talked about the actual insurance. Then when I would pose a question to her about the insurance, off she went about MEGA winning all these sales awards, and my favorite. MEGA is the #1 rated Insurance company in the world. She topped that off with some whipped cream, saying that both Presidents Bush and Clinton stated in their inauguration speeches that if ALL health insurance companies operated like MEGA, then we wouldn't be in a health care crisis. Note to self, were we in a health care crisis during Clintons speech? The other one that got me was the..."we are the only permanent insurance in the world".

Well anyways, she had no reasonable answers to the questions I was throwing at her, even though I knew more about her policy then she did. It also made me laugh that the poor lady had to pitch the presentation off of a typed out sheet. I then asked her how long she had been with the company, and she said for 3 or 4 months. Funny when I looked her up on the insurance commisioners page she had only been appointed for 10 days. They certainly throw them to the sharks early at MEGA don't they?

The whole time she was there I had a file in front of me with over 100 negative reports on NASE/MEGA from the last five years. It was so sad of a presentation, that I didn't even have to open up the file and put it to her. I just feel bad for the unsuspecting person that does actually get fooled by them. For her sake too, as she was a very nice lady, I hope she figures out the junk that they have her saying to people is just that...JUNK.

What Mega agents need to understand is all of their information is coming from obviously biased sources. Unless their managers makes overrides the entire operation crashes and burns so it's not like any Mega manager is gonna say "Oh Yeah, all these other carriers are fantastic and pay more."

For any Mega agent reading this just realize some facts:

*Almost all carriers pay 20% commission to start, then you go to 25% with some carriers.

*Independent agents sell online. This means no gas, no getting stood up and you greatly expand your territory.

*Anytime you're presenting one company you turn into a salesperson. When you present the products of many companies you're in the role of an adviser and don't have to hard-close.

*If you're a Mega agent and not doing well don't let anyone tell you "maybe this isn't for you." It's for you. The only thing not for you is Mega/UGA.

So it's up to you. You either drive around your state all day on appointments or do side-by-side plan comparisons with your clients online. If you're happy with Mega then fine - stay.

But if anyone's looking for help there's an association I found set up to help. The Independent health insurance agent association can help anyone. Go to ihiaa dot com.

What Mega agents need to understand is all of their information is coming from obviously biased sources. Unless their managers makes overrides the entire operation crashes and burns so it's not like any Mega manager is gonna say "Oh Yeah, all these other carriers are fantastic and pay more."

For any Mega agent reading this just realize some facts:

*Almost all carriers pay 20% commission to start, then you go to 25% with some carriers.

*Independent agents sell online. This means no gas, no getting stood up and you greatly expand your territory.

*Anytime you're presenting one company you turn into a salesperson. When you present the products of many companies you're in the role of an adviser and don't have to hard-close.

*If you're a Mega agent and not doing well don't let anyone tell you "maybe this isn't for you." It's for you. The only thing not for you is Mega/UGA.

So it's up to you. You either drive around your state all day on appointments or do side-by-side plan comparisons with your clients online. If you're happy with Mega then fine - stay.

But if anyone's looking for help there's an association I found set up to help. The Independent health insurance agent association can help anyone. Go to ihiaa dot com.

What Mega agents need to understand is all of their information is coming from obviously biased sources. Unless their managers makes overrides the entire operation crashes and burns so it's not like any Mega manager is gonna say "Oh Yeah, all these other carriers are fantastic and pay more."

For any Mega agent reading this just realize some facts:

*Almost all carriers pay 20% commission to start, then you go to 25% with some carriers.

*Independent agents sell online. This means no gas, no getting stood up and you greatly expand your territory.

*Anytime you're presenting one company you turn into a salesperson. When you present the products of many companies you're in the role of an adviser and don't have to hard-close.

*If you're a Mega agent and not doing well don't let anyone tell you "maybe this isn't for you." It's for you. The only thing not for you is Mega/UGA.

So it's up to you. You either drive around your state all day on appointments or do side-by-side plan comparisons with your clients online. If you're happy with Mega then fine - stay.

But if anyone's looking for help there's an association I found set up to help. The Independent health insurance agent association can help anyone. Go to ihiaa dot com.

What Mega agents need to understand is all of their information is coming from obviously biased sources. Unless their managers makes overrides the entire operation crashes and burns so it's not like any Mega manager is gonna say "Oh Yeah, all these other carriers are fantastic and pay more."

For any Mega agent reading this just realize some facts:

*Almost all carriers pay 20% commission to start, then you go to 25% with some carriers.

*Independent agents sell online. This means no gas, no getting stood up and you greatly expand your territory.

*Anytime you're presenting one company you turn into a salesperson. When you present the products of many companies you're in the role of an adviser and don't have to hard-close.

*If you're a Mega agent and not doing well don't let anyone tell you "maybe this isn't for you." It's for you. The only thing not for you is Mega/UGA.

So it's up to you. You either drive around your state all day on appointments or do side-by-side plan comparisons with your clients online. If you're happy with Mega then fine - stay.

But if anyone's looking for help there's an association I found set up to help. The Independent health insurance agent association can help anyone. Go to ihiaa dot com.

Regarding the Post Above from "Mmmmmgood in NC" -

Everyone, please take notice of the 4th paragraph down..... THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!!! THAT'S THE BULL CRAP THAT IS DRILLED INTO THEIR HEADS ALL DAY LONG BY THEIR MANAGERS!!! !

Hey genius, why are you on the Rip Off Report if you had a wonderful experience with Mega and your Agent??? You just proved my point about you guys being a bunch of liars. No client that just purchased a Mega Policy would EVER write a post like that...

BTW, you can't buy up on your RX plan....in fact, your drugs are caps/year along with just about everything else.

I noticed how you wrote that you compared a fully loaded Mega plan against a 'non-association plan', and your mega price and plan was better.....so who did you....I mean, your agent, compare that one to??? Aflac?? There are only a few Non-Association Individual plans on the market, so which one was it that you compared against?

I also noticed how you mention nothing of your price per month, or what your deductible and co-ins, and OOP is??? Yet, how many times did you say "association?"

Mega agents know very, very little about the company and programs they sell.

Don't worry, you're probably brand new...and your managers are forcing this down your throat, we'll forgive you... Hopefully your clients will too when they realize the mess you put them into after it's too late.

Like the agent above, you will inevitably laugh at yourself for attempting to make such a ridiculous post.

Regarding the Post Above from "Mmmmmgood in NC" -

Everyone, please take notice of the 4th paragraph down..... THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!!! THAT'S THE BULL CRAP THAT IS DRILLED INTO THEIR HEADS ALL DAY LONG BY THEIR MANAGERS!!! !

Hey genius, why are you on the Rip Off Report if you had a wonderful experience with Mega and your Agent??? You just proved my point about you guys being a bunch of liars. No client that just purchased a Mega Policy would EVER write a post like that...

BTW, you can't buy up on your RX plan....in fact, your drugs are caps/year along with just about everything else.

I noticed how you wrote that you compared a fully loaded Mega plan against a 'non-association plan', and your mega price and plan was better.....so who did you....I mean, your agent, compare that one to??? Aflac?? There are only a few Non-Association Individual plans on the market, so which one was it that you compared against?

I also noticed how you mention nothing of your price per month, or what your deductible and co-ins, and OOP is??? Yet, how many times did you say "association?"

Mega agents know very, very little about the company and programs they sell.

Don't worry, you're probably brand new...and your managers are forcing this down your throat, we'll forgive you... Hopefully your clients will too when they realize the mess you put them into after it's too late.

Like the agent above, you will inevitably laugh at yourself for attempting to make such a ridiculous post.

Regarding the Post Above from "Mmmmmgood in NC" -

Everyone, please take notice of the 4th paragraph down..... THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!!! THAT'S THE BULL CRAP THAT IS DRILLED INTO THEIR HEADS ALL DAY LONG BY THEIR MANAGERS!!! !

Hey genius, why are you on the Rip Off Report if you had a wonderful experience with Mega and your Agent??? You just proved my point about you guys being a bunch of liars. No client that just purchased a Mega Policy would EVER write a post like that...

BTW, you can't buy up on your RX plan....in fact, your drugs are caps/year along with just about everything else.

I noticed how you wrote that you compared a fully loaded Mega plan against a 'non-association plan', and your mega price and plan was better.....so who did you....I mean, your agent, compare that one to??? Aflac?? There are only a few Non-Association Individual plans on the market, so which one was it that you compared against?

I also noticed how you mention nothing of your price per month, or what your deductible and co-ins, and OOP is??? Yet, how many times did you say "association?"

Mega agents know very, very little about the company and programs they sell.

Don't worry, you're probably brand new...and your managers are forcing this down your throat, we'll forgive you... Hopefully your clients will too when they realize the mess you put them into after it's too late.

Like the agent above, you will inevitably laugh at yourself for attempting to make such a ridiculous post.

Regarding the Post Above from "Mmmmmgood in NC" -

Everyone, please take notice of the 4th paragraph down..... THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!!! THAT'S THE BULL CRAP THAT IS DRILLED INTO THEIR HEADS ALL DAY LONG BY THEIR MANAGERS!!! !

Hey genius, why are you on the Rip Off Report if you had a wonderful experience with Mega and your Agent??? You just proved my point about you guys being a bunch of liars. No client that just purchased a Mega Policy would EVER write a post like that...

BTW, you can't buy up on your RX plan....in fact, your drugs are caps/year along with just about everything else.

I noticed how you wrote that you compared a fully loaded Mega plan against a 'non-association plan', and your mega price and plan was better.....so who did you....I mean, your agent, compare that one to??? Aflac?? There are only a few Non-Association Individual plans on the market, so which one was it that you compared against?

I also noticed how you mention nothing of your price per month, or what your deductible and co-ins, and OOP is??? Yet, how many times did you say "association?"

Mega agents know very, very little about the company and programs they sell.

Don't worry, you're probably brand new...and your managers are forcing this down your throat, we'll forgive you... Hopefully your clients will too when they realize the mess you put them into after it's too late.

Like the agent above, you will inevitably laugh at yourself for attempting to make such a ridiculous post.

I have to confess, I posted on here within the last two years when I WAS a District Manager for Mega defending the company. At that time, I thought Mega was the know all end all and "thought" I knew the truth about the company. It may have taken me 5 years to open my eyes, but I am sure glad I did.

If there is anyone out there who is having difficulties with leaving because of debt or any other reason, dont worry we have all been through it. I can sit here and tell you the reasons why I finally left, but most of it has all been said. All you need to know is go out and do your research and find out about other agencies and insurance companies in your area. Everyone is going to have a manager who makes money off you, but at least you are selling a good product with a trusted insurance company, and you are completely free to run your own business. Once you are free from call ins, trainings, and meetings, you will be a much happier person- not to mention you should be making the full 20%+ commission on the products you sell and not around 10% minus taken rate that Mega gives you.

Final thought: If you are even questioning if you should be a rep for Mega or not, follow your gut and start looking around. It never hurts to be the educated one making the decision instead of "having your blinders on" and just ASSuming your managers know what they are talking about.

It seems to me that every report that i read on here has one thing in common. All of the people complaining are either customers who didn't understand what they bought, or agents who were terminated (most likely due to complaints)

Mega has a plan for any type of budget so obviously if you buy a dirt cheap plan the coverage is not going to be what you expect. I have been with Mega for a year now and like it just fine. The association benefits have actually helped save me money and I pay nothing when I go to the doctor.

I elected not to get an ER benefit so I know that If I go to the ER I am going to have to pay towards my deductible. In turn, my rate was lower so that was ok with me. Generic drugs are a $15 copay and if I needed a better drug plan for name brand drugs I have that option also. I did not want it so my rate was lower. I looked at the fully loaded Mega plan that my agent brought and It was still about the same price as an non-association company's best policy but would have gave me a ton of more coverage. It had life insurance and disability on it also.

I am from Charlotte NC and my agent was very thorough with me and I understand exactly how the plan works. The CareOne plan that I am on is very flexible and my agent explained every option that I had so that I could pick what I needed. My rates are lower than the competition since I am in an association and they will not go up if I were to make a serious claim like most other non-association type companies.

People you need to understand what you are buying and make sure you have an agent that you like and one that knows what he/she is talking about. The plans are not set in stone type plans. My agent did a great job of explaining to me how each plan option works and I have been happy with the coverage I got for the money.

I am happy with the choice that I made so quit complaining about the company because you did not understand what you bought. It was your fault. If the agent lied to you then report him to the dept of insurance. He also left the brochure with me and I read it, theres a suggestion.

This will take about 7-10 minutes to read. I thought Mega agents were smarter than to keep saying these things in the field, but apparently it is still commonly occuring all over the country. I was taught to say these things over 4 years ago: These are facts you MUST KNOW!!!


FACT # 1: Mega Life & Health and its affiliated companies are not "group" insurance plans. Even though a Mega agent may speak heavily about this, it is important to understand that THIS IS AN INDIVIDUAL, UNDERWRITTEN HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANY, just like all other companies you can purchase from if you are getting insurance just for you or your family. Simply because they are placing you in an association (NASE or AFS), does not mean that you are now part of a group plan. It means you are part of an association plan, and there is a difference.

Selling on this concept gives the buyer the impression that they are going to be part of a similar group plan like GM, Sony, or Home Depot insurance. NO!! You are not part of a group like that. You are simply being enrolled into an association, not a true group plan. You do not want a true group when you are buying on your own..... Almost all individual insurance companies use the association concept for 'pooling' purposes, nonetheless, they are still individual, underwritten health plans not intended for serving more than one family on the same plan. True group plans like GM do not have underwriting to deny you if you have diabetes, you must be an employee, and you cannot hand pick the type of coverage you want. If you get fired or quit, you lose your coverage.

United Health Care (underwritten by Golden Rule) serves more than 26 million customers. They use and association call F.A.C.T (Federation of American Consumers and Travelers). Assurant Health, World Insurance and several others also use associations to enroll individuals and single families for personal insurance plans.

If an agent is selling you on this, ask him or her these questions ...

1) "If Mega is a group plan, then I can't be denied coverage based on health, right?"

2) "So, if Mega is a group, then what is Humana, Golden Rule, Assurant, Unicare, Blue Cross and Aetna?" ...(if the agents answers "they are individual plans, and it's you against the insurance company" - then ask, "what makes them an Individual plan?" ...if the agent answers "they don't have a large group like the NASE to be part of......well, now you know that the agent is either aware, but choosing to lie to you, or they are unaware. So make your choice- do you place your hard earned money into the hands of an agent that is either a liar, or misinformed about the marketplace?

3) "How much is your association?" - F.A.C.T with Golden Rule is $3/month. That's all I need to say. Remember, you need Health Insurance! Most Mega agents will talk about their silly, expensive association 70% of the time, and the actual health plan/cost 10% of the time. (the other 20% is trying to get you to like them and build trust in them personally with a whole bunch of bull crap)

One other thing, they have been touting heavily that their sales force won some stupid Stevie award....which basically means squat to you. By the end of reading this post, you will realize that they are winning awards by manipulating and lying to their customers.
-----------------------------------------------------------

FACT # 2:

If you tell a Mega agent that you are looking at Golden Rule and trying to compare, you will typically hear something like this:

"Well, Mr./Mrs. Client - that plan is great until you get sick and you really need it"

Be sure to ask the agent to elaborate on that statement. They will most likely proceed to try and explain to you that other companies outside of Mega will single you out for rate increases or cancel you after you place a big, new claim. THIS IS FALSE!! As a matter of fact, this is against state regulations for agents to say this, or imply it and they could lose their license if you, and others, report them to your state OFIS office. HIPPA Federal Law (also known as the Kennedy-Kassebaum Act of 1996) prohibits any insurance carrier from cancelling you due to placing new claims. All insurance companies, including Mega, have the right to investigate claims. If you omitted information on your application, then they can rescind your policy and deny all claims. But if you have a NEW CLAIM, then you cannot be denied coverage. It is a ridiculous assumption that an insurance company will single you out for the very thing you are paying monthly for. That's like purchasing life insurance for 10 years, dying and the insurance company denying your beneficiary the face amount because of a claim...you died!

-----------------------------------------------------------

FACT # 3 - You will get RATE INCREASES with all health insurance companies. MEGA LIFE has rate increases after the first year too. Mega agents will try and sell you on the idea that you will get big rate increases after your first year with any other company but theirs (go figure). That's a lie. No one can predict exactly what will happen, and Mega has a history of having similar rate increases to their competition. # 4 below will help you understand that it is much smarter to take a risk with a company that may give you a 10% rate increase, then to take a risk with Mega-having them cover you with their style of coverage for a potential 5% rate increase.

-------------------------------------------

FACT # 4 - Mega Coverage & Price Cannot Compete against the rest of the market.

Mega agents will talk the least about their coverage and most agents will not leave their lengthily brochure and policy info behind with you, even when you commit to buying. Their outline of coverage is confusing. HEALTH INSURANCE IS NOT CONFUSING! Most other plans that you can buy are simple and easy to understand. I can personally break it ALL down for you on ONE PAGE. Mega agents will omit the dirty secrets about their plans, like yearly caps on RX and 'per occurrence' deductibles, along with the lifetime personal incident caps of $1 million, organ transplant caps, chemo regulations and much more. Their first dollar benefits are complicated and you have to be on the plan for lengthy periods to get a benefit from them.

Top Major Medical Plans that we sell are One Deductible for the Calendar Year, not per occurrence. No caps on RX and no special Chemotherapy regulations. First dollar co-pay benefits are immediate for doc visits, well checks, immunizations, and RX.

Last- the price for a plan that could leave your family with multiple incidents out of pocket in excess of $25K.. is much more expensive than the plans we sell.
-----------------------------------------------------

FACT # 5 - Mega has a very bad reputation. They are constantly being sued and find themselves under multi-state investigations for the fraudulent agent practices I have noted above. Their complaint ratio as a whole, is literally off the charts (seriously, there is a chart on NAIC.org website and Mega's complaint ratio goes off of it). Scroll up to my post above Are we defaming Mega, or Exposing them? if you would like some references.
-------------------------------------------------------


REVIEW: Mega agents are Captive. This means they will be kicked out of Mega if they get appointed to sell a different company. If they tell you that they represent another company, like Blue Cross, they are lying to your face.

Even though many agents are aware that their plans are inferior to the market in price and coverage, they chose to stay and put their license at risk everyday by telling you many of the lies above. Why? Because they believe that they will become millionaires one day in their stock sharing program. Because they aspire to become a manager one day. Because they feel a greater obligation to their marketing company, UGA, than to their clients that they should be serving.

They have been told over and over not to look at their competition's plans and pricing- leaving them clueless to serving you best with the right options which will custom fit your personal needs. And sadly, they are not aware that they could succeed outside of there and actually sleep easy at night.

IF YOU RECENTLY BOUGHT A PLAN, call the agent and tell them to rip but the check. If you have recently been approved and you are paying for the plan- By God, GET OUT!!!!

If you are thinking about buying and have an agent coming to your house, then ask these questions above. Tell them you are comparing with Golden Rule and Blue Cross and you would like their advice on what they think.....

If you are interested in pursuing the agent for any of these lies above, you can contact your state Office of Financial and Insurance Services (Google OFIS). They have a place on their site to report an agent.

health agents direct at yahoo will get me if you need new insurance. I will pass you on to one of my top sales guys in your state to contact you and treat you right.

Man. I guess all these health insurance companies are the same. MEGA sales tactics and training (if you can call it that) sounds EXACTLY like what happens under American Republic Insurance Company (ARIC).

You are called in for an "interview" then show up suprised to see at least 5-10 other sheep in the room and learn that your "interview" is actually a presentation whereby the sales manager dangles the carrot in front of your eyes misleading you with salaries after your first year with residuals that follow.

Then they entice by signing you up for a license cert class whereby you pay $250 and then take the cheesy exam They defer all your questions until after their "Training" which is two days brain washing and then send you out into the field without knowing your product and expect you to brain wash poor innocent souls.

You are trained (brain washed) not to overwhelm your client with detailed info and just sell them the basic product and put as much pressure on them so that you don;t leave their home withou their premium check in hand, etc, yadda yadda yadda....

MEGA, American Republic, in essence all the same.

What a miserable life. What a scam. What stupid game. Predators. Thats all they are. I am so happy I did not fall for all that cr@p!

'Unsure' - Why would you take offense on a board where you hide your name and location and no one knows who you are? I use you as a generality. This board is to give advice to all others reading, not a personal dialogue just for you and I. Crying about me saying you might end up divorced because you don't take advice of people who are qualified to give it - is a little immature.

I'll say it again.... starting your own agency and getting contracted direct to the carriers straight out of Mega in my opinion is the worst idea ever. I have seen many, many agents suffer from doing that. You shouldn't think you are now on top of the world because you sold a bunch of lies in order for someone to buy your policies. (you = mega agents, so don't take offense 'unsure') When you make $5-7K+/week in less than 30 hours like we do, then you have this business down.

You are over-complicating things. Getting out of there is not as hard as you are making it.

Hey Unsure --

Thanks for the input on Alliance. I'm not sure how many of the benefits I would actually use, and almost $500 a year is a chunk of money. I've definitely decided to look for health insurance elsewhere (through an independent agent in the hopes of getting some real comparisons). The Mega agent I met with was very nice, as you mentioned, but at this point I just don't feel comfortable with the company. In any event, thanks again and I wish you the best in sorting out your own situation. Good Luck!

Dear Confused,

I know of the agent you met with recently. She is respectable, very nice, and really does have your best interest in mind. She was the number one agent in the state of AZ last year. She is just not aware, however, of the MEGA product. It is NOT MAJOR MEDICAL. You can simply call Mega and ask them directly and they will say the truth - It is not Major medical. Call the number on the back of your CareOne broshure that she should of left behind.

As far as the "Alliance" goes, the dental is good and the cash payout is good. But you have to remember to call them in the event you are hospitalized. Will you really use all of those discounts? It is 40 bucks a month. I do not know if you want to buy the product or the agent - she is young and nice, but will you use the products??

Brian, your a great recruiter and I appreciate you using me as an example. However, I do not receive your attack about my marriage or future. It is sad that you would mention that. It reveals who you are.

A lot of things that you say are true from a Health Insurance point of view, but you and your predictions of future events have no basis because you do not know me.

I may be unsure at the moment, but I take time in making big decisions - I believe it is using wisdom.

Hi "confused"

I know the agent you met with. She is a nice young lady and she is the only agent working in Kingman. I would tell you to only get the "Alliance" if you know what you are buying and if you will actually use the products they offer. The dental is good and the cash pay out is ok if you are hospitalized (just do not forget to call them and let them know or they will not pay you.

The agent that you met with is respectable, kind, and is an AMAZING producer for the company. She is not aware of Mega's history nor about the limited plans.
You can buy the person you sat in front of, but the product really is "NOT MAJOR MEDICAL"

Do not get their Health Insurance even though the person you met with is an amazing individual.

I met with a MEGA agent this afternoon and, after hearing her presentation, decided to research the company and subsequently found this site. After reading every post (man, that took awhile!) I've been prety much spooked away from the insurance, but I was wondering if the Alliance for Affordable Services aspect was worthwhile. Are the benefits genuine? Can it be purchased without the insurance, and, if so, what is the actual annual cost? Any help would be appreciated . . . Thanks!

"unsure" in CA is trapped in between two different worlds. He is stuck at Mega and can't leave because of his $50K debt. Yet, he has to keep his family alive- which means he needs to continue taking advances - which means he will continue incurring more debt.

The other world of insurance is just a neat idea right now. You know you need to be here, and so it messes up your Mega production numbers. If you do get the guts to leave, you have no idea which option is the best. Because you have been lied to by Mega, you think everyone is a liar now..... The more people to talk to, the more confused you become. It's evident in the words you use in your post about one carrier now better than the others.

Everyone knows that you can't have 1 carrier. You need 4-5 top carriers becuase yes, they change. What you don't realize now is that you need help to learn how to sell 10-12 apps/week in less than 40 work hours. THAT HELP COST YOUR MANAGERS TIME AND MONEY TO GIVE YOU!!!! So of course, they are going to get an over-ride on you - no matter where you go. (The over-ride you mentioned of 10-15% is not true. It's more like 3-5%).. I find it humurous that you mention this as a hot point - yet your District Manager, Division Manager and Regional Manager all get over-rides on your current production. With us, there is only one manger.

You could contract direct -which you will not get any help and you will only sell 3-4 policies a week and work 60 hours.

Good luck unsure - hope you don't stay "unsure", confused and trapped too long, as you will probably end up either divorced or out of the busienss selling tools at home depot.

This is something I get asked over and over again and the company does not put any effort into explaining this to the agents. I am not sure if what they are doing is 100% legal but you can check on that.

When you write new business you are "advanced" your commissions upon submission. (this is why agents end up owning so much money and can never leave) When you start they tell you your first years 1099 will actually show less income then you actually recieved due to the fact you are not taxed on advances, only your actual earnings. This portion is the truth but they never explain why. What they leave out, in most cases, is that your advance is considered a loan from the company and like all loans you pay interest on it. While it is less then 1% take a look at the bigger picture. There are about 4500 agents nationally, with millions in advances paid out weekly, even at a small %, how much money is the company making off of these loans?

Interesting... Ask questions! Don't trust anyone... remember your mangers do make money off of your production... make sure they have your best interest in mind.

This is good that I am responding to everybody at this stage of the game. I am on the fence finding out "HOW" to get out of the company and where to go from there. Yep, I owe the company a lot of money.

I see all the notes that Brian from Michigan and John from Ohio writes. Any SMART Mega Agent should know what they are saying about Mega is TRUE. But where do you go to get contracted and become your own agency?

If you work with Brain or John they will also get an override on you (at least 10 -15% according to John's Blog above 5/17/07) I am honestly not sure if this is the right way to go??? Even if they get overrides on your business, it sounds like you earn a lot more than what Mega can offer and at the same time shift your clients from one plan to another.

I also learned that Golden Rule right now is the "Best" Last year Assurant was the "Best" next year ???

If I go to work with one of these guys or find something on my own (not sure what agency) I will let all know where to go.

At least everyone can see my developed story in where I am in the month of Feb. 2008. I'll let everyoone know where I am at in the next few months and this time next year. That way you can see my struggle in what I am going through to get out of MEGA. If I find a strong Agency to contract with or if I open my own agency - I will share with others "HOW" to do it.

Good luck to all. You have gotta leave MEGA. Even though I have not quit the company yet, I call them the Exposed company(past history), which is constantly trying to Evolve into something Better in order to Become a Major Medical Provider!!!

I am a current agent for the NASE/MEGA/Health Markets who has been very successful to this point. Recently there have been things that have caused me to look elsewhere due to a lack of integrity by the company.

I have had their prototypical great start winning my quickstart class (a national contest for new agents) and attending their annual event in Dallas they call Reunion. The products are not the best but for what they are serve their purpose. I believe many of the problems are bad agents who do not explain the programs properly. What is my problem then?

I do not agree that people are forced into joining the NASE to gain access to the so called "group" to gain health coverage. Many of the agents spend a good amount of time tearing down under individual health programs because they are not a part of this "group" yet the MEGA plan is still individually underwritten, pre-existing are typically excluded, waivered, or rated up, and they still get annual premium increases, just recently about 12%.

What really upset me was my clients get a 12% rate increase this year and the annual 4 day event for the top agents, about 3,000, called reunion, cost, by some reports from management 11.5 million dollars! Had I known I would not have attended.

My advice, don't just take the agents word for it, do your homework, check with your state insurance department, BBB, etc. As for me... I am starting my own agency, doing things the correct way.

You are in a difficult, but typical Mega agent pickle. You thought you were "helping other people" by providing coverage that you were told by your managers was the best....but after time, you realized that you were putting yourself into deeper and deeper debt because the coverage your were offering was not what the clients expected it to be.

Because Mega's leads suck, you probably had to spend most of your own money to get people interested - just so that they would cancel when they started to compare or use their insurance.

You also spent a great deal of money and time driving all over 3 counties and running appointments on other's time schedule instead of yours, which has taken a toll on your family and personal life.

You dumped hard work, time and a whole lot of money into a company that you believed in, and now you owe them over $40,000. You now recognize that your were deceived and you feel this knot in your gut that won't go away.

There are many, many agents in this very spot today. Why are you still there?

Here's the truth: 1) Your managers lied to you from day one and will do whatever they can to hide you from agents like me. If you become enlightened, you will leave. That's why most agents close their eyes and continue to misrepresent their clients.

2) Even with the upgrades, your plans are still inferior than the competition is multiple ways and I can prove it.

3) If you continue to take advances on submittal, you will continue to put yourself into deeper debt and you will suffer once you want to leave.

4) Selling face-to-face is 1800's - we are in the 21st century and we use a cool thing called the internet to sell top major med policies from the comfort of our homes or offices. I personally am on pace to write $900,000 AV this year and I also train a team of over 75 agents spread all over the country. I spend $375 a month on an office, phone plan and internet. I will never run 1 physical appointment and I will retain over 95% of my clients.

5) Every agent that leaves and goes to the right place, doubles their income the first year out. I emphasize "the right place" (there are some bad places out there, so be careful)

6) If our clients what to shop for a different plan, we still keep them because we are not captive. In fact, we even make more money if they chose to leave.

7) We win beautiful trips, cash prizes, free quality leads every week, and national recognition.

8) We don't prospect - our clients call us

Sound too good to be true? It's not. IF YOU WANT OUT - CONTACT ME AT HEALTH AGENTS DIRECT at YAHOO . COM (altogether) I will only work with agents that are serious and ready to leave. I don't have the time to waste with answering 1,000 questions of "on the fence" agents. There are 100 reasons for you to leave and about 2 reasons you can think of to stay.

Good Luck - you can be successful outside of UGA. I promise!!

Still need help on this one.

I have limited time trying to get out of the company because I need to keep setting up appointments in order to sell for the purpose of paying off my 40K debt with the company!!

Please help me, who do I get appointed with?? If I do move forward and other companies advance me 12 months in advance, what happens if they too cancel their policy? Will I have to pay back. I never want to be this stuck again in the future.

Any suggestions whoever you are? I know you have been with MEGA for some years ??

I know about the MONSTER Resumes and the group Interview Process. I know about the over-rides.


Do you remember the Home Coming events?


I have been to a few HomeComings as a top producer and -get recognized. Pretty nice stuff.

It appears that at every HomeComing the president - who I respect gives his upgrade speech. Every year I start doubting what I am doing then at HomeComing the hope of helping people comes back. Their principles of helping people are great|!!

This year they are getting rid of (thank God) the 3 deductibles and are moving to a 1 deductible per year. THey are also going to 90% Coinsurance with a 4,000 Max out of Pocket (of covered expenses). It sounds exciting. I like that I can help many people. I do tell them a head of time (if they want a crap plan thats easy to do, if they want an awesome plan- CAREONE PLUS MEGAS best plan we can do that as well and beef it up all the more by adding CRITICAL CARE and Cash Income) You can bless people in the event they have to use it if they have the Care One Plus plan with Ancillaries)

However, I feel that HealthMarkets/UGA/AMG/Mega in connection with NASE whatever we are compliant to say, are simply just trying to catch of to the compettition. They were bought out by Blackstone and have made a lot of positive changes.

Yet, I still doubt in the accuracy of the coverage.

Also, I am frustrated that I have to get in my car every week, have late evenings, and get stood up multiple times in order to make a good income. Yes, I work hard over and over to just make it.

Those of you who are ex-agents. Do other agencies really pay higher? Really? Is it much easier to set appointments over the phone? Do I still have to call and call and call to leave many messages? Do cliets still have to wait 2 - 6 weeks before they get approved? Are the plans really better? If people move to another state can they keep their coverage or do they have to re-apply within the state and hope that they are still insurable??

Where do I go if I leave? Man, I owe the company a lot of money. I found this out last October and am trying to work through it in my own head. I owe much more than lets say 25k. Residual income is tough because so many people do cancel. I do buy up ton of leads to.

Any suggestions- whoever you are?

attorneypages.com/hot/mega-life-insurance-investigation-hefty-fines.htm

When 37 states come together and find these results, I would be nervous if I were a Mega agent. And anyone looking to buy from you.

Every once and a while current agents try and defend thier company that they force on to thier clients. They try to do it by related personal experiences, but the funny thing is....they never share experiences of thier clients.

I know agents that where taken care of well by Mega when thier policies stated otherwise- but only becuase they were agents that sold for them for a long time. Mega goes over the top for thier loyal producers by making sure they run out of the hospital and scream to the world the Mega paid all thier bills. I've seen it happen several times. One agent had a health choice policy and had over $100K in bills that Mega wasn't supposed to pay - but they did.

Fact is, they don't do grant the same "favors" to your clients who don't make them millions in sales.

I am and have been an active agent for Mega Life and Health in Alaska for ten years. I am also insured through them. I personally had large medical expenses two years ago, and chose to travel to Washington state for treatment as there is much better medical care available there.

I went to a specialist and my bills were paid promptly and exactly as the certificate of coverage states they would be paid. For people in Alaska it is often necessary to seek treatment outside due to the limited availability of specialist medical providers here. Many people here have limited options to leave to seek treatment elsewhere as their policies pay less to non preferred providers or out of network providers.

As a very productive agent with ten years of service, I have numerous clients and have received many calls from people thanking me and referring the vast majority of new clients. Alaska communities and cities are small compared to outside and news travels very fast, therefore my reputation is very important to me personally and from the aspect of continuing in business. The sheer volume of new clients who call me from referrals of existing clients speaks to me much clearer than many of the repulsive comments I have seen on this site.

There have been two managers in the past ten years and I can only say that they both are high standard and quality persons. It has been an excellent experience working with them over the years. The horror stories and turnover expressed in various comments on this site are not valid as witnessed by me personally.

I have experienced negative competition tactics by agents who represent other companies but my response has always been not to denigrate other carriers or agents. It is unprofessional and unethical. I have found that being honest and upfront with the public produces excellent results. I am the first one to suggest to a potential client that they might be better off going with an alternative if it appears that they would be better served.

I have found that people appreciate this manner of doing business and when added to a high satisfaction percentage rate with the carrier I represent has made my personal experiences as an agent excellent.

Thank you,

I am and have been an active agent for Mega Life and Health in Alaska for ten years. I am also insured through them. I personally had large medical expenses two years ago, and chose to travel to Washington state for treatment as there is much better medical care available there.

I went to a specialist and my bills were paid promptly and exactly as the certificate of coverage states they would be paid. For people in Alaska it is often necessary to seek treatment outside due to the limited availability of specialist medical providers here. Many people here have limited options to leave to seek treatment elsewhere as their policies pay less to non preferred providers or out of network providers.

As a very productive agent with ten years of service, I have numerous clients and have received many calls from people thanking me and referring the vast majority of new clients. Alaska communities and cities are small compared to outside and news travels very fast, therefore my reputation is very important to me personally and from the aspect of continuing in business. The sheer volume of new clients who call me from referrals of existing clients speaks to me much clearer than many of the repulsive comments I have seen on this site.

There have been two managers in the past ten years and I can only say that they both are high standard and quality persons. It has been an excellent experience working with them over the years. The horror stories and turnover expressed in various comments on this site are not valid as witnessed by me personally.

I have experienced negative competition tactics by agents who represent other companies but my response has always been not to denigrate other carriers or agents. It is unprofessional and unethical. I have found that being honest and upfront with the public produces excellent results. I am the first one to suggest to a potential client that they might be better off going with an alternative if it appears that they would be better served.

I have found that people appreciate this manner of doing business and when added to a high satisfaction percentage rate with the carrier I represent has made my personal experiences as an agent excellent.

Thank you,

Great Post Above!!

I remember when I was REQUIRED to make my managers "post card" parties where we would all sit around and fill out postcards as a group. My manager would cut off our leads and basically disown us as an agent if we missed them.

Mega agents - why do you put up with that crap? If you don't know already, life outside of UGA is so much better.

You should fire your micromanager, low commissions, captive status, junk non-major med products, belly-to-belly sales and get into the real world of selling health insurance.

Why are you afraid? Is it loyalty to your manager or division pres? Are you comfortable making the money you are making? Is your heart set on making that next big trip? Do you love the product you are selling.

If so, there are plenty of great managers that you can create a new loyalty with. You will make more money than you are making now. The trips and incentives are just as big, if not better. I know you can't possibly love your products. And here's the kicker - you are not a captive employee. No longer a UGA droid blindly doing whatever you are told.

Get some defiance against your manager. I promise you they are ultimately looking out for themselves- not you. They get an over-ride on you, so sure they are going to nice to you when you work your a*s off to produce $15K AV this week. Do yourself a favor and look around at other products and how their plans work. I suggest looking at UHC/Golden Rule to start. No need to overwhelm yourself with too many. Look at the Co-Pay Select, Plan 100, Saver plans and HSA's.
If you need to know how to leave - check out my post above.

Great Post Above!!

I remember when I was REQUIRED to make my managers "post card" parties where we would all sit around and fill out postcards as a group. My manager would cut off our leads and basically disown us as an agent if we missed them.

Mega agents - why do you put up with that crap? If you don't know already, life outside of UGA is so much better.

You should fire your micromanager, low commissions, captive status, junk non-major med products, belly-to-belly sales and get into the real world of selling health insurance.

Why are you afraid? Is it loyalty to your manager or division pres? Are you comfortable making the money you are making? Is your heart set on making that next big trip? Do you love the product you are selling.

If so, there are plenty of great managers that you can create a new loyalty with. You will make more money than you are making now. The trips and incentives are just as big, if not better. I know you can't possibly love your products. And here's the kicker - you are not a captive employee. No longer a UGA droid blindly doing whatever you are told.

Get some defiance against your manager. I promise you they are ultimately looking out for themselves- not you. They get an over-ride on you, so sure they are going to nice to you when you work your a*s off to produce $15K AV this week. Do yourself a favor and look around at other products and how their plans work. I suggest looking at UHC/Golden Rule to start. No need to overwhelm yourself with too many. Look at the Co-Pay Select, Plan 100, Saver plans and HSA's.
If you need to know how to leave - check out my post above.

Great Post Above!!

I remember when I was REQUIRED to make my managers "post card" parties where we would all sit around and fill out postcards as a group. My manager would cut off our leads and basically disown us as an agent if we missed them.

Mega agents - why do you put up with that crap? If you don't know already, life outside of UGA is so much better.

You should fire your micromanager, low commissions, captive status, junk non-major med products, belly-to-belly sales and get into the real world of selling health insurance.

Why are you afraid? Is it loyalty to your manager or division pres? Are you comfortable making the money you are making? Is your heart set on making that next big trip? Do you love the product you are selling.

If so, there are plenty of great managers that you can create a new loyalty with. You will make more money than you are making now. The trips and incentives are just as big, if not better. I know you can't possibly love your products. And here's the kicker - you are not a captive employee. No longer a UGA droid blindly doing whatever you are told.

Get some defiance against your manager. I promise you they are ultimately looking out for themselves- not you. They get an over-ride on you, so sure they are going to nice to you when you work your a*s off to produce $15K AV this week. Do yourself a favor and look around at other products and how their plans work. I suggest looking at UHC/Golden Rule to start. No need to overwhelm yourself with too many. Look at the Co-Pay Select, Plan 100, Saver plans and HSA's.
If you need to know how to leave - check out my post above.

Great Post Above!!

I remember when I was REQUIRED to make my managers "post card" parties where we would all sit around and fill out postcards as a group. My manager would cut off our leads and basically disown us as an agent if we missed them.

Mega agents - why do you put up with that crap? If you don't know already, life outside of UGA is so much better.

You should fire your micromanager, low commissions, captive status, junk non-major med products, belly-to-belly sales and get into the real world of selling health insurance.

Why are you afraid? Is it loyalty to your manager or division pres? Are you comfortable making the money you are making? Is your heart set on making that next big trip? Do you love the product you are selling.

If so, there are plenty of great managers that you can create a new loyalty with. You will make more money than you are making now. The trips and incentives are just as big, if not better. I know you can't possibly love your products. And here's the kicker - you are not a captive employee. No longer a UGA droid blindly doing whatever you are told.

Get some defiance against your manager. I promise you they are ultimately looking out for themselves- not you. They get an over-ride on you, so sure they are going to nice to you when you work your a*s off to produce $15K AV this week. Do yourself a favor and look around at other products and how their plans work. I suggest looking at UHC/Golden Rule to start. No need to overwhelm yourself with too many. Look at the Co-Pay Select, Plan 100, Saver plans and HSA's.
If you need to know how to leave - check out my post above.

I invite any rep from Mega Life, NASE or their clones to go to the web site of the internal revenue service and check out the IRS's rules defining employees versus independent contractors. IRS uses 20 guidelines to determine whether one is an employee or an independent contractor. Go there and read them yourself.

Mega Life, NASE and their clones are in violation of that IRS regulation. For one, if you are an independent contractor, YOU determine your working conditions. As an independent contractor in the insurance business, you are also free to sell any product authorized in your state that you are licensed to sell, even competing products. If you are in independent contractor, you cannot be required to attend weekly meetings and no one can withhold (or hold back) any properly earned commission. That is a violation of federal and state wage and hour laws.

Organizations like Mega Life, NASE and their clones operate in that manner because most of the employees (yes, they are employees - not independent contractors) are ignorant of their rights in the workplace and afraid to question the managers.

I had a close relative who was a retired attorney for the IRS and that is where I learned all this. I used to work for a clone of NASE and Mega Life about ten years ago and I filled out the form from the IRS on whether I was really an independent contractor and received a private letter ruling from the IRS that I was in fact an employee as defined by the IRS. That only affected myself, but if I had the time; I could have asked the IRS to enforce it on a nationwide basis.

So what does that mean for Mega Life, NASE and their clones? If their reps are classified by the IRS as employees, then they would have to withhold state and federal income taxes, remit them promptly to the IRS, pay the employer's matching social security tax, cover their reps under worker's compensation, pay unemployment compensation taxes and fully comply with all other regulations involving employer - employee relationships. Also NASE, Mega Life and their clones could be faced with massive back taxes, fines and penalties that could put them out of business.

After all it was the IRS that put Al Capone in prison for tax evasion. Knowledge is a very powerful force and someone knowlegable about the IRS definition of an independent contractor would be a very dangerous person for NASE and Mega Life.

This is lengthy, but it deserves a read. I am writing because I want sales people and consumers to be educated as to what I feel is the real problem behind MEGA Life and Health Insurance Company; which is its marketing company, UGA. I also want consumers to understand that just as many good sales people as bad sales people are selling both good and bad products. I also want to diminish the idea that only salespeople lie; sometimes the liars are the sales managers, perhaps the marketing company they represent, and sometimes the consumer as well.

The consumer. I worked in the insurance business on the sales side for a year, although I had been in sales for 14 years consecutive years prior. To be certain, there are plenty of consumers out there who also lie, and they are lying about their cancer history, smoking history and the real state of health they are in to try to get around paying higher premiums (we all know people who do this). This hurts everyone and also helps drive the rising cost of health care everywhere. Although I can empathize with the individual who cannot afford 2 blood pressure medications and their diabetes pills, and on top of that a $250/month premium, I also know for a fact that if many of these health care victims lost 30 pounds, they could eliminate most of their monthly medical costs, and help themselves afford a health care plan as well as increased daily life activities and a less painful older age.

With this in mind, the consumer's behavior can make it difficult for a salesperson to really respond to the need of health insurance, and really find the right product for the consumer sitting in front of him or her. Many people want insurance to pay for conditions that they could help manage themselves and many people need insurance for financial protection in the event that something devastating happened. Others simply want the preventative measures (blood tests, etc) to be paid for, and insurance companies offer something for everyone; but, they will not pay for everything.

UGA. I worked for UGA in 2005. Therefore, what I write here is based on my real experience as a selling agent in 2005, in Florida. I am certainly biased, as I feel that UGA is really a marketing company intended to make sales managers a lot of money, and the products and people, (and the art of sales and providing a good product to a good person) fail to deliver. Although every employee (at least in 2005 and prior to 2005) were all "self-employed" and worked in "satellite offices" of some sort, everyone operated under one big umbrella called UGA.

I was lied to during the recruiting sales presentation because I was told I would be self-employed (more on this in a bit). I was used to being self-employed, I was good at it, had worked as a business and market analyst, and a salesperson, and truly believe (and know) that America is driven by small businesses. I also know that small business owners are least likely to go to the doctor when they have a cold (heck, I was self-employed, I know!), but also need similar benefits that large companies have, they need to save money, and they need to be represented in the government. After listening to the sales pitch regarding the NASE/AFS and what they do for the small business, sole-proprietor, and their families, I thought I had found a company where I could really help the little guy customize a plan for him or her, and literally protect their assets with an indemnity plan (which is mostly what they sold in Florida in 2005, I do not know what they are selling now). Most people are not familiar with what an indemnity plan is; they are used to HMOs and PPOs and cannot seem to get their heads around any other plan out there other than "$10 co-pay".

So, here is the problem: you have products that are sold using Mega Life and Health Insurance's name in a market where no one understands any concept other than $10 co-pay, but they all want the best coverage for as little money as possible. Then you have UGA, which is the marketing company who recruits and pays its sales force, and they typically recruit new, young agents who do not understand the selling market when it comes to insurance products. This model works well for UGA because UGA makes their agents sign a contract that binds the agent to the company. In other words, the agent who is working 100% commissions, may only sell Mega Life and Health Insurance products in a market place that does not understand anything other than "$10 co-pay", and typically sells to people who will be less likely to use services (remember, the business owner does not usually go to the doctor, they are usually running their business... right?). As far as the NASE/AFS are concerned; not sure how they really benefit from this association other than more members, which translates to a bigger presence.

The fact is that Mega really does divulge everything about its plans up front in the literature they provide to the sales people... and the sales people are up against it since they only have a small number of products in an environment that is 100% commission, and remember they are captive, and the public also lie. It's a complicated industry, it really is, and I am not condoning a lying salesperson; but, again, I feel that the responsibility needs to be split down the middle... maybe in this case, three or four ways. The truth may be that many people might not qualify for Mega Life and Health Insurance's plans or might not be able to afford them; but, since the agent is captive, he/she may only sell those products to make all his or her income. Ratio seems a bit off with regards to the risks the self-employed agent takes.

If I were to offer some advice, I would tell the newer agent to get their license, and find an office where you can sell many different products from many companies. This seems like the true definition of being self-employed. People need protection (there is a need for insurance, no doubt), and being self-employed means that you take on all the risks; therefore, the rewards should be great. Agents, who are 100% commission from the start with no benefits, pay their own expenses, taxes, etc.; but then also have to call in their numbers every day, show up for a mandatory sales meeting weekly (some offices held paychecks if you did not show up), and you are given the bottom of the pile of leads that you are still paying for if your numbers went down, and cannot take vacations or your numbers will fall I did not feel self-employed at all. I was also "discouraged" from selling in other more successful sales people's "territories (managers), and was not given any leads in these areas even though I paid for my leads and my marketing, and the territories were closer to my home and in safer neighborhoods. My sales manager sent me out at least an hour in every direction to poor neighborhoods, and told me to make it work. As a market analyst, my mind could only be so open when I looked at the demographics. This is a captive agent's life.

The most successful people in UGA in 2005 were sales managers, not sales agents. The company seems to want the agent to be successful... and how can anyone blame them. The agents make the managers money. And if the agent leaves the company with bad business on the books (industry terms "not taken"), then the agent must repay the commissions. Of course I am sure most agents do not because I am sure they feel they have been taken for a ride, and I can understand why they would feel that way after my experience. I can only speculate how a driven sales person or entrepreneur could feel. For me it was not that bad because I was purposely not successful. I sold honestly, got lied to by some consumers who would tell me they need insurance for monthly blood transfusions only after I showed up to their door (which was at minimum, a 1 hour drive one way), but I made my way honestly and didn't make as much money. I was ok with that. One thing that was troublesome about my earnings though; my tax returns stated that I made thousands of dollars in earnings that I did not make. Anyone planning on working for UGA save your commission pay stubs as I am not sure how they computed the extra thousands but there it was on my 1099. I corrected that amount on my tax form and will keep those pay stubs for the next 20 years, just in case. So, perhaps during the recruiting sales pitch they will show you some sort of pay stub or earnings showing you that doing the bare minimum you can make XYZ in hindsight, I feel that perhaps some of those numbers were skewed, as my earnings certainly were.

In closing I think that Mega Life and Health Insurance Company products will do and will not do what they state they will do and will not do, but in many ways the products are ridiculous and are not providing (obviously, if you read consumer feedback) what the general public want or need. Also, based on all the complaints (and there are a lot!) from consumers, the sales force are not doing their job in explaining the products. Perhaps it's because deep down inside, they know the products are ridiculous and will not satisfy most of their customers. Shame on them, they should be brokers, not captive agents.

Speaking of the idea of a 100% commissioned captive agent is also ridiculous. Prior to being involved with UGA, I could not find any information on what it would be like to work with this company, so here it is: if you have a spouse or a large settlement or alimony payment that can support you for 5 years or so, and you really enjoy being a captive, non-employee with little security and no benefits, and you like taking all the risk of your own success, and you especially have a penchant for being told how to run your business and life everyday, then UGA is the perfect company for you.

From another thread:

I have Blue Cross of CA., health insurance as I live in CA. I also have a vacation home in Wisconsin. On a recent trip to Wisconsin while in that state I fractured my number T9 vertebrae in my back.

Are you overpaying for insurance? Compare quotes from multiple providers and see how much you can save:


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Life Insurance



I went to the local Urgent Care and saw a doctor. He took ex-rays of this break and recommended I see a surgeon immediately for surgery after the surgeon does an MRI.

So far I can not get approval from Blue Cross of CA for the surgery or MRI because they say that I have to be in CA to be treated. They also said it has to be an emergency. The doctor's office in Wisconsin has told them that it is an emergency yet Blue Cross of CA still denies me treatment and states that I have to be treated in the state of California. This is utterly ridiculous. I have an emergency situation out of state which they are supposed to cover but just flat refuse to do so.

How can a person with a broken bone in the backbone travel to CA for treatment?

I'm not even going to waste time trying to explain to you how Mega and NASE have been in bed together from the very beginning - and that the reason a family pays $600+ /mo for a Mega policy isn't for road side assistance.....

I'm getting tired of seeing post from Mega agents that say this site is just a bunch of disgruntled agents....

If that's the case - then the USA Today is a Disgruntled newspaper:
usatoday.com/money/industries/insurance/2007-09-04-limited-coverage_N.htm?csp=34#uslPageReturn

And the Boston Globe:
http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2006/10/24/ag_sues_low_cost_health_insurer_on_practices/

Here's another disgruntled article:
http://www.selfemployedweb.com/mega-al.htm

Here's more disgruntled clients and agents:
http://nasesucks.org/

Oh - here's another:
"Mega Insurance Co.'s Broken Promises Leave New Parents Broke"
http://attorneypages.com/hot/mega-life-insurance-broken-promise.htm

And another:
"Delaware Fines MEGA Life Insurance Co. $500,000 for Insurance Violations"
http://www.delawareinsurance.gov/departments/news/101007-Press-MegaLifeHealthFined.shtml

And Another....
http://www.tortdeform.com/archives/2006/11/why_democrats_must_investigate.html

Here's one more:
http://www.pdxtc.com/wpblog/archives/13

So please - Mega agents - take your blinders off for just a few days and read through these articles and forums and find out if we are defaming the company - or if your Manager and Division have deceived you from when you walked into an interview where you knew nothing of the insurance industry until this very moment now. .

Without details it is impossible to know if you understood your coverage or not.
NASE, a separate entity, has elected to use Mega Life as the health insurance underwriter for their group. The separate NASE benefits can be helpful. I do not have Mega insurance as I am a Vietnam vet who (per a law) was or could have been exposed to agent orange...and therefore have veterans coverage...but I do like the NASE benefits -- besides advocacy for small businesses I do have some basic term (10K) as a death benefit, some accidental death benefit (20K) and home office protection from vandalism/fire etc.

I do travel and the emergency airlift travel benefit is nice to have available...Mega insurance plans need to be clearly explained to customers. They are not designed for people who expect insurance to cover everything. I have concern that this web site promotes defamation from unhappy customers/clients who often never clarified what they were buying (I've read through AARP complaints, Primamerica etc and it seems it's the same complaints from the same group of unhappy people who had no idea what they bought...). It looks like this site is set up by attorneys seeking class action lawsuit clients...I do appreciate that they provide for rebuttals.

Hey MK - thanks for the good laugh!!

M K Allaire, it looks like you might be a new agent for dear old Mega. Do yourself a favor and read this entire thread and you might find yourself enlightened. Take off your blinders so you can see that NASE is just a front for Mega/Health Markets. The line that "We've selected the best insurance provider" is pure bs. The only reason your asked to sell stand alone memberships is to ward off regulators noticing that NASE does not exist outside of Mega. If you're not a newbie and are a vet in that organization trying to do some damage control, STOP WASTING YOUR TIME.

I am not saying all or even a majority of the sales reps of Mega (UGA/Cornerstone) are bad folks. But the honest to God truth is that the operation to it's core is criminal in nature in that they exploit people's ignorance of how true health insurance works. No matter what Mega or Midwest "plan" you furnish from their nice little brochures, they ALL limit what they will pay and leave the client totally exposed.

Don't waste any keystrokes on the baloney that "those are the old plans. what we have now is much better." Just have a lawyer review the actual insurance contract that arrives for your clients and you will readily see the gaping holes in every single one of their policies. In fact, there are lawyers already doing that who are working on class action lawsiuts against Mega.

So, M K, get out while you can. Don't let the facade crumble around you. Find another carrier to represent that has solid policies that leave your clients with true peace of mind. And if you're one of those that's been around for years and are in management or are just in too deep, good luck to you! Save your soul and join the crusade against these gangsters!

I am appointed with MEGA Health and Life. NASE is the National Association for Self-Employed. It is a non-profit organization that lobbies for self-employed and provides many benefits for the same. MEGA is partnered with NASE, and is a for-profit insurance company. NASE offers discount plans for doctor visits, dental, vision and labs. It has been confusing about which service is being used. If someone uses NASE when they think they are using their insurance-MEGA, the result would be what happened here. The agent who sold the poicy should have explained more clearly and been available for questions from the client.

I have read all of your responses. I am a licensed insurance agent who has switched a number of my clients to reputable insurance companies who are listed on the AM Best and who are in good standing with the Insurance Commissioner in my state. I also look into and review the competition and ask questions. If you have a complaint against an insurance company file a complaint with the Insurance Commissioner in your respective state.

The one thing I figured out about Mega after reviewing these policies for a client is that they say they are a group plan when in all reality they are individually underwritten and issued. So, some people with health issues may or may not get a policy.

Health insurance is simple deductible, co insurance, total out of pocket of usual and customary charges. There may be a Prescription card and doctor office copays. If the plan tells you what the maximum is they will cover or states a value on the services it is not "true health insurance" it is a supplemental plan and should not be taken as health insurance. Remember there is usually a $2,000,000 lifetime maximum on health insurance, but if a company tells you a low figure for each service that is their maximum. Buyer beware.

The other problem I have with MEGA is the number of complaints with the State Insurance Commissioner and the severity of the claims filed against the company as well as its agents. The consumer needs to beware of companies and agents looking for a quick sell. Check those companies out thoroughly before you buy a policy that may or may not be insurance.

I sure hope you have cancelled your policy. I was recently "laid off" by the company because I did not agree with the ethics and inhumane way of treating the employees. They treat us life slaves. This is junk insurance. Tell everyone you know that this company is a HUGE scam. get out now before you make the rich richer.

UA is a midgrade carrier the fits a niche market of individuals who are suffering from many conditions that fully underwritten carriers will not accept. Diabetes, bad backs and knees, recent tumors and cancers, arthritis, etc. There are still a number of declinable conditions, but UA is far more lenient.

We personally don't sell a ton of it because that's not the kind of business we are seeking after. However, we run into it all of the time.

Mega agents entire philosophy has always been - "something is better than nothing" - so United American is a perfect fit for them.

But Get This Mega Agents! I can offer my agents the exact same United American contracting that you have -selling the EXACT same policies. BUT pay them almost 15% higher commissions - and its annualized! What does that tell you about your AMAZING UGA/Cornerstone?? it tells me that you are getting ripped off that they are taking most of your commissions. Remember- you have to give up 3 levels of commissions to your uplines that work so hard for you and teach you how to sell in all the wrong ways.

Could that extra 15% (180% advance) help you buy your own leads and put your own money into shares with a company that actually has a good name? I think so. The same thing goes for your underwritten Mega policies and your minimal commissions. Do the math. It doesn't make sense to be there. You are paying too high a price with very little in return!

By the way, ever heard of Chesapeake Life? There are available to non-captives to sell as well. You don't even want to know how much more you would make if you were a FREE AGENT.

I am considering selling for United American only to find out that MEGA / NASE agents are selling there products also. In your opnion is United American just another front for MEGA / NASE type products and services? Thanks for all of your input it really does help. I am just looking for a good health insurance company to work for.

Thanks
Rhapsody

....then Mega wouldn't mind if you got appointments to sell all the other available carriers in your state - still give you leads and stock. After all, why would they worry if they have the best plans at the best rates?

Go ask your manager if you can pick up those appointments. When he says no just ask why. He'll say because UGA provides leads, bonuses and stock. Your reply is "but if they have the best plans and rates why would it matter that I'm able to sell all available companies. Wouldn't almost all of my sales still be Mega?"

Funny, all of my carriers are confident enough that they'll get their fair share that they allow me to sell for anyone and most give me free leads. All of them give me bonuses and trips.

But you go ahead and continue to show up with one company and pound away on that sqare peg to make it fit in the round hole. I'd rather show up with seven carriers and match my client to the proper plan.

The difference between you and me is you have to SELL your plans. My clients simply choose a plan.

Anyway, tell everyone there good luck with the results of that 32 state investigation. The results become public in a month or two.

I am a current NASE/Mega agent who found this thread because a friend told me about it and thought I might find it interesting. First off I will be the first to admit that insurance can be very bad. These plans through Mega that allow you to manipulate the coverage really create the opportunity for misrepresentation whether or not the agent was doing this deliberately or not. I fight with people on a daily basis who demand me to strip their coverage down in order to meet a price point. I have NEVER been instructed to pretend or represent that these plans are going to cover everything. The brochures I use in my appointments are pretty easy to read and the coverage limits is in pretty large and clear print.

I would rather lose a sale than be called a liar after the fact. I have never had anyone instruct me that misrepresentation may be worth the advance. All insurance companies in my state are held to the same regulations. I am trained to highlight our exclusions and limitations in the brochure when I sit down with a potential client. These plans are designed for people who can't afford a plan that covers all of everything. I had a plan through an employer that still didn't cover everything that cost 4 times what my Mega plan costs my family and I.

The differences I highlight come down to this. The association provides some discounts on business, medical and personal expenses. They are listed quite clearly. The association provides guaranteed renewability and rate stability comparatively speaking. The insurance offers certain percentages of coverage up to certain amounts and the client can dictate almost all the terms. The client has a lot of control over what goes into the plan and that allows them to only pay for things they feel they need or want.

What the Health Markets plans offer is the ability for the client to evaluate their risk and exposure and transfer it to the parts of the plan they feel they may not be too likely to need. They can shift practically all the deductible to the less likely hospital/surgical scenarios and get faster access to the more likely outpatient needs.

I've often read about the limits on the chemotherapy coverage. I've had a few clients who were going to face amounts that were going to go over the daily maximums. We called a case manager and had those limits waived each and every time. I have not had a single phone call from a client who had their claims denied.

These plans are designed for people who can't afford the Cadillac plans that pay for everything. This is risk MANAGEMENT. Not risk transfer.

It's good so many Agents are responding to this, because frankly... The only ones who know about WHAT is offered are the ONE'S SELLING IT.

First, my background is a licensed insurance agent for over six years. I also have other financial credentials that I don't care to mention, seeing as forums like this have a tendency to rebut with "You are worthless because real estate has nothing to do with..." and completely ignore my insurance licensure.

I have a friend that bought NASE and Mega Health, and got just PATHETIC service from them. The prior experiences of over-scrutinizing claims, especially as pre-existing conditions, even with creditable or prior coverage, seems a legitimate concern.

Although my religious beliefs are not normally relevant, they are here because Christians purport themselves to be moral & caring. Why is this relevant?

I was appalled to hear another Christian Agent selling Mega Health on a Christian, non-profit radio station. I feel for his clients & him, and I am ashamed I haven't called him on the carpet about this HORRID company.

Why does that matter? It seems likely to me that Mega is brainwashing it's Agents; and, like every good MLM company, ostracizing anyone who disagrees and gets out.

Hence, my joke of the day:
What does Mega Health and Amway have in common?
The smart one's always leave and find something similar, better and HONEST.

I recommend Colorado Mega "marks" (a con word for policyholders) contact the Department of Insurance / Division of Regulatory Authorities. There is a he**-raiser at DORA that just smashed up all the Insurance Agents in the State that were naughty, them the Mortgage Brokers, and then moved on to Real Estate Agents.

Those who quesiton my integrity, know this: In all three messes, I have a license in all three during the 'reign of terror' and I have never been questioned. I also happen to be voluntarily assisting a client in suing a lender I was a broker on!

When will the law and big business learn what BROKER means: I REPRESENT THE CLIENT. Excuse the rant. :)

Attention all Self Employed, 1099's, Sub Contractors, SBO's and ANYONE ELSE thinking about buying from a recent Mega agent that sat in your home or office and tried to swindle you into buying this insurance....

READ THIS ARTICLE!

usatoday.com/money/industries/insurance/2007-09-04-limited-coverage_N.htm?csp=34#uslPageReturn

All you Mega agents that are NEW (85% of you) and don't know any better -GET OUT! There are much better companies to represent..... All you old school managers - keep praying that this company stays alive just long enough for you to cash out on your precious stock papers you collect at District Meetings, frame and hang on your walls.

This article helps prove that everyone on this message board who exposes the TRUTH about UGA, MEGA, MIDWEST, NASE, FSA, HEALTH MARKETS, ETC- that we are not some disgruntled x-agents, but that we are fighting for the same cause as soo many others who have been SCREWED by this company

WOW - I amazed that your agent dosn't call you back. Either he/she is no longer there, or they are just too hearless to tell you the truth about these questions you have.

If you have a Health Choice Plan, you need to get off of it immediately and eat the money you paid into it......

At your ages, if you end up with a major illness - you will have to file bankruptcy due to medical bills that won't be paid by Mega.

Read your policy through and then see if you are still between a rock and a hard place. Read about ALL of the caps, the ACE rider, the chemo benefits, etc.

It' shouldn't have the privilege of being called insurance.

I promise you there are better plans for your money! Check out your local Blue Cross plans and/or United Health Care.

MEGA AGENTS LOOKING TO LEAVE- Hear you go.... As much as I would love to have you on my team ... I will give you all of my unbiased advice I can so that you can leave without all of the headaches and misery I see a lot of agents go through.

1) Be smart about leaving. You most likely have a family to feed, so you don't want to go the next 2 months without a paycheck because your left too hastily. That's a sure way to see yourself right out of the industry all together. So be sure to do your homework. What homework? -

2) Homework is actually becoming familiar with your competition WHILE you are still making a little bit of money at UGA. The more ambitious your are to leave, the faster these plans will excite you as you read them and see their pricing. You need to start reviewing brochures and downloading software of the top industry carriers like United Health Care, Blue Cross, Assurant, World, Etc. Obviously, you need to do this under the radar. Do it from home. Don't let your MGR see your computer with a bunch of loaded competitors on it.
You can usually get brochures directly from the companies themselves. Sometimes they will try and send one of their big agencies in your area to call and recruit you. If you need brochures, than send me an email and I will gladly email them to you. I will not try and recruit you. (health agents direct at yahoo)


3) Once you feel comfortable enough to sell these plans, be careful who you get appointments with! Getting appointments takes about 10 minutes of your time, but could mess you up if you choose a bad GA or MGA. The agency that you choose will actually have an impact on your next 6-9 months, because they are protected by a waiting period before they have to release you.

You want an agency that will give you the most bang for your buck...i.e. LEADS, STRONG COMMISSIONS % and ADVANCES. You will most likely also want SUPPORT for your up line seeing as how you are relatively new to our way of selling vs. the UGA way. You want someone who is going to spend time with you and teach you the real world of health insurance products. ALSO - you want an agency that will set you up with a direct pay from the insurance carriers themselves. Meaning, do not do assignment of commissions! This will enable your upline to hold your book of busienss and not you.

4) DEBIT BALANCES - Mega will pursue you for your debit balance in most cases. The only times that I have not seen them do it is when an agent threatens to take the nasty training evidence they hold to their state OFIS department. Mega typically backs down and sends you a 1099 for the debt that isn't paid back by the policies that stay on your books. If Mega does still come after you, they may go as far as to sue you for the money. So, be sure to set up a payment plan with them before they do that. REMEMBER - (THIS GOES TO YOU "HELP ME" in CT) that if you wrote $100,000 AV in issued business with me or many others, you would make almost $20,000 in commissions. So, do the math & set Mega up on a payment plan, roll your book of business out completely - place your clients in better coverage, win some trips, and live a happier life! It really is not as scary or difficult as many of you think.

5) DON'T BE AFRAID OF YOUR MANAGERS OR CO-IDIOT GROUPEES AT UGA. They will all try and make you feel like you are traitor. Your District MGR and Division MGR will try and scare you. Stand firm and make your way out. Don't commit to do anything for them (like leave your office furniture or not talk to anyone, or tell them where you are going). JUST GO and don't turn back!!

I have seen it time as time again - John you probably have as well......Mega agents will slit their wrist for UGA in their beginning stages - but eventually see their way out once they start to really understand the game of insurance and get tired of constantly losing to the companies they could be selling to their clients.

Hopefully this message helps. I could list over 100 X-MEGA agents that are still going strong today and are VERY successful. My point - your managers are liars and only keep you in the dark because they don't want to lose your over-rides they make off of every sale you force out of your clients.

GOOD LUCK!!!

I too recently jumped into uga and mega head first and have decided to jump ship before i build a debt. i started seeing all the odd (this company isn't right) signs in the very beginning. I'd like to become independent and would like some advice on doing so, is it as simple as becoming appointed with the companies available in my state of texas? silverrotary at yahoo

Help Me, go back to the postings of 5/19/07 and newer. There are some ideas (completely your choice to folow or not). I paid my amount back in 3 months ( a lot less than yours, for sure, but I didn't know what else I could do). Fight them for it all. Kick em in the balls for me, too.

I am a current....soon to be Ex-Employee of the NASE/Mega Life and Health and all the other Alias hide behind names they use.

I'm have been with them for almost a year now.....Yes, They Sold me the DREAM!!
I was a Quick Start winner and made Senior Agent within the first 10 weeks of employment and continued to write a lot of business up until recently.....now that I am starting to really understand more about the Industry and more importantly....more about this company itself!!!!

I'm not trying to brag about my success, but rather to make a point about the comments made here by Ex-Employees!!

When I first found out about this web site, RipOffReports.Com, it was actually from a lead that I sat with to go over a policy. Needless to say......I never sold the policy to them. When I got back to the office, I had questioned my district manager about this site and his reply was "Those comments are made by Ex-Agents who could not make it in the company,so they got mad and posted this stuff here". So I just brushed it off and continued to write business. Then the more I started to understand or I guess I should say " I finally started to questions many things about this company", I went to this web site and started to read all the comments about NASE and MEGA.Well, GUESS WHAT, I'm a successful agent and I am posting a comment here too!!

I read so many of the comments and rebuttals, and I tell you........Just about EVERYTHING I read from the Ex-Agents are sooooo familiar and TRUE. From the weekly cheerleading meetings to try to get everyone pumped up and believing in these products and of course believing in "Living The Dream",to asking a question about a certain coverage on a policy and getting 3 or more different answers(No One seems to know what the real answer is to the question, or rather they just don't want you to know!!),and the office door is like one of those revolving doors at a hotel(Unbelievable how many people leave and get hired on a weekly basis) and like me when I was hired, all the NEW hires usually have NO Experience in the Health Insurance Industry!!

In one of our weekly "cheerleading" meetings....a New Agent asked a question "How important is it to know your competitors policies"? The answer she go back from the Division Manager was "Not important at all, as a matter of fact....it would probably hurt you because you will only confuse your customer trying to explain the differences".
Hmmm, I think what he really wanted to say was " You don't want to know your competitors policies, because then you will know how bad yours are in comparison". Yes, I started to really compare and review other companies policies and I discovered the differences.............I'm canceling my Mega Policy this month and going with Anthem!!!

Anyway......as I said before....I am a soon to be Ex-Agent with this company, and I was looking for some advice from ANY Ex-Agents.
I guess this is my fault because I didn't really understand the pay structure and how it really works when I jumped head first into this dream(In my defense, they certainly where not up-front with how it works during the hiring process either)

But If I where to leave this company today, my financial responsibility would be around $15k. Now, I don't have $15k laying around to pay this company back when I leave, but I certainly cannot continue to sell the policies to Individuals and Families, knowing that they can get much better coverage and usually for less money with another company. So I'm kinda in between a Rock and Hard Spot....
Any advice from anyone would be greatly appreciated!!!

Brian is absolutely right when he said this rider is for the brand new business owner who has never had exerience purchasing health insurance on his own. In 1999, my husband decided to "go out on his own" as a consultant. We got a line on NASE and the local insurance guy who was pushing Mega as the best for the self-employed.

In going through the brouchures, we came upon the ROB rider. Since we were both 50 at the time, just under the wire, we felt this was a good idea since we'd only have 15 years to go. Brian is right again about paying extra for the rider, but we felt this would be a nice chunk of change at age 65.

We are now at the 8 year mark and I was beginning to have my doubts about the coverage, the ever increasing monthly premiums, and is it worth it. The first few years, we didn't have many claims but within the last, say, two years, we've had expenses (growing old is a b***h!). I have kept every piece of paper I've ever gotten from them to include the claim sheets of what they paid or wouldn't pay and began having my doubts.

I guess it's taken me longer to figure all this out since I'm the one in charge of health insurance coverage and what do I know. We were covered for most things so I was just fat, dumb and happy 'til recently. I was in the process of trying to get a printout from Mega of what THEY thot our claims have been and what they have paid and what I paid to see if they matched with what I have, when I found this webpage.

I'm thinking now I should look for other coverge and get what I can at this point from the ROB rider. It's just hard to give up that amount of money in 7 more years but after reading all these comments, I have become concerned about our coverage and whether or not they would really pay out that amount of money (I understand that it is minus what they pay out -- which is actually very little, hence, the printout!) at age 65 or if their history is coming up with some kind of lame excuse for not paying.

Unfortunately, John, being self-employed, we have no one in our office, we don't even HAVE an office, to whom I can go to get information on any other plans or companies. Even the guy who sold us this policy didn't call me back the last time I tried to contact him. I have this rock in front of me and a hard place behind me that just got bigger after reading this webpage. :)

Jayne, not only does adding ROP jack up the price but no one will ever cash in. The rate increase will have most people canceling after 2 years, a few more might be able to stick it out for 3 years, less than 1% will last 5 years and your entire book of business will evaporate after 5 years due to rate increases. Also remember they only get their money back less claims paid. And when you're selling plans with more holes than swiss cheese then.

But don't believe me. Sit down with an agent in your office who's been there 5 years or longer and ask to see his reports showing clients who are still on the books from 5 years ago. My money says he won't show you or lie and say he doesn't have those reports. All UGA agents get client reports.

One last piece of advice Jayne - NEVER listen to anyone who's making an override off of you. They will tell you anything just to keep you writing business so they can make money while you're out driving all over your state.

On this board we have no vested interest. It doesn't impact us financially if you stay or quit so this is unbiased advice. Your managers will tell you people on boards like this are "bitter" because we couldn't make it or got fired. I averaged 14K a week and I quit the day after getting a $1,600 check. I made great money with UGA but you can also make great money robbing banks. I no longer had it in my heart to sit down and sell lacking coverage to unsuspecting people.

If you like, I can describe the trips I won and attended with UGA in graphic detail. I got into this business to help people. I'm not helping them by selling plans where the deductible needs to be met three times.

Jayne, not only does adding ROP jack up the price but no one will ever cash in. The rate increase will have most people canceling after 2 years, a few more might be able to stick it out for 3 years, less than 1% will last 5 years and your entire book of business will evaporate after 5 years due to rate increases. Also remember they only get their money back less claims paid. And when you're selling plans with more holes than swiss cheese then.

But don't believe me. Sit down with an agent in your office who's been there 5 years or longer and ask to see his reports showing clients who are still on the books from 5 years ago. My money says he won't show you or lie and say he doesn't have those reports. All UGA agents get client reports.

One last piece of advice Jayne - NEVER listen to anyone who's making an override off of you. They will tell you anything just to keep you writing business so they can make money while you're out driving all over your state.

On this board we have no vested interest. It doesn't impact us financially if you stay or quit so this is unbiased advice. Your managers will tell you people on boards like this are "bitter" because we couldn't make it or got fired. I averaged 14K a week and I quit the day after getting a $1,600 check. I made great money with UGA but you can also make great money robbing banks. I no longer had it in my heart to sit down and sell lacking coverage to unsuspecting people.

If you like, I can describe the trips I won and attended with UGA in graphic detail. I got into this business to help people. I'm not helping them by selling plans where the deductible needs to be met three times.

Jayne, not only does adding ROP jack up the price but no one will ever cash in. The rate increase will have most people canceling after 2 years, a few more might be able to stick it out for 3 years, less than 1% will last 5 years and your entire book of business will evaporate after 5 years due to rate increases. Also remember they only get their money back less claims paid. And when you're selling plans with more holes than swiss cheese then.

But don't believe me. Sit down with an agent in your office who's been there 5 years or longer and ask to see his reports showing clients who are still on the books from 5 years ago. My money says he won't show you or lie and say he doesn't have those reports. All UGA agents get client reports.

One last piece of advice Jayne - NEVER listen to anyone who's making an override off of you. They will tell you anything just to keep you writing business so they can make money while you're out driving all over your state.

On this board we have no vested interest. It doesn't impact us financially if you stay or quit so this is unbiased advice. Your managers will tell you people on boards like this are "bitter" because we couldn't make it or got fired. I averaged 14K a week and I quit the day after getting a $1,600 check. I made great money with UGA but you can also make great money robbing banks. I no longer had it in my heart to sit down and sell lacking coverage to unsuspecting people.

If you like, I can describe the trips I won and attended with UGA in graphic detail. I got into this business to help people. I'm not helping them by selling plans where the deductible needs to be met three times.

Jayne, not only does adding ROP jack up the price but no one will ever cash in. The rate increase will have most people canceling after 2 years, a few more might be able to stick it out for 3 years, less than 1% will last 5 years and your entire book of business will evaporate after 5 years due to rate increases. Also remember they only get their money back less claims paid. And when you're selling plans with more holes than swiss cheese then.

But don't believe me. Sit down with an agent in your office who's been there 5 years or longer and ask to see his reports showing clients who are still on the books from 5 years ago. My money says he won't show you or lie and say he doesn't have those reports. All UGA agents get client reports.

One last piece of advice Jayne - NEVER listen to anyone who's making an override off of you. They will tell you anything just to keep you writing business so they can make money while you're out driving all over your state.

On this board we have no vested interest. It doesn't impact us financially if you stay or quit so this is unbiased advice. Your managers will tell you people on boards like this are "bitter" because we couldn't make it or got fired. I averaged 14K a week and I quit the day after getting a $1,600 check. I made great money with UGA but you can also make great money robbing banks. I no longer had it in my heart to sit down and sell lacking coverage to unsuspecting people.

If you like, I can describe the trips I won and attended with UGA in graphic detail. I got into this business to help people. I'm not helping them by selling plans where the deductible needs to be met three times.

Who ever buys that? When I was there I never sold it. I never heard of any agent who ever did.

Here are the questions your clients will ask (either before, during or after the sale)

1) Is it worth is to pay the extra $100+/mo for this rider?
2) Do I want to lock myself in with this INCREDIBLE insurance basically for the rest of my life?

This rider is for the brand new busienss owner who has never had experience purchasing health insurance on his own. Any "experienced" business owner knows that they will be shopping thier maket (with a good agent) year after year when rate increases come through - pending they are healthy.

Any experienced agent that runs into a Mega Client - will quicky prove the math doesn't make sense - and the coverge is poopy.

If your client gets $50,000 back - it may cover 1/8th of the OOP they had to pay during the course of 20 years of having it........

OK, you guys have me scared. I must admit that I haven't read ALL the comments here but right off hand, I haven't read anything being said about the return of premium benefit. To those of you who have worked there, please advise. Is this a gimmick or is it something real.

....to go tell his manager that he doesn't want to participate in any stock program or receive any leads. Instead, he wants to get contracted with all the major carriers in the state, get his own clients and sit down and sell them the product that best fits their situation.

Then come back and tell us all how that went.

All of carriers operate in this manner. Assurant doesn't matter if I have a Blue Cross contract. Blue Cross doesn't matter if I have United Healthcare. I still get free leads from many of my companies and two of my carriers have lead programs. All of them have bonuses and almost all have vacations.

So just why, if you want to turn down UGA leads, would they care if you represent all the carriers? I know why - and so does UGA management. I used to hear all the time "UGA is the largest field force in the country!" Lol. UGA is the only field force in the country. All the other carriers can be represented by independent agents and brokerages.

Production? Companies like Aetna, Blue Cross, and United Healthcare write more individual business in a day than Mega does in a month. Get real. How is that possible without a captive field force?

I'm quite sure UGA needs to keep their agents in the dark. They'd hate for it to be known that you can sell health insurance online for 20% full year advances. In the time it takes a UGA agent to drive, pitch, close and drive back I've already submitted the app then walked into my kitchen to get a drink.

Congratulations, you know now more than your brother does about the insurance he sells people for a living.

If you had any sense at all you would tell your brother to run as fast away from Mega as possible.

I don't think too many people will understand your post. That's just the thing -why in the heck would anyone want a plan full of all that garbage??? Stipulation here VS stipulation there.... You said it yourself- your knowledge of health insurance is a $20 co-pay right?

Hey how about this Benjess.....i will sell your bro's clients an HSA that has 1 deductible for the whole family for the year??? - then everything is covered 100% after the deductible. No caps, no "per occurrences" - nada. Plus, they can build their Savings Account up to meet their yearly deductible - then everything is 100%.......

That was easy! Price is going to be much lower than his 98 page Mega plan of god knows what is and isn't covered.

Fact is, your brother is going to make more money selling better coverage with better pricing that is less confusing.

I was just talking to Mega agent yesterday and he was telling about when he was only 2 months into UGA as an agent.....he walked into his prospects' place of business and told the man he was with Mega. The man literally jumped over the table and grabbed him by the shirt and threw him right out the door. He scared the crap out of this agent because he was a big guy! Obviously, he was all shook up and the man told him that if his wife were present, she would have probably pulled a gun.....

The agent apologized for Mega and asked why this man was so angry. The man proceeded to explain that he and his wife went bankrupt and lost everything they worked so hard to obtain with their little business....all while paying over $700/mo for a premium their "NEW" agent sold them.

My point- your little brother may be a saint, but eventually he will create a whole list of enemies due to signing on the dotted line of UGA's crap contract.

Go ahead - dissect the contract that your brother signed..... As a nice big brother, you would do that for him right? It 100% protects Mega and UGA and leaves your brother out to FRY when his clients start complaining or when he tries to leave.

He still has time to run. Don't let him get trapped there!

First let me tell you that I have group insurance through my engineering/architectural firm where I am employed. I have my part of the premiums taken out of my check, I pay my $20 co-pay and that's pretty much it for my knowledge of health insurance. My brother on the other hand is an agent for UGA which sells MEGA health insurance. He has been there for approximately 3 years. My brother is an honest, hard-working young man. He has a family and is a straight up person as you'd ever find. The other night I was bored and typed in Mega health insurance on Google and found this report. I have never really inquired as to what my brother sold but after reading a few postings I became very interested. So I went to my brothers house and asked him for some information regarding some health care coverage. My posting today is directed to Robert from Tampa and his post on 06-19-2007 entitled Their new 'awsome care one plan'

Robert said:
No where in the 30+ page brochure is the word 'Major Medical' mentioned. How ever on page #21, the fourth line down states, 'It is not a replacement for comprehensive health insurance coverage and should not be construed as such.'

My findings:
It is a 33 page document. Page 21 is the information for the Dental Insurance Plan. The statement 'It is not a replacement for comprehensive health insurance coverage and should not be construed as such.' I could not find in the document.

Robert said:
In Patient Physician Visits are 'LIMITED' to $100 per visit with a 'LIMIT' of one visit per day. Can you imagine a heart doctor (cardiologist) or a neural
surgeon working for $100 per day!

My findings:
This is not found in the document.

Robert said:
Chemotherapy is 'LIMITED' to $1500 per treatment. The average chemotherapy treatment cost is $3,000 to $5,000 per treatment. Once again
a limited benefit paying only a small percentage of the actual cost to the client.

Radiation is 'LIMITED' to $1,250 per day. Once again a limited benefit paying only a small percentage of the cost to the client.

My findings:
If you have an approved course of action meaning you and the doctor discussed your schedule of treatment there is NO daily maximum for chemo or radiation. There is a one million dollar lifetime maximum. If you have no course of action there are daily limits.

Robert said:
Doctor's Visits are on page 15 titled 'Preventative Plus Benefit Rider'. The benefit is 'first dollar coverage' which sounds good. However upon
reviewing this benefit it's only $500 PER YEAR PER FAMILY SPLIT UP BY IN THREE MONTH INTERVALS. $500 divided by four quarters is an
astonishing $125 per every THREE months. Or an astonishing $41.66 monthly. $125 per every three months that might pay for one doctor's visit.
On a personal note last year I had hand surgery. The hand specialist office visit fee was $220 per visit. With this limited benefit plan you would have
to save up six months of benefits to cover that one visit.

My findings:
This is not on page 15. There are three options of benefits for an individual and three options for family. The $500 Robert mentions is Option #1 for a family. Option #2 is $1000 and Option #3 is $2000.

I could go on and on. but with most of the negative posts on here they only list partial truths. There are some things that I would not like about the CareOne Plus package but there are things I would like to take advantage of. Just like anything else if you are going to praise something have your facts straight, if you are going to bash something you really need to have your facts straight. You will never find the perfect plan well unless you're on group health insurance (probably the only good thing about corporate America). To me this is like the Ford salesman bashing the Chevrolet salesman which gains you nothing.

I had this insurance this year for 5 months and I am a self employed physician. This company is a fraud. I saw 3 physicians for conditions that were minor but were not preexisting. Mega health and life denied all claims, because they didn't recieve information from one physician that I saw last year. I called their bluf and got the medical records myself and sent it to them and they still didn't pay. They had esi send me a release for to request medical records that I had already given to them a month previously. I made a complaint to the insurance commission and they have done nothing probably because it is run by lawyers and politicians were take campaign contributions from these companies to look the other way. If you want to know what the problem is with health care, look no further than lawyers and insurance conpanies. As a physician, I can tell you that my fees are constantly being cut. I feel badly for you. I never recieved one cent from this company and now I have to pay all the bills which believe it or not is a hardship since I have a autistic son that requires over $50,000 of therapy per year not reimbursed.

Benjiman, either you need to make the decision to leave Mega, or you need to stay there and keep selling that crap to your clients. But God almightily, get off the fence!

All it took for me to know that I HAD to leave was seeing the quoting software with Assurant health. At that time, they weren't even very strong players and they STILL beat the crap out of Mega in price and coverage. Higher commissions was just a cherry on top! Once I learned online sales, I was in heaven!

John sells differently than me and my agency team. We primarily sell online via internet and telemarketing leads. We use web-conferencing tools that allow our clients to see our computer screen and together we apply for coverage. No face-to-face sales ever! No checks, no wet signatures. Assurant's new Express underwriting approves them in seconds if their MIB comes back clean (that's right Mega agents, SECONDS).

Here's a typically process for us. Lead comes in - I call it and ask them to log into my website. I ask them a number of questions and accordingly, show them the plan that fits their needs the best. We fill out the online application, they take control of my computer and answer the verification questions - hit submit, wait a few seconds and BOOM- here are your printable ID cards. Feel free to go to the doctor this afternoon!!

I spent $10 on a lead and made $750.

I'm licensed in 17 states. I sell primarily in 4 right now. Believe it or not, I keep over 92% of by clients I sell. They stay with me into years 2 and 3. Why - well it's easy. I sell them good plans, I send them e-cards 2-3 times a year and I'm not afraid to talk to them when they have complaints. If they are sick at renewal time-then I wouldn't think of moving them. LUCKILY THEY HAVE GOOD COVERAGE and they are OK to spend an extra $70/mo. MEGA would have potentially BANKRUPTED them.

If drives me crazy how you Mega agents can justify placing someone in lower quality plans because your think their rate increases will be low at month 12.

Why don't you just say, "Mr. Client, would you like to save a few bucks 12 months from now at renewal, or potentially pay an extra $12,000 un-necessarily if you use your coverage this year?"


Get off the Fence Benjiman! Pick a side and jump!

Each time you become more enlightened by John and I, it will make it harder and harder to stay there. By the way, that email works. Keep it all together.

Benjamin, you have to ask yourself sometimes what's the source of the info. Are you getting educated by managers making an override off you and if so how many years did your managers spend in the insurance field before joining UGA?

But to answer your questions:

1) I market my website and generate my own leads. I'm 100% community based. Why in the world would I be driving a hour to meet with a client when a business owner 3 blocks away needs coverage? I only marketing to business owners with flyers - I pay people to distribute them to business owners. Over time I've taken my profits and placed them in local ads. Unfortunately, this is nothing that would work well with UGA (I tried it) since advertising has to be compliant - all their compliant ads are cheesy and no one's ever heard of Mega or NASE.

2) All of my clients get a monthly E-Newsletter and also a quarterly physical newletter I mail to them. That generates a lot of referrals. See if the senior agents in your office stay in very good touch with their clients. The answer? No - they're too busy generating new sales.

3) I'm at all community events.

4) It took me about 2 years to build my business to the point where I didn't have to market anymore and my phone simply rings. My name is simply known in the community as the place to get health insurance. Doesn't take much - just $15K a week in AV gets me $3,750. Are agents in your office who have been there over 2 years still marketing? Why - where are all their referrals? Do they stay in touch with all of their clients throughout the year? If not, that's the reason for hardly any referrals.

5) Regarding pre-ex conditions I believe your question is what happens to people if they get sick while on the policy and over time cannot afford the rate increases. This is a problem with health insurance in general. Mega rate increases like all the other companies. Ask your manager to show you some renewal notices - trust me, he has them. He won't want to show them to you, but he has them. The bottom line is over the years if someone gets sick and can no longer afford the premium I can write them a guaranteed issue group of one with my Blue Cross. Solves that problem.

Question: What happens to your clients if they get sick and can no longer afford the premiums?

John,

Do you carry E&O coverage for your business?

I have been doing some research on the information you have listed for this last year. Watched PBS, questioned my sales manager. Reread the policy I prefer to offer as coverage. I have asked for the service of benefits or coverage to make sure I tell my clients on what we can do for them. The TDI is so overwhelming that it will take some time to research completely.

You apparently are very good at what you do. How do you market your business? How long did it take for you to build your business? Did you go after the clients you had with Mega or did try for a new audience? Unless I thought I had a better plan for my clients I would never ask them to sign a new policy with another company. Apparently there are some risks involved going as an independent. I have asked and received information from some of the companies you had mentioned. Do I have to leave my current job and lose what I started to read the differences in what each company offers?

This is my 6th job in 30 years. I had my own license when I started with UGA. At our office some people do and some do not have their license when they start. Everybody there wants to make a new start and create a business that will take care of their future. It took UGA over a year and a half before they noticed my resume on one of the job listings. Most of the people I work with seem intelligent. They also seemed concerned on helping people just as I do.

UGA offered more money than what I made selling Life insurance and I thought I was helping people who needed health coverage. And once again my managers have answered every question I have asked, and for all I know at this point have never lied to me. This means I respect the people I work with, but that does not mean I am not willing to find a better way to help my clients.

Like you mentioned in your business some plans cover what another does not offer. What happens when a pre existing condition comes into play? You can't switch them if that happens then they are stuck with an illness that won't be covered. It seems that no matter what you offer your customer that you are always playing the odds that what is not covered or restricted will never happen to your clients.

The money you mentioned seems very nice. But I doubt most people have what it really takes to do what you and Brian have done with your business. I wished I knew how to contact you one on one. I have tried Brian's method and did not seem to work. Reread my last message and maybe you can figure out how to contact me.

One last thing, if I did leave mega I doubt that I would ever bash their company. It is what it is and nothing more. I will leave the bashing to upset clients and not as an ex agent. Because I have done my share of bashing in the past and what comes around goes around. Besides it is unprofessional, but if you didn't do what you are doing then I wouldn't be questioning where I am at today. I guess what I am saying is to each his own.

Once again thank you for making me search for the answers to my own questions, because if there was never a difference of opinion then nothing would ever improve.

....because you're highly intelligent and always asking questions. Here's some points to ponder and you can give me your feedback:

1) Because I'm independent I can compare the rates of the six companies I work for and truly find the best rate for my client. And is the sale easier or harder when I sit down with my client's and show them all the rates/plans available? Solves the "we need to think about it" or "we need to research this." Also nice to be there with companies people have heard of and had before; Aetna, United Healthcare, Blue Cross, Time Insurance, etc.

2) All companies have drastically different underwriting. For example, Aetna takes type II diabetics. Golden Rule doesn't rate increase for high blood pressure or high cholesterol. Assurant health doesn't exclude conditions like asthma or allergies. Because of that I can place my clients with the carrier who will give them the best underwriting decision. I still get a bad decision? I have 5 more carriers to pay with.

3) If my client wants maternity, I have companies that offer a fantastic benefit with no limits.

4) I don't have a "sales" presentation. Because I'm independent I can sit down, explain my client's options and simply have them choose.

5) I can email all of my clients the brochures and rates. Makes is FAR easier to set an appointment when they can see all the details. My clients can also run rates and see plans on my website. That gets me the "stand-offish" clients who really want to see everything upfront.

6) I can sign clients up online. Not everyone wants to meet in person - nor does everyone have the time.

7) My commissions are 25% full year advance with 6% renewals. You can ask your manager what your commission structure is. It's also not confusing - every company pays a flat commission purely based on the AV - sign up someone for $386 per month? That's $386 X 12 = $4,632 X 25% commish = $1,158. Now, ask you manager exactly - to the dollar, what you'd be paid on a $386 monthly premium. Answer? He has no clue because it depends on too many factors; the plan, riders, ancillary, etc...

8) All companies rate-increase and over time you'll need to lower their rate. I can move my clients to another company to lower their rate or get them a new plan with the same company. Can you do that? If not, you'll lose 90% of your clients after 4 years. Again, fine someone in your office who's been there 4 years and ask to see their current clients from 2003. I have 90% of them.

9) Like what I say to people on the phone to set an an appointment: "I'm fully independent and represent all the major medical carriers. I'll sit down with you, go over all of your options and find a plan that fits your needs and budget."

10) If I meet with someone and they still want to think about it - fine. I don't need a hard close. They can call me back up on a day or two and I can do the app online. No need to drive back there so no pressure needed.

11) All companies have had their complaints - all of them. Nationally Mega has the highest complaint ratio. Go to the NAIC site - national assocation of insurance commissioners - and you can run complaint ratio searches. Run Mega along with Time, Unicare, World, Aetna, Golden Rule, etc...and you'll see that Mega's national numbers are 3 to 4 times higher than anyone else. You can also run detailed complaint reports and see that Mega also denies more claims then the other carriers.

12) At 25% commissions, being able to respresent all the carriers, being able to sit down with clients but also sign up online a bad week for me is around $4,000 - which represents around 25 hours a week. My renewals are over six figures which ads over 2,000 a week to that number. There are independent agents who make far more than that, but I'm very focused on my family and spending time with them. I win trips constantly with the carriers I represent and insane bonuses.

My last bonus? It was an extra 7% per application over a three month period of time. My bonus before that? An extra $250 per application. Those bonuses destroy anything you'd get with REAP with is a piddly 1% or 2% extra depending on 20 different factors. Right now Aetna pays me $100 per app bonus. It takes years for dental/vision and NASE bonuses to be worth anything - and that's only if you're kicking out a lot of production.

There are a lot of mouths to feed when you write a deal. Your district manager gets a cut as does your division and regional manager. Then UGA as a marketing outfit has to make a profit, then Mega needs to stay alive and BlackStone needs their return on investment. No one is between me on the companies I represent.

Marketing? I have become known in my community as an independent health insurance agent and my phone simply rings from referrals. Go find someone in your office who's been at this a few years. Is his phone ringing all day or does he still have to market like mad? Where's all his referrals at?

Brian,

I have read several of your response's and I would like to say that I am impressed. 2 There has also been an email sent that I hope you will receive. 1 Maybe ripoff will let this one go through..

I have not seen any other policy other than the one I offer therfor I can not say that you have the best plan for myself our my customers. 4 I have signed several BCBS, Unicare, etc customers over because they are unhappy with their coverage. 7 Their plans have doubled and tripled in less than one year?

I apreciate the help you are trying to offer. 0 By the way Office 2007 Sux. 7 If you need help spelling do not choose this over priced office 2007 program. 4 Talk about a crook Bill Gates. 1 That is another forum were honest programers are SCREWED by big brother because Mr. 8 Windows pays a lot of money to protect their piraticy.

Assurante has contacted me about their options. 4 I would still like to talk to either John or yourself and debate what Mega has to offer compared to what you are doing now. I do not jump form job to job. I take my job seriously. I do not feel that I have lied to my customers or that my managers have lied to me.

My email is a temp email an hopefully ripoffreport.com will let it go through. If they really care for the benefit of our customers then maybe we can come to terms and let my email post!

BTW I know that my office is monitoring my actions that is why I left my intials in my last post.

Let this be said. There are insurance agents that care what their customers have purchased for their family. I believe in everything I have told and offerd my clients. I will study the health laws daily and offer the best health plans I am able to offer at that time. I do sell for Mega and I belive in their plans.
Brian & John only. Once again

CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.

You can email me at health agents direct at yahoo. com
But don't put any spaces in the address. It should work.

I'll give you every piece of information you want. Or John - emial me and I will send you Benjiman's phone number.

I left Mega as a CONSUMER and an EMPLOYEE almost 2 years ago. Since then, I have produced a very successful group of agents with me in my own National Online Sales Agency.

Additionally, I have a health insurance policy on my family of 5 that cost me $278.10/mo. It's with Blue Cross Blue Shield. Its called the Flexible Blue Plan 1500.

$1500 max/indv and $3000 Max/family for the WHOLE YEAR! 100% day one coverage for preventative services. It's HSA compatible and I already have $5000 sitting in my account - which pays my dedictubles for the next 2-3 years if I needed it. So I have a 100% plan now - that's building in interest year after year.

I was on a Health Choice Plan with Mega. I calculated the potential worse case scneario in a year was about $87,000 for my family. Cost per month was just under $400.

My point - AS A CONSUMER - I have found the best plan in my state. As an EX-EMPLYOEE, I can now sell this plan to myself and others.

Are you doing this in your state? Can you? Will you? If I offer coverage outside of what I myself believe to be the best, am I doing what's right from my client? Or me?

Can you make it this business always doing what is best for you? Sure, Mega agents survive everyday. I personally couldn't do it. Maybe you can.

So, in your pursuit to find the right company, ask yourseld this: " Am I considering my clients needs - or mine?

If you can get a tremendously better plan for less money FOR YOURSELF, would you buy it and sell it others? Or would you buy and sell Mega instead even though you have the knowledge that thier is better coverage and prices?

You are self-employed, so WHAT ARE YOU BUYING FOR YOURSELF? If you are questioning Mega's coverage for yourself AS A CONSUMER and you find something better - what does that mean?

Maybe its only better for the next 24 months - then somthing else becomes better with a different carrier.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO YOU?

The problem is Mega agents love to justify reasons why they don't sell better plans as independent 1099's contracted licesend agents in thier state. The do NOT HAVE TO SELL MEGA to make great money. So why do they?

WHO CARES if my client complains about thier coverage with Golden Rule - I will put them into another plan that they like. THAT's MY DUTY as thier agent. I'm continaully looking out for thier needs and I make great money doing it.

If they don't care for Mega anymore, what are you going to do for them????? If you stay- then please give them to me!

I will give you, or anyone reading this at Mega $100 cash for every client they have that wants to leave to a better plan. heck - you're gonna lose them, so why not make a least some money off of it?

John,

What I would like to happen is to be able to talk to you one on one. If you can figure out on how to make this happen then I will be glad to give you my undivided attention. I figure that a good debate from each side would help me in my decision on where my career will be heading in the next year. You can call me Jane the ignorant s**t if you want (SNL).

Just so you know I happen to like and respect the people, managers from where I am employed. I did read my contract and understand it completely. I have no reason to believe that my division or district manager has ever lied to me. Our division also has several agents that have been employed with the company for many years. Some of them are top agents. Some have left the company only to come back. Some of the leading agents have worked for other companies. Not just Mega.

Most of everything I have read in this forum; my managers have informed me of the above mentioned limitations. I found the back balance of what I owe in my account. I changed my advances to zero % commissions until I am sure of what I want to do. I have received my first stock statement. For personal reasons I have not done extremely well in my quick start class, but good enough to stay in good status. Time is very hard to purchase. However I have noticed that I am a 50% + closer or order taker. Every person I am sent out with to train closes their deal. Every policy I have written except one has been accepted.

I have always made it a point not to bad mouth any other company by name until I came across this web site. This was something I was taught to never do by another company I had worked with, and recently I have forgotten my principles when it came to proving my point on this website, and it made me weak; so I am stopping this practice as of right now.

My agency does not tell their prospective clients that we are the only company that will pay on and off the job. We do not explain the death spiral. My office is never at the top but we believe in what we are doing. I checked with the Texas TDI. I believe I noticed our complaint score was well below almost every other company listed.

As for new employees every month; there will always be a lot of new people every month, but I have never worked at an Insurance company that didn't have a lot of new employees every month. Most Insurance companies will pay anybody around $1000 who can get a warm body to join the company. Auto, home, life, etc It didn't matter as long as the line stayed full of potential employees. Several of these companies are well known names that you have your auto or home insured through.

I also searched every company you listed. There are many complaints about these companies as well. So I am confused on who is really the bad guy. John just so you know I did request information for new agents on all of the companies you have listed. I am curious on what they have to offer compared to my home office.

In closing I can tell you that I do not like every part of my company's (Mega's) coverage. However it is what it is and every Insurance policy has its strong points and its weak points. I wish my plan covered everything. But it doesn't. I do not understand on how to become an independent agent, and from I have read from these forums it makes independents look like crooks. The insurance company that insures my home and car's make me feel like they are crooks. I could continue with this post and forum but I believe that I have found what I was looking for and I need to hit the books. If you (John) can tell me on how to reach you then our story ends today.

Good Luck on your plan what ever it may be.

TWM

I have read in this forum that the UGA employment ads deceive people into believing they can make $150k to $400k a year. This is possible if you work hard. The people making these comments forget about bonuses, and UGA pays several types of bonuses. After a couple of years you will receive overrides and when you add that to your continued sales it is very possible to make that kind of money.

You can make that kind of money in any profession if you use your brain and hard work. Too many people in today's society expect something for nothing. I meet about one out of a hundred people that actually understand what hard work is. In most of the people I have met many have never heard the concept work smarter not harder. However, I have heard a lot of people say they owe me; they told me, etc Why don't you show me then maybe you will get what you thought you were owed. I personally know people in my own family that think they are owed something because These people are so into them selves that they are clueless, and are unaware what they are doing to the people they think owe them something and they may not make it anywhere.

Second thing I noticed about this forum is all of the complaints about the interview process. I am old enough and have employed enough people in my lifetime that I did not find anything wrong with UGA's hiring process. Someone mentioned that they interviewed with AFLAC and it took several weeks to apply for their sales position. Out of all the Insurance Sales positions I have interviewed with were all the same cattle call process before I started with UGA except for one company. That company took three months before they hired me. However, I had to list 200 of my family and friends to get my business started. Except for the friends and family stuff this company was very stiff collared, old money. They mentioned to me that there is no neon sign outside of the building advertising their business. In other words stop crying about leads, and get off your rear and get your business growing. That was two years ago. I wanted to see what else was out there as far as the insurance business goes. I knew that everybody needs health before they would ever purchase life insurance. So after several interviews I went with UGA. I was offered the job at every company I interviewed with. I choose UGA.

John, I am in my second year as a General Lines Agent. I had planed to get my series 7 but I wanted to test the waters before I decided on the direction of my future. Which means most of the ink has dried, but not completely. I have never burned any bridges and I have preformed well enough I can go back to any of the companies I researched, applied or have worked. I do believe Michael Moore's Movie will have a lot of people researching health coverage. I do not believe that our government is ready to stop receiving payments for a corrupt health care system to ever care to fix it. It's just like College football, too much $$$ to have a real playoff system and a real champion. Corruption!!

I will look at the information you have stated. If this forum did anything it has made me want to renew my vows of discovering about Insurance. Educating myself about the cost, coverage, plans, companies, coverage's, etc I do not believe that I am trying to educate anybody about Insurance. I do explain what I do know what my company covers in health coverage. I will agree there are some limits, prescriptions, deductibles; which I am currently breaking down the cost of our deductible with what is covered and for how long before you have to pay another deductible.

I will promise you this I will review with a fine tooth comb about what my company policy covers. As well as the other companies you have mentioned. It would be foolish of me to jump on board by reading why somebody is unhappy with their coverage. Just so you know I have customers leave the other mentioned companies (Assurant Health, United Healthcare, World, Unicare, BCBS) and purchase plans with me because of limitations, penalties, etc

Just for kicks type in the name Unicare in MS word and run a Thesaurus. I guess whoever named that company did not think about it very much. This is funny.

One last comment; is this forum about customer complaints or disgruntled ex employees, or a sales pitch to become an independent agent. If I am accused educating people about insurance before I know what I am doing them why would I want to represent several companies when I am accused of being blinded by one.

Benjamin, please let the ink dry on your insurance license before you proceed to educate the masses about how health insurance works.

You stated that your medication went from $60 a week to $300 a week? How would one of your clients feel if they got diagnosed with something and they have a $1,500 annual cap on medication. And your clients don't mind the deductible needing to be met three times a year? Wow...mine did. You must be some sales rep.

You seem to be in Texas? Check out Assurant Health, United Healthcare, World and Unicare. All of them have policies with no caps on medication, all of them pay commissions far better than UGA. You can represent better companies and make more money. Don't rack your brain thinking about it - instead, keep listening to managers who are making overrides off you and had zero insurance training before they got into UGA. Someone making money off you would NEVER tell you anything wrong...right? Lol.

I don't make a cent if you stay or if you go.

After reading for the last two days on this website I have noticed that the average UGA/Cornerstone/Mega employee will receive 3 days of training with UGA then sent out on to the streets. Even if I said that it was 5 days what difference would that make. After the training with UGA you go on appointments with a senior leader of your group. You have weekly meetings and then the option to retrain on any week of the month.

I can promise you that some of the biggest names in the life insurance companies will not give as much attention. Let's look at the Amerprise Life Insurance Company for example. Every horror story I have read does not touch the throw them to the wall and see if they stick method you receive from that company. Talk about interviews.

How about interviewing with 30 + people in the same room then asked to take a computer math test to see if you can add 300 + 50. Then being told you are hired but you have 48 hours to make a decision. Not to mention the $2500 start up fees to get started. BTW I have several friends who have been successful with this company after several years of hard work.

I know that the training with UGA may not be a degree with MIT however it is as good as with any Major Life insurance company training as a CFP. (Somebody who gets 5 days of training then tells people how to plan for their future: give me a break) Let's look at the Auto & Home insurance business.

If you have 10k you can have your own Insurance Company in a Shopping Strip at the local intersection. And you have a very high risk of losing your job and money to another rep or 24 year grad (that interviewed you in the first place) that tells you that all they want to know is if you can sell insurance. I don't know maybe let's say State Farm, or All State. Don't worry I have several friends who work for these companies.

It has become entertaining visiting with my friends to see who the most successful person is for that year.

Lets face it Insurance is rip off. The United States, Hilary Clinton, etc, I never noticed anyone stating on this web site that the insurance business was the only company to show a profit during the great depression. Maybe because they never pay what the consumer thought they would pay.

One of my son's favorite movies is The Incredible's. I like the part where the dad (Bob) has to work for an insurance company. One scene is very funny in this movie. Bob works for an insurance company and reports to a boss who screams at him because he wants to cover his client's claims. Bob wants to look out for the client and the boss yells who is looking out for our stockholders. Everybody in the movie theater laughed because they knew that this scene was very true and that the insurance will never be what you would hope it would be. Why? Because every body knows that in America Insurance is going to do what ever they can not to pay your claim.

I work for a company that pays exactly what it says in the brochure you show each and every client. I am still learning. However, I have never had anybody prove me wrong. Mega is not perfect. It is what it is. No insurance is perfect. Search the web for any other carrier and just like this website you will find more complaints than you could ever read.

One last note I have tried to leave my name and number so anybody could reach me. However this site insists on protecting my identity.

I am with UGA, and Mega Life & Health.

I have interviewed with several Life & health companies over the past two years. I will not name any of the names of these companies in this response. I decided to go with UGA because I studied their products and costs. I liked the plans of what they offered and the amount of the payments to the agents for closing a sell. And yes I do know about the advances, and about writing bad polices and the costs of the 12% demon. I usually make 2 or 3 appointments with each client: Including the final reading of the policy with them at their home. My contracts and/or Health & Life Policies are not for everyone. We (clients and myself) cover every part of the plan I have designed for them.

Just for the record I can not even cover my own wife or son with Mega. (Bi-Polar & Asthma)

However, after all of the recent publicity I decided to do my own research. It scared the hell out of me. I am not a million $$ producer. I get by with the effort I put into my business. I wanted to know more about insurance, and what each state that I am insured covers. From what I am reading I have seen negative and positive responses from many states. I have noticed that nobody talks about the specific plans (or the names of the plans) they are complaining about. Just for kicks I decided to look up several of the complaints about the automobile vehicles we currently own. I could spend all weekend reading complaints about every post just like I did this one. UGA & Mega are my bread & butter so I needed to research as much as I can about how I am being paid.

Most of my clients are highly educated. (I only wished I had thought of some of their plans of income before they did). However, they pay most of their health expenses out of their own pocket, and always have done so. They did so before I came to their home and wanted to do so after I left their home. (Just like I had to pay for my own roof, and auto accidents that would have caused my rates to increase or be canceled.) (Health Insurance with return of premiums who would have thought it could be true). Most people would rather pay for nice cars, cable TV, and $300 mobile phone bills than pay for health coverage for their own families including their coverage for their own children. I know this to be true because I was one of those people.

Instead of paying for Life insurance we needed to have the family entertained. I always thought that Health Insurance was a $20 co-pay and a $15 prescription. Man was I wrong! With Major Texas Group Medical coverage I paid thousands (7,000 in network PHCS) for an in-network day surgery that I had several years ago. Today I pay with Great-West Healthcare. (I know I said that I would not name names, but I couldn't help it on this one. Sorry) Texas group health coverage $60 per prescription. My prescriptions went from $60 per week to $300 per week for the same medicine we have had for the last 5+ years. Why should Health coverage be so expensive? I agree Health Insurance in the United States is a rip off. Nobody wins. Except the people we place in public office.

What I have learned is that my father was in the hospital for over 5 weeks. We hardly met with each other until he became ill. He is 69 and I am 45. He was going to purchase the NASE premium plan that pays $200 per day for 180 days when I started with UGA. We where always saying that we need to get together, but never did. Now you can't take us apart. But if he had signed up with the Nase plan he would have had over $7000 to help with the deductible, and the oxygen mask he now has to wear, (his group plan only covers 30 days then he has to pay the full amount $400 per month on TEXAS GROUP HEALTH COVERAGE).

In closing there is no right or wrong it is only a perception. After I have read this web blog or what every it is called; I went over all of my plans with Mega and studied each coverage. On my own!!! I still believe that it (MEGA Care One Plus with Riders) is a good coverage plan. I am honest with my customers with what they can expect. At some point in my carrier I might become an independent agent. But I will continue to sell what I know what Health coverage is, and make sure I am making the right decision before I move on to the next customer or company. I know that I would rather be able to sleep at night knowing that I did the right thing instead of paying for Lunista (its a sleep aid). The new plans with Mega in Texas are better than they used to be. This website caused a whole lot of panic on my part but after reading and studying I still believe that UGA is the place where I need to be today.

Ken, Mark, etc go ahead and shoot holes through my confession, and statement. Here is something you have not done.

I am with UGA, and Mega Life & Health.

I have interviewed with several Life & health companies over the past two years. I will not name any of the names of these companies in this response. I decided to go with UGA because I studied their products and costs. I liked the plans of what they offered and the amount of the payments to the agents for closing a sell. And yes I do know about the advances, and about writing bad polices and the costs of the 12% demon. I usually make 2 or 3 appointments with each client: Including the final reading of the policy with them at their home. My contracts and/or Health & Life Policies are not for everyone. We (clients and myself) cover every part of the plan I have designed for them.

Just for the record I can not even cover my own wife or son with Mega. (Bi-Polar & Asthma)

However, after all of the recent publicity I decided to do my own research. It scared the hell out of me. I am not a million $$ producer. I get by with the effort I put into my business. I wanted to know more about insurance, and what each state that I am insured covers. From what I am reading I have seen negative and positive responses from many states. I have noticed that nobody talks about the specific plans (or the names of the plans) they are complaining about. Just for kicks I decided to look up several of the complaints about the automobile vehicles we currently own. I could spend all weekend reading complaints about every post just like I did this one. UGA & Mega are my bread & butter so I needed to research as much as I can about how I am being paid.

Most of my clients are highly educated. (I only wished I had thought of some of their plans of income before they did). However, they pay most of their health expenses out of their own pocket, and always have done so. They did so before I came to their home and wanted to do so after I left their home. (Just like I had to pay for my own roof, and auto accidents that would have caused my rates to increase or be canceled.) (Health Insurance with return of premiums who would have thought it could be true). Most people would rather pay for nice cars, cable TV, and $300 mobile phone bills than pay for health coverage for their own families including their coverage for their own children. I know this to be true because I was one of those people.

Instead of paying for Life insurance we needed to have the family entertained. I always thought that Health Insurance was a $20 co-pay and a $15 prescription. Man was I wrong! With Major Texas Group Medical coverage I paid thousands (7,000 in network PHCS) for an in-network day surgery that I had several years ago. Today I pay with Great-West Healthcare. (I know I said that I would not name names, but I couldn't help it on this one. Sorry) Texas group health coverage $60 per prescription. My prescriptions went from $60 per week to $300 per week for the same medicine we have had for the last 5+ years. Why should Health coverage be so expensive? I agree Health Insurance in the United States is a rip off. Nobody wins. Except the people we place in public office.

What I have learned is that my father was in the hospital for over 5 weeks. We hardly met with each other until he became ill. He is 69 and I am 45. He was going to purchase the NASE premium plan that pays $200 per day for 180 days when I started with UGA. We where always saying that we need to get together, but never did. Now you can't take us apart. But if he had signed up with the Nase plan he would have had over $7000 to help with the deductible, and the oxygen mask he now has to wear, (his group plan only covers 30 days then he has to pay the full amount $400 per month on TEXAS GROUP HEALTH COVERAGE).

In closing there is no right or wrong it is only a perception. After I have read this web blog or what every it is called; I went over all of my plans with Mega and studied each coverage. On my own!!! I still believe that it (MEGA Care One Plus with Riders) is a good coverage plan. I am honest with my customers with what they can expect. At some point in my carrier I might become an independent agent. But I will continue to sell what I know what Health coverage is, and make sure I am making the right decision before I move on to the next customer or company. I know that I would rather be able to sleep at night knowing that I did the right thing instead of paying for Lunista (its a sleep aid). The new plans with Mega in Texas are better than they used to be. This website caused a whole lot of panic on my part but after reading and studying I still believe that UGA is the place where I need to be today.

Ken, Mark, etc go ahead and shoot holes through my confession, and statement. Here is something you have not done.

I am with UGA, and Mega Life & Health.

I have interviewed with several Life & health companies over the past two years. I will not name any of the names of these companies in this response. I decided to go with UGA because I studied their products and costs. I liked the plans of what they offered and the amount of the payments to the agents for closing a sell. And yes I do know about the advances, and about writing bad polices and the costs of the 12% demon. I usually make 2 or 3 appointments with each client: Including the final reading of the policy with them at their home. My contracts and/or Health & Life Policies are not for everyone. We (clients and myself) cover every part of the plan I have designed for them.

Just for the record I can not even cover my own wife or son with Mega. (Bi-Polar & Asthma)

However, after all of the recent publicity I decided to do my own research. It scared the hell out of me. I am not a million $$ producer. I get by with the effort I put into my business. I wanted to know more about insurance, and what each state that I am insured covers. From what I am reading I have seen negative and positive responses from many states. I have noticed that nobody talks about the specific plans (or the names of the plans) they are complaining about. Just for kicks I decided to look up several of the complaints about the automobile vehicles we currently own. I could spend all weekend reading complaints about every post just like I did this one. UGA & Mega are my bread & butter so I needed to research as much as I can about how I am being paid.

Most of my clients are highly educated. (I only wished I had thought of some of their plans of income before they did). However, they pay most of their health expenses out of their own pocket, and always have done so. They did so before I came to their home and wanted to do so after I left their home. (Just like I had to pay for my own roof, and auto accidents that would have caused my rates to increase or be canceled.) (Health Insurance with return of premiums who would have thought it could be true). Most people would rather pay for nice cars, cable TV, and $300 mobile phone bills than pay for health coverage for their own families including their coverage for their own children. I know this to be true because I was one of those people.

Instead of paying for Life insurance we needed to have the family entertained. I always thought that Health Insurance was a $20 co-pay and a $15 prescription. Man was I wrong! With Major Texas Group Medical coverage I paid thousands (7,000 in network PHCS) for an in-network day surgery that I had several years ago. Today I pay with Great-West Healthcare. (I know I said that I would not name names, but I couldn't help it on this one. Sorry) Texas group health coverage $60 per prescription. My prescriptions went from $60 per week to $300 per week for the same medicine we have had for the last 5+ years. Why should Health coverage be so expensive? I agree Health Insurance in the United States is a rip off. Nobody wins. Except the people we place in public office.

What I have learned is that my father was in the hospital for over 5 weeks. We hardly met with each other until he became ill. He is 69 and I am 45. He was going to purchase the NASE premium plan that pays $200 per day for 180 days when I started with UGA. We where always saying that we need to get together, but never did. Now you can't take us apart. But if he had signed up with the Nase plan he would have had over $7000 to help with the deductible, and the oxygen mask he now has to wear, (his group plan only covers 30 days then he has to pay the full amount $400 per month on TEXAS GROUP HEALTH COVERAGE).

In closing there is no right or wrong it is only a perception. After I have read this web blog or what every it is called; I went over all of my plans with Mega and studied each coverage. On my own!!! I still believe that it (MEGA Care One Plus with Riders) is a good coverage plan. I am honest with my customers with what they can expect. At some point in my carrier I might become an independent agent. But I will continue to sell what I know what Health coverage is, and make sure I am making the right decision before I move on to the next customer or company. I know that I would rather be able to sleep at night knowing that I did the right thing instead of paying for Lunista (its a sleep aid). The new plans with Mega in Texas are better than they used to be. This website caused a whole lot of panic on my part but after reading and studying I still believe that UGA is the place where I need to be today.

Ken, Mark, etc go ahead and shoot holes through my confession, and statement. Here is something you have not done.

I am with UGA, and Mega Life & Health.

I have interviewed with several Life & health companies over the past two years. I will not name any of the names of these companies in this response. I decided to go with UGA because I studied their products and costs. I liked the plans of what they offered and the amount of the payments to the agents for closing a sell. And yes I do know about the advances, and about writing bad polices and the costs of the 12% demon. I usually make 2 or 3 appointments with each client: Including the final reading of the policy with them at their home. My contracts and/or Health & Life Policies are not for everyone. We (clients and myself) cover every part of the plan I have designed for them.

Just for the record I can not even cover my own wife or son with Mega. (Bi-Polar & Asthma)

However, after all of the recent publicity I decided to do my own research. It scared the hell out of me. I am not a million $$ producer. I get by with the effort I put into my business. I wanted to know more about insurance, and what each state that I am insured covers. From what I am reading I have seen negative and positive responses from many states. I have noticed that nobody talks about the specific plans (or the names of the plans) they are complaining about. Just for kicks I decided to look up several of the complaints about the automobile vehicles we currently own. I could spend all weekend reading complaints about every post just like I did this one. UGA & Mega are my bread & butter so I needed to research as much as I can about how I am being paid.

Most of my clients are highly educated. (I only wished I had thought of some of their plans of income before they did). However, they pay most of their health expenses out of their own pocket, and always have done so. They did so before I came to their home and wanted to do so after I left their home. (Just like I had to pay for my own roof, and auto accidents that would have caused my rates to increase or be canceled.) (Health Insurance with return of premiums who would have thought it could be true). Most people would rather pay for nice cars, cable TV, and $300 mobile phone bills than pay for health coverage for their own families including their coverage for their own children. I know this to be true because I was one of those people.

Instead of paying for Life insurance we needed to have the family entertained. I always thought that Health Insurance was a $20 co-pay and a $15 prescription. Man was I wrong! With Major Texas Group Medical coverage I paid thousands (7,000 in network PHCS) for an in-network day surgery that I had several years ago. Today I pay with Great-West Healthcare. (I know I said that I would not name names, but I couldn't help it on this one. Sorry) Texas group health coverage $60 per prescription. My prescriptions went from $60 per week to $300 per week for the same medicine we have had for the last 5+ years. Why should Health coverage be so expensive? I agree Health Insurance in the United States is a rip off. Nobody wins. Except the people we place in public office.

What I have learned is that my father was in the hospital for over 5 weeks. We hardly met with each other until he became ill. He is 69 and I am 45. He was going to purchase the NASE premium plan that pays $200 per day for 180 days when I started with UGA. We where always saying that we need to get together, but never did. Now you can't take us apart. But if he had signed up with the Nase plan he would have had over $7000 to help with the deductible, and the oxygen mask he now has to wear, (his group plan only covers 30 days then he has to pay the full amount $400 per month on TEXAS GROUP HEALTH COVERAGE).

In closing there is no right or wrong it is only a perception. After I have read this web blog or what every it is called; I went over all of my plans with Mega and studied each coverage. On my own!!! I still believe that it (MEGA Care One Plus with Riders) is a good coverage plan. I am honest with my customers with what they can expect. At some point in my carrier I might become an independent agent. But I will continue to sell what I know what Health coverage is, and make sure I am making the right decision before I move on to the next customer or company. I know that I would rather be able to sleep at night knowing that I did the right thing instead of paying for Lunista (its a sleep aid). The new plans with Mega in Texas are better than they used to be. This website caused a whole lot of panic on my part but after reading and studying I still believe that UGA is the place where I need to be today.

Ken, Mark, etc go ahead and shoot holes through my confession, and statement. Here is something you have not done.

4 sales for $135,000 1st year? LOL!!!

First of all, the average volume per sale is about $3,000 so 4 sales per week would be $12,000. Out of that you'd get a check for around $1,000 since they only advance about 6 months. Even with REAP and other bonuses it's nowhere close to $135,000 in your pocket. What you will have is a debt account at 12% APR that will take 3 to 4 years to clear - meaning you'll have to pay your bills off that 6 months advance for years.

That's also saying that your taken rate is 80% or higher. If it's lower you'll get less of an advance.

Secondly, $12,000 a week is just over $600,000 written for the year. So what you want to ask your manager is how many people will you be meeting in that office who submitted $600,000 last year.

I already know the answer.

I just got done not more than an hour ago meeting with a divisional sales leader with UGA/Mega/NASE.....
I too was interviewed with another person, this however didn't surprise me as, in my current profession, this happens all the time. It's actually kinda nice to be the one interviewing the company you're considering rather than the other way around.
Something did sound too good to be true to me. He quoted me that I'd be making, with 4 sales per week, $135+K in the first year. I have a state license in another profession and I...something just didn't seem right. I'm an experienced salesperson.
He was vague on the phone, I thought I would be selling memberships to a small business association. I did some research and learned that UGA is actually owned by Mega..I believe. This practice has been investigated and I also believe is prohibited in some states. However, not being experienced in this field, I could be mistaken.
I called him back on the way home and asked about the residual commissions on policies sold. He was vague about that too but gave a reason that made sense to me.
I was a bit excited about the potential until I read this. lol....
I'm bright enough to know that not all people will make it in the commission sales field and may feel disappointed and therefore self defensive of their failure thereby creating issues where none exist but in the mind. But there are a lot of minds here. Too many to ignore I'm afraid...
Thanks to all who've posted.

I too was scammed by my division manager about Mega's products!

First of all is the deductible. With the BC/BS plans I sold, you had a choice of $0 - 1000 for Indemnity, PPO and HMO plans and $1200 - 3500 for HSA PPO plans; all had ANNUAL deductibles. Most other companies also have ANNUAL deductibles, not 'per period of confinement' which could be several times per year with Mega!

A question for you: When was the last time you went to a group interview and were hired on the spot? I bet never. Your division manager does it because he has a fast-moving revolving door of people that are hired and soon leave after they find out about the junk policies they sell! Just look and Monster.com and see how many ads there are for 'A Salespersons Dream.' I'll bet that you'll find a lot of them.

Just get out Jeremy before you OWE too much to your DM. (They charge you 12% interest on the 'loans' they gave you [they call them advances, btw.]).

I too was scammed by my division manager about Mega's products!

First of all is the deductible. With the BC/BS plans I sold, you had a choice of $0 - 1000 for Indemnity, PPO and HMO plans and $1200 - 3500 for HSA PPO plans; all had ANNUAL deductibles. Most other companies also have ANNUAL deductibles, not 'per period of confinement' which could be several times per year with Mega!

A question for you: When was the last time you went to a group interview and were hired on the spot? I bet never. Your division manager does it because he has a fast-moving revolving door of people that are hired and soon leave after they find out about the junk policies they sell! Just look and Monster.com and see how many ads there are for 'A Salespersons Dream.' I'll bet that you'll find a lot of them.

Just get out Jeremy before you OWE too much to your DM. (They charge you 12% interest on the 'loans' they gave you [they call them advances, btw.]).

I too was scammed by my division manager about Mega's products!

First of all is the deductible. With the BC/BS plans I sold, you had a choice of $0 - 1000 for Indemnity, PPO and HMO plans and $1200 - 3500 for HSA PPO plans; all had ANNUAL deductibles. Most other companies also have ANNUAL deductibles, not 'per period of confinement' which could be several times per year with Mega!

A question for you: When was the last time you went to a group interview and were hired on the spot? I bet never. Your division manager does it because he has a fast-moving revolving door of people that are hired and soon leave after they find out about the junk policies they sell! Just look and Monster.com and see how many ads there are for 'A Salespersons Dream.' I'll bet that you'll find a lot of them.

Just get out Jeremy before you OWE too much to your DM. (They charge you 12% interest on the 'loans' they gave you [they call them advances, btw.]).

I recently was appointed with MEGA and the NASE... I've read every comment made on this post, and I'm definitely starting to regret spending the gas to go to the weekly sales meetings 48 miles away.

I'm brand new to the insurance industry, and an honest and considerate salesperson (not to mention GOOD). I was a telemarketer for over a year, and I was d**n good at it, but I simply wasn't making the pay I deserved, and started searching for a commission job. I was approached by MEGA and it sounded like the opportunity of a lifetime; a way to generate immediate income through the weekly advances, and a way to generate wealth over 10 or 15 years through the stock plan and from customer renewals - sounds like the perfect career; but now I'm looking at the enormous number of consumer and ex-employee complaints, and I'm stunned.

The way the managers put it to you, this product sells itself. They admit that the plan has flaws, but that the association health benefits more than make up for what isn't covered. Contrary to what many people are saying, I was trained to explain in detail what the plan covered and did not cover, and to NEVER be misleading or deceptive just to get a check (which to me is common sense, I'm always trying to help the client, not my company). I'm an honest salesperson; I want the customer to get what they need at the best price, regardless of how it affects my employer/partner.

My question is this: Is the MEGA health plan really as bad as everyone makes it sound? Again, inexperience is probably speaking here, but most of what I learned about the MEGA products made perfect sense, and sounded truly helpful to their target market, the small-business owner. Basically, I want to know why, specifically, MEGA is so much worse than other companies. I imagine I won't get this information out of my District Manager, so I hope someone here can answer. I NEED INFORMATION ABOUT THE NEGATIVE SIDE OF MEGA, BECAUSE ALL I HAVE ARE THE POSITIVES. Also, any advice from current or ex-employees on how to get started, and whether or not to actually work for this company would be much appreciated. I'm on the verge of going out and selling this product - tell me why I shouldn't (with details if you have them!).

I recently was appointed with MEGA and the NASE... I've read every comment made on this post, and I'm definitely starting to regret spending the gas to go to the weekly sales meetings 48 miles away.

I'm brand new to the insurance industry, and an honest and considerate salesperson (not to mention GOOD). I was a telemarketer for over a year, and I was d**n good at it, but I simply wasn't making the pay I deserved, and started searching for a commission job. I was approached by MEGA and it sounded like the opportunity of a lifetime; a way to generate immediate income through the weekly advances, and a way to generate wealth over 10 or 15 years through the stock plan and from customer renewals - sounds like the perfect career; but now I'm looking at the enormous number of consumer and ex-employee complaints, and I'm stunned.

The way the managers put it to you, this product sells itself. They admit that the plan has flaws, but that the association health benefits more than make up for what isn't covered. Contrary to what many people are saying, I was trained to explain in detail what the plan covered and did not cover, and to NEVER be misleading or deceptive just to get a check (which to me is common sense, I'm always trying to help the client, not my company). I'm an honest salesperson; I want the customer to get what they need at the best price, regardless of how it affects my employer/partner.

My question is this: Is the MEGA health plan really as bad as everyone makes it sound? Again, inexperience is probably speaking here, but most of what I learned about the MEGA products made perfect sense, and sounded truly helpful to their target market, the small-business owner. Basically, I want to know why, specifically, MEGA is so much worse than other companies. I imagine I won't get this information out of my District Manager, so I hope someone here can answer. I NEED INFORMATION ABOUT THE NEGATIVE SIDE OF MEGA, BECAUSE ALL I HAVE ARE THE POSITIVES. Also, any advice from current or ex-employees on how to get started, and whether or not to actually work for this company would be much appreciated. I'm on the verge of going out and selling this product - tell me why I shouldn't (with details if you have them!).

I recently was appointed with MEGA and the NASE... I've read every comment made on this post, and I'm definitely starting to regret spending the gas to go to the weekly sales meetings 48 miles away.

I'm brand new to the insurance industry, and an honest and considerate salesperson (not to mention GOOD). I was a telemarketer for over a year, and I was d**n good at it, but I simply wasn't making the pay I deserved, and started searching for a commission job. I was approached by MEGA and it sounded like the opportunity of a lifetime; a way to generate immediate income through the weekly advances, and a way to generate wealth over 10 or 15 years through the stock plan and from customer renewals - sounds like the perfect career; but now I'm looking at the enormous number of consumer and ex-employee complaints, and I'm stunned.

The way the managers put it to you, this product sells itself. They admit that the plan has flaws, but that the association health benefits more than make up for what isn't covered. Contrary to what many people are saying, I was trained to explain in detail what the plan covered and did not cover, and to NEVER be misleading or deceptive just to get a check (which to me is common sense, I'm always trying to help the client, not my company). I'm an honest salesperson; I want the customer to get what they need at the best price, regardless of how it affects my employer/partner.

My question is this: Is the MEGA health plan really as bad as everyone makes it sound? Again, inexperience is probably speaking here, but most of what I learned about the MEGA products made perfect sense, and sounded truly helpful to their target market, the small-business owner. Basically, I want to know why, specifically, MEGA is so much worse than other companies. I imagine I won't get this information out of my District Manager, so I hope someone here can answer. I NEED INFORMATION ABOUT THE NEGATIVE SIDE OF MEGA, BECAUSE ALL I HAVE ARE THE POSITIVES. Also, any advice from current or ex-employees on how to get started, and whether or not to actually work for this company would be much appreciated. I'm on the verge of going out and selling this product - tell me why I shouldn't (with details if you have them!).

I keep in touch with a mega rep, (management of course) that seems to think that she could BS me with their new care one plan.

I have reviewed the plan and here is a summary of my findings:

#1. No where in the 30+ page brochure is the word "Major Medical" mentioned. How ever on page #21, the fourth line down states, "It is not a replacement for comprehensive health insurance coverage and should not be construed as such."

#2. There is no mention anywhere in the brochure as to a "MAXIMUM OUT OF POCKET" amount. Thus there is no maximum out of pocket number since this is just a "limited benefit plan". I believe there was a misunderstanding or a play of words when the agent told you that your "maximum co-insurance was $4,000". Maximum out of pocket versus maximum co-insurance are not even close to being the same.

#3. Unlike a major medical plan that has only one deductible per person this limited benefit plan has a maximum liability of THREE deductibles for one person! The wording is: "once the deductible has been met three times in one calendar year by ANY or all insured persons". In other words if one person is hospitalized three times in one year for three different illness/accident that person would have to met THREE deductibles.

#4. Instead of using the word "limited benefit", the play on words is "Maximum Allowable Charge" or "MAC". This term is used NINETEEN (19) times in the brochure. Mega with all their lawsuits R E A L L Y wants that term in the brochure possible for future use?

#5. Here are SOME of the limits in this policy which makes it a "limited benefit plan":

A. The assistant surgeon is "LIMITED" to 20% of what the primary surgeon charges. The normal fee for the assistant surgeon is 50%.

B. The anesthesiologist is "LIMITED" to 50% of what the primary surgeon charges. There is no anesthesiologist that works for a percentage. The
anesthesiologist works on "UNITS" per surgery figured by how complex the procedure is. Also the surgeon, assistant surgeon, and
the anesthesiologist are all independent contractors at hospitals. I doubt that they even know what each one's fees are.

C. In Patient Physician Visits are "LIMITED" to $100 per visit with a "LIMIT" of one visit per day. Can you imagine a heart doctor (cardiologist) or a neural
surgeon working for $100 per day!

D. Chemotherapy is "LIMITED" to $1500 per treatment. The average chemotherapy treatment cost is $3,000 to $5,000 per treatment. Once again
a limited benefit paying only a small percentage of the actual cost to the client.

E. Radiation is "LIMITED" to $1,250 per day. Once again a limited benefit paying only a small percentage of the cost to the client.

F. Prescription Drugs is "LIMITED" to $1,500 per year per person. There is a co-pay for generic but on "name brand" the client has to pay 50% of the
drugs cost! A major medical plan will have a $35 to $45 dollar co-pay for name brand.

G. Doctor's Visits are on page 15 titled "Preventative Plus Benefit Rider". The benefit is "first dollar coverage" which sounds good. However upon
reviewing this benefit it's only $500 PER YEAR PER FAMILY SPLIT UP BY IN THREE MONTH INTERVALS. $500 divided by four quarters is an
astonishing $125 per every THREE months. Or an astonishing $41.66 monthly. $125 per every three months that might pay for one doctor's visit.
On a personal note last year I had hand surgery. The hand specialist office visit fee was $220 per visit. With this limited benefit plan you would have
to save up six months of benefits to cover that one visit.

To summarize Mega's "Care One Select Plus Catastrophic Expense Plan" the word "CATASTROPHIC' is the right term. If a person had this plan and they had a
major medical crisis the blow to their financial well being would be "CATASTROPHIC"!

If you wish you are welcome to show this e-mail to the mega agent. Most of their agents are new and don't really know much about the insurance business. They are captive agents and can ONLY sell mega. The mega plan is the best plan the have and it's also the worst plan they have because it's the only plan they have.

If you want more information on Mega just google, Mega Insurance / Lawsuits and check it out.

I left MEGA a while back and went to a 'legitimate' agency. I am now in the process of acquiring a retiring agent's $$$$$ book. I will be set for life!

Thank you, my EX district manager, for telling me I'm a loser and would never make it in this business!!! I will be sleeping quite contently every night from now on because I sell REAL, QUALITY policies that my customers are VERY happy with and will be able to cross-sell to them and their referrals for years to come!!

At least with MEGA, you get an education on how NOT to sell a policy!

I have had Mega/NASE health for 6 years now. Every six months my premiums are increased by approximately $50 per month. My premiums are now almost $600 per month and I have NEVER had a claim. Has anyone else had this same experience with the company and exhorbitant premiums?

When I realized what all the other plans offered, I could care less if Mega was in my portfolio. Even if it was available, I knew that no one would buy it if I showed it side by side to the others. THERE IS A REASON Mega uses a CAPTIVE agent force. If they suddenly made Mega available to sell through MGA channels -but made no changes to price, coverage or commissions, what would happen? Who in world would sell it?

I spend a lot of time talking to Mega agents and I have only run across a few of them that actually knew what they were selling.

Most of the time, I usually have to point out exactly how their insurance works because they have no idea. They almost always say they know, but then when I ask them specific questions about coverage, they start scrambling through their brochures.

Sadly, the average shelf-life of a Mega agent that makes it through their first month is about 7-9 months. It's rare to see lifers that aren't in management.

So you get either newbie's or lifers selling policies in the open market. The newbie's are typically always clueless. They are supposed to be! If they weren't they would leave. Because the division leaders get recruiting bonuses, they hire anyone and everyone that is willing to pay the fees and follow the managers.

So, the greenies probably make up 80% of the UGA field force. They don't mean to place prospects into bad coverage - they are just doing what their managers are telling them and trying desperately to win their quick-start contest. BUT, (and here's the key) once they are enlightened- they either leave and become real agents, or they stay and become managers like Jonny boy (that is, if they posses at least a few ounces of leadership abilities).

The ones that stay (the lifers) are mostly managers starting the vicious cycle all over again. ALL of these agents one year and up understand that they could be representing their clients with better products, but they simply don't care. They get nice over-rides by training newbies to omit all of the ugly details that clients find out only after it's too late.

Agents like John care mostly about their over-rides, stock, re-distribution and their bonus checks. Everything else (like their sub agents, clients, coverage and truthfulness) is background.

What I wish they all realized is that they can still make extremely high amounts of money without hurting clients and lying. Plus, they could actually keep their clients when they eventually want to look at a different company.

I did not want to leave UGA when I quit. I was tired of walking away from appointments when what I had did not fit what they were looking for. If it's easy for you to tell clients they need to meet three deductibles per year then you're a much better salesman then me.

My client's didn't like hearing that the policies were not major medical. If your clients don't have an issue with that maybe you're not stating outright that they're not major med. That's deceptive. Worst yet would be to bash major med products in order to secure a commish. If that's the case you should not carry an insurance license.

I'd wonder what kind of formal training Mega agents have on competitors products. None would be the answer aside from what their manager has told them....who most likely had an office job at UPS before working for UGA. My manager sure had an awful lot to say about other companies. The way he put it it's a wonder companies like Aetna, Blue Cross, Assurant and World have been around for 100 year.

Anyone can pull up reports of Toyota recalls and say "Look, Toyota sucks." But then again, you pull up Ford, Chrysler recalls too - then pull up reports on Benz and Beemer problems. The bottom line is all car companies have flaws yet in general all make good cars. Same with health insurance companies. All have flaws yet in general all are good.

Mega has a place in a market as does every other insurance company. It would be like saying there's one car everyone should drive and all other cars "suck." At least, that was the attitude at my office: Mega is great, everything else is horrible. Ummm, no it's not.

I wanted to be independent and still represent Mega. I told my manager I would not take any leads or bonuses. I'd just represent Mega along with the other six carriers in my state.

You can guess what his response was. If I got appointed with any other carrier I was terminated. Interesting. The others carriers I represent don't seem to care. I meet with every one of my clients in person so I don't see the issue.

Of course now after being gone I clearly see why Mega won't allow agents to be appointed with other companies, even if they don't want leads, stock or bonuses. Go compare rates and commission without drinking the Kool Aid your manager's giving you.

And by the way, your manager's a great source of info huh; someone who depends on your to sell so they can make overrides. Think what they might be telling you is a tad biased? Do your own research.

Everyone calm down. I've been a Mega agent for quite some time and this is the first time I've ever visited a blog.

I'll keep it short. To sum it all up:

1. About all the different names... chill, like most big companies... It's all about marketing, not scams.

2. Apparently the Blackstone group (one of the largest and most successful equity group) saw something in the this company they were will to pay a high premium for. I guess you could make a case that they are stupid, but I think... not so much!

3. Bad agents? Yep, there is bad apples in every bunch. Good agents? Yep, there are in all the Insurance companies out there. Yes, they are also in my competitors too!

4. Claims... I got a personal policy and so did a family member of mine before I bacame a rep. Honestly, they paid exactly what they were supposed to. You can buy a Cadilac plan or a Geo Metro, but regardless... they will pay according to the contract. Oh, unless you committ fraud.

5. Thinking about quitting working with company? Go ahead! More redistubution money for me!

I can't wait to see the response! Everyone have a great day... I hope we all are successful!

Jim, the same thing happened to me - only the amount was a lot higher. Myself and many other big producing agents that left around the same time all received the "debt letter" from Dan Carter. What did we do? We all filed our own personal testimonies of complaints of WHY UGA/MEGA SET US UP FOR A DEBT!

We told him how we were trained to lie over and over again to our clients in order to just get the check. We itemized the lies one by one with manager names. Why should we be forced to pay back debt from a policy that we deceived our clients into buying due to our trained methods of selling? We took a pay check for our sale- right? What else were we going to do? "Well thanks, but no thanks - I would like to make sure I'm not being deceived about the way I sold those policies, so please don't give me a check for now -"

YOU WERE LIED TO BY YOUR MANAGERS!

Our managers deceived us - and now we have to pay money on top of losing our time and marketing investment money? Those who remained in the industry, are we are supposed to leave our precious clients (that we worked so hard to get) on a terrible coverage plan that we knew nothing about when we sold it? Is there an Ex-Mega agent out there that would leave their clients on a Health Choice or Care One policy? Who in their right mind would do that once you have been enlightened on real insurance plans?

So what did Mr. Carter do? He left most of us alone. They continue today to pursue me - even to the point of suing me for the amount. I am presently in a counter-suit. They never sent another letter out to many agents. I wonder why? Could it be that Mega is scared that we will all together one day ban together and file a class action lawsuit? That's my goal. That's what I'm doing!

Most likely, he will leave you alone if you get nasty. If not, than try and negotiate the amount down. Offer him $300 to call it quits.

I am currently working on a CLASS ACTION SUIT with a high profile lawyer in Texas that has a strong rep. against Mega. Imagine if every single BURNED Ex-Mega agent came together and fought for all of the damages that we have received?

Anyone interested in JOINING ME AGAINST MEGA in this potential AGENT CLASS-ACTION LAWSUIT, email me at fightagainstmega at comcast . net

I believe that all of us together can make a difference. Hopefully my email makes it on this board.

Jim, the same thing happened to me - only the amount was a lot higher. Myself and many other big producing agents that left around the same time all received the "debt letter" from Dan Carter. What did we do? We all filed our own personal testimonies of complaints of WHY UGA/MEGA SET US UP FOR A DEBT!

We told him how we were trained to lie over and over again to our clients in order to just get the check. We itemized the lies one by one with manager names. Why should we be forced to pay back debt from a policy that we deceived our clients into buying due to our trained methods of selling? We took a pay check for our sale- right? What else were we going to do? "Well thanks, but no thanks - I would like to make sure I'm not being deceived about the way I sold those policies, so please don't give me a check for now -"

YOU WERE LIED TO BY YOUR MANAGERS!

Our managers deceived us - and now we have to pay money on top of losing our time and marketing investment money? Those who remained in the industry, are we are supposed to leave our precious clients (that we worked so hard to get) on a terrible coverage plan that we knew nothing about when we sold it? Is there an Ex-Mega agent out there that would leave their clients on a Health Choice or Care One policy? Who in their right mind would do that once you have been enlightened on real insurance plans?

So what did Mr. Carter do? He left most of us alone. They continue today to pursue me - even to the point of suing me for the amount. I am presently in a counter-suit. They never sent another letter out to many agents. I wonder why? Could it be that Mega is scared that we will all together one day ban together and file a class action lawsuit? That's my goal. That's what I'm doing!

Most likely, he will leave you alone if you get nasty. If not, than try and negotiate the amount down. Offer him $300 to call it quits.

I am currently working on a CLASS ACTION SUIT with a high profile lawyer in Texas that has a strong rep. against Mega. Imagine if every single BURNED Ex-Mega agent came together and fought for all of the damages that we have received?

Anyone interested in JOINING ME AGAINST MEGA in this potential AGENT CLASS-ACTION LAWSUIT, email me at fightagainstmega at comcast . net

I believe that all of us together can make a difference. Hopefully my email makes it on this board.

Jim, the same thing happened to me - only the amount was a lot higher. Myself and many other big producing agents that left around the same time all received the "debt letter" from Dan Carter. What did we do? We all filed our own personal testimonies of complaints of WHY UGA/MEGA SET US UP FOR A DEBT!

We told him how we were trained to lie over and over again to our clients in order to just get the check. We itemized the lies one by one with manager names. Why should we be forced to pay back debt from a policy that we deceived our clients into buying due to our trained methods of selling? We took a pay check for our sale- right? What else were we going to do? "Well thanks, but no thanks - I would like to make sure I'm not being deceived about the way I sold those policies, so please don't give me a check for now -"

YOU WERE LIED TO BY YOUR MANAGERS!

Our managers deceived us - and now we have to pay money on top of losing our time and marketing investment money? Those who remained in the industry, are we are supposed to leave our precious clients (that we worked so hard to get) on a terrible coverage plan that we knew nothing about when we sold it? Is there an Ex-Mega agent out there that would leave their clients on a Health Choice or Care One policy? Who in their right mind would do that once you have been enlightened on real insurance plans?

So what did Mr. Carter do? He left most of us alone. They continue today to pursue me - even to the point of suing me for the amount. I am presently in a counter-suit. They never sent another letter out to many agents. I wonder why? Could it be that Mega is scared that we will all together one day ban together and file a class action lawsuit? That's my goal. That's what I'm doing!

Most likely, he will leave you alone if you get nasty. If not, than try and negotiate the amount down. Offer him $300 to call it quits.

I am currently working on a CLASS ACTION SUIT with a high profile lawyer in Texas that has a strong rep. against Mega. Imagine if every single BURNED Ex-Mega agent came together and fought for all of the damages that we have received?

Anyone interested in JOINING ME AGAINST MEGA in this potential AGENT CLASS-ACTION LAWSUIT, email me at fightagainstmega at comcast . net

I believe that all of us together can make a difference. Hopefully my email makes it on this board.

Jim, the same thing happened to me - only the amount was a lot higher. Myself and many other big producing agents that left around the same time all received the "debt letter" from Dan Carter. What did we do? We all filed our own personal testimonies of complaints of WHY UGA/MEGA SET US UP FOR A DEBT!

We told him how we were trained to lie over and over again to our clients in order to just get the check. We itemized the lies one by one with manager names. Why should we be forced to pay back debt from a policy that we deceived our clients into buying due to our trained methods of selling? We took a pay check for our sale- right? What else were we going to do? "Well thanks, but no thanks - I would like to make sure I'm not being deceived about the way I sold those policies, so please don't give me a check for now -"

YOU WERE LIED TO BY YOUR MANAGERS!

Our managers deceived us - and now we have to pay money on top of losing our time and marketing investment money? Those who remained in the industry, are we are supposed to leave our precious clients (that we worked so hard to get) on a terrible coverage plan that we knew nothing about when we sold it? Is there an Ex-Mega agent out there that would leave their clients on a Health Choice or Care One policy? Who in their right mind would do that once you have been enlightened on real insurance plans?

So what did Mr. Carter do? He left most of us alone. They continue today to pursue me - even to the point of suing me for the amount. I am presently in a counter-suit. They never sent another letter out to many agents. I wonder why? Could it be that Mega is scared that we will all together one day ban together and file a class action lawsuit? That's my goal. That's what I'm doing!

Most likely, he will leave you alone if you get nasty. If not, than try and negotiate the amount down. Offer him $300 to call it quits.

I am currently working on a CLASS ACTION SUIT with a high profile lawyer in Texas that has a strong rep. against Mega. Imagine if every single BURNED Ex-Mega agent came together and fought for all of the damages that we have received?

Anyone interested in JOINING ME AGAINST MEGA in this potential AGENT CLASS-ACTION LAWSUIT, email me at fightagainstmega at comcast . net

I believe that all of us together can make a difference. Hopefully my email makes it on this board.

"My" MEGA agent has been prospecting me for over six months with bi-monthly phone calls since our initial sitdown - have to give it to him for tenacity. Finally got around to doing my research as my COBRA is soon to expire and glad to have found all the good info in this site.

Loved reading the comments from ex-Mega agents. With that in mind, I figured you'd all appreciate these excerpts from the '05 press release announcing the Blackstone Group's acquisition of UICI parent to MEGA. I got a good laugh out of if:

"One of the core assets of UICI is our uniquely talented independent agency field force, which now numbers over 4,800 independent agents selling health insurance in 44 states," commented Troy McQuagge, head of UICI's Agency Marketing Group. "We believe that the sales force will be fully supportive of the transaction, and, in recognition of their central role in the Company's past and future success, arrangements will be made to permit our independent agents to continue to invest in UICI and to participate in the Company's growth going forward," McQuagge added.

Chinh Chu, Senior Managing Director of Blackstone, commented: "UICI is a very unique and valuable asset. We are very impressed with UICI's market leadership, attractive industry fundamentals and strong management. We also believe that the Company's sales agents are invaluable and provide UICI with a powerful competitive advantage. We look forward to working with the management team to continue to grow the Company in this next chapter."

Yikes!

BTW, Blackstone is one of the biggest private equity funds in world. So, it is - or maybe isn't - surprising that MEGA hasn't made it onto '60 Minutes' yet.

"My" MEGA agent has been prospecting me for over six months with bi-monthly phone calls since our initial sitdown - have to give it to him for tenacity. Finally got around to doing my research as my COBRA is soon to expire and glad to have found all the good info in this site.

Loved reading the comments from ex-Mega agents. With that in mind, I figured you'd all appreciate these excerpts from the '05 press release announcing the Blackstone Group's acquisition of UICI parent to MEGA. I got a good laugh out of if:

"One of the core assets of UICI is our uniquely talented independent agency field force, which now numbers over 4,800 independent agents selling health insurance in 44 states," commented Troy McQuagge, head of UICI's Agency Marketing Group. "We believe that the sales force will be fully supportive of the transaction, and, in recognition of their central role in the Company's past and future success, arrangements will be made to permit our independent agents to continue to invest in UICI and to participate in the Company's growth going forward," McQuagge added.

Chinh Chu, Senior Managing Director of Blackstone, commented: "UICI is a very unique and valuable asset. We are very impressed with UICI's market leadership, attractive industry fundamentals and strong management. We also believe that the Company's sales agents are invaluable and provide UICI with a powerful competitive advantage. We look forward to working with the management team to continue to grow the Company in this next chapter."

Yikes!

BTW, Blackstone is one of the biggest private equity funds in world. So, it is - or maybe isn't - surprising that MEGA hasn't made it onto '60 Minutes' yet.

"My" MEGA agent has been prospecting me for over six months with bi-monthly phone calls since our initial sitdown - have to give it to him for tenacity. Finally got around to doing my research as my COBRA is soon to expire and glad to have found all the good info in this site.

Loved reading the comments from ex-Mega agents. With that in mind, I figured you'd all appreciate these excerpts from the '05 press release announcing the Blackstone Group's acquisition of UICI parent to MEGA. I got a good laugh out of if:

"One of the core assets of UICI is our uniquely talented independent agency field force, which now numbers over 4,800 independent agents selling health insurance in 44 states," commented Troy McQuagge, head of UICI's Agency Marketing Group. "We believe that the sales force will be fully supportive of the transaction, and, in recognition of their central role in the Company's past and future success, arrangements will be made to permit our independent agents to continue to invest in UICI and to participate in the Company's growth going forward," McQuagge added.

Chinh Chu, Senior Managing Director of Blackstone, commented: "UICI is a very unique and valuable asset. We are very impressed with UICI's market leadership, attractive industry fundamentals and strong management. We also believe that the Company's sales agents are invaluable and provide UICI with a powerful competitive advantage. We look forward to working with the management team to continue to grow the Company in this next chapter."

Yikes!

BTW, Blackstone is one of the biggest private equity funds in world. So, it is - or maybe isn't - surprising that MEGA hasn't made it onto '60 Minutes' yet.

John, I appreciate everything you write here. I stumbled upon this site just trying to cover myself as much as possible. Anyway, I am an x-Mega agent. I just came out of insurance school and Cornerstone hired me. In my recruiting session, the DM said that there would be NO chargebacks. I have been around , and the way he explained the pay structure went like this. Well, I nor is anyone else 100% sure about how pay gets distributed, but hey, just keep taking the checks and keep writing business.....who the heck cares, you'll be rich. I asked a number of times that if they were advancing money, why the heck wouldn't there be any charge backs? That doesn't even make a little bit of sence. He said that this is just the way it is. Well, I quit and not long after, I get a threatening letter from Cornerstone, some guy named Dan Carter, and the letter states that if I don't fork over about $1000, they are reporting me and it's going against my credit. Totally opposite of what was started to me in my initial recruiting. I tried calling this guy twice and he hasn't responded to me yet! This is intresting......I recently found oou that in the DM's training handbook, it states that at no time are pay plans reveled. They are to ALWAYS say that they don't even understand them because they are so confusing....just take the $$$$ and keep writing business. Never worry about chargebacks. Any idea on what I can do to head this off??? I was broke when I started with Mega. I was trying to persue a promising career and help people, and the way the recruiting went, it sure sounded good. However, I am still broke and I still have a family to feed. I am quite upset at what was promised to me and what really happened instead. Please, John or someone help and advise me in this matter. Do I have any recourse?

I worked for this company for about 6 months. There were red flags right away but I overlooked them and tried to keep an open mind. It was a mistake. I never worked in insurance before, but had a long history of successful sales in another field. I truly enjoy sales and always felt a "high" when I closed a deal. If you are a true salesman, you know the feeling.
Anyway, each time I sold I policy, I felt odd, not as though I helped someone, but as though I beat them in a contest. I began to read the Ripoffreport.com posts and could identify with each listing. I even responded on behalf of the company (see Jim from Toledo above).
I am here to say it was mistake. This company, at it's core is deceitful and wrong. The policies, are sold under the guise of "something is better than nothing", when it actually isn't. They do not pay claims, they are not cheaper in all instances, and do not care about their customers.

In addition, when I was hired, I asked about charge-backs of advanced commissions. I was told "your backend money accumulates so fast, you will never have to pay anything back. Any stock or business that stays on the books will more than cover it." I was not the only one told this, as I attended recruiting sessions and heard the same words repeated. Now they are calling me, claiming I owe money to the company. Each letter I recieved has a different total, and the person that called had yet another amount. I have no idea where the amounts came from or what they are based on. In addition, when I asked for back-up, they said ok and have not sent any.

To current agents defending the company, why do you think they would not send the back up for the bill?
Would you pay the company if they did not provide it to you?

To the ex-agents, I am lookng for advice, do I have to pay this?



I am not in the insurance business any longer and do not have an axe to grind. I am just looking for advice and sharing my story.

I worked for this company for about 6 months. There were red flags right away but I overlooked them and tried to keep an open mind. It was a mistake. I never worked in insurance before, but had a long history of successful sales in another field. I truly enjoy sales and always felt a "high" when I closed a deal. If you are a true salesman, you know the feeling.
Anyway, each time I sold I policy, I felt odd, not as though I helped someone, but as though I beat them in a contest. I began to read the Ripoffreport.com posts and could identify with each listing. I even responded on behalf of the company (see Jim from Toledo above).
I am here to say it was mistake. This company, at it's core is deceitful and wrong. The policies, are sold under the guise of "something is better than nothing", when it actually isn't. They do not pay claims, they are not cheaper in all instances, and do not care about their customers.

In addition, when I was hired, I asked about charge-backs of advanced commissions. I was told "your backend money accumulates so fast, you will never have to pay anything back. Any stock or business that stays on the books will more than cover it." I was not the only one told this, as I attended recruiting sessions and heard the same words repeated. Now they are calling me, claiming I owe money to the company. Each letter I recieved has a different total, and the person that called had yet another amount. I have no idea where the amounts came from or what they are based on. In addition, when I asked for back-up, they said ok and have not sent any.

To current agents defending the company, why do you think they would not send the back up for the bill?
Would you pay the company if they did not provide it to you?

To the ex-agents, I am lookng for advice, do I have to pay this?



I am not in the insurance business any longer and do not have an axe to grind. I am just looking for advice and sharing my story.

I worked for this company for about 6 months. There were red flags right away but I overlooked them and tried to keep an open mind. It was a mistake. I never worked in insurance before, but had a long history of successful sales in another field. I truly enjoy sales and always felt a "high" when I closed a deal. If you are a true salesman, you know the feeling.
Anyway, each time I sold I policy, I felt odd, not as though I helped someone, but as though I beat them in a contest. I began to read the Ripoffreport.com posts and could identify with each listing. I even responded on behalf of the company (see Jim from Toledo above).
I am here to say it was mistake. This company, at it's core is deceitful and wrong. The policies, are sold under the guise of "something is better than nothing", when it actually isn't. They do not pay claims, they are not cheaper in all instances, and do not care about their customers.

In addition, when I was hired, I asked about charge-backs of advanced commissions. I was told "your backend money accumulates so fast, you will never have to pay anything back. Any stock or business that stays on the books will more than cover it." I was not the only one told this, as I attended recruiting sessions and heard the same words repeated. Now they are calling me, claiming I owe money to the company. Each letter I recieved has a different total, and the person that called had yet another amount. I have no idea where the amounts came from or what they are based on. In addition, when I asked for back-up, they said ok and have not sent any.

To current agents defending the company, why do you think they would not send the back up for the bill?
Would you pay the company if they did not provide it to you?

To the ex-agents, I am lookng for advice, do I have to pay this?



I am not in the insurance business any longer and do not have an axe to grind. I am just looking for advice and sharing my story.

I worked for this company for about 6 months. There were red flags right away but I overlooked them and tried to keep an open mind. It was a mistake. I never worked in insurance before, but had a long history of successful sales in another field. I truly enjoy sales and always felt a "high" when I closed a deal. If you are a true salesman, you know the feeling.
Anyway, each time I sold I policy, I felt odd, not as though I helped someone, but as though I beat them in a contest. I began to read the Ripoffreport.com posts and could identify with each listing. I even responded on behalf of the company (see Jim from Toledo above).
I am here to say it was mistake. This company, at it's core is deceitful and wrong. The policies, are sold under the guise of "something is better than nothing", when it actually isn't. They do not pay claims, they are not cheaper in all instances, and do not care about their customers.

In addition, when I was hired, I asked about charge-backs of advanced commissions. I was told "your backend money accumulates so fast, you will never have to pay anything back. Any stock or business that stays on the books will more than cover it." I was not the only one told this, as I attended recruiting sessions and heard the same words repeated. Now they are calling me, claiming I owe money to the company. Each letter I recieved has a different total, and the person that called had yet another amount. I have no idea where the amounts came from or what they are based on. In addition, when I asked for back-up, they said ok and have not sent any.

To current agents defending the company, why do you think they would not send the back up for the bill?
Would you pay the company if they did not provide it to you?

To the ex-agents, I am lookng for advice, do I have to pay this?



I am not in the insurance business any longer and do not have an axe to grind. I am just looking for advice and sharing my story.

If your planning on take a job with UGA just be very careful about how the pay works:

*You are paid 5 or 6 months "on submit." That means you get paid just by turning in an application. If you need money THAT fast you should not take a 100% commission sales job. This is also a very bad system for encouraging bad business. It doesn't matter if the client takes the policy or not - the agent has the money already.

*Any policy that gets declined, the client doesn't take the offer or the client cancels means the commission goes in a "debt account." You are charged 12% APR on this debt and the advance is also considered debt.

*When you quit you debt account is payable immediately! That means you could owe thousands and thousands of dollars if you decide to leave. If Mega Life puts the money you owe on what's called a Vector Report you will not get appointed by any other insurance company. Insurance companies will not appoint you if you owe money to another insurance company. That means the "pay on submit" can have devastating concequences on your carrer should you choose to leave UGA before you account clears.

*It takes 3 to 4 years for an account to clear. That means you'll be living off a 6 month advance for years!

*UGA has what's called a "taken rate." This is simply the percentage of your business that "goes through" underwriting. For example, if you put in 10 app and 7 go through your taken rate is 70%. That also means you only get 70% of your advance. Heaven forbid you put in 10 deals and 5 go through.

Now your taken rate is 50% and you only get 50% of what you'd normally get advanced. The taken rate is a 3 month average of placed business. One bad month can screw up that average and it can take months to "dig out" and get your average back up.

*You pay is all over the place and basically cannot be calculated unless you have an advanced degree in calculus. It's "this" percentage for one policy and "that" percenage for another. Various additions to any policy are either commissionable or non-commissionable. Ancillary products are all over the map.

*Compare that to how most companies pay: Flat 20% commish based on the total premium: $300 per month X 12 months = $3,600 X 20% = $700. That's it. The pay is regardless of what product you sell. You do $15,000 for the week? You get $3,000. Period. Ask you UGA manager to compare the 20% flat commission based on all AV regardless of the plan sold against what you're getting. Also, when independent you can get from 25% to 35% advanced commission based on production.

*Compare renewals. With UGA many managers make overrides off your renewals which means you get a small slice of the pie. Renewals with most companies are 6% to 10%. Ask you UGA manager what your renewals are.

*You don't get paid by Mega Life. You get paid by your division manager which means you do NOT own your business. That also means you are paid at the will of your manager. In my old office when a manager knew someone was about to quit or if notice was put in by the agent all bonuses and pay were held against the debt balance. Heck, you don't even get paid by UGA. Only bonuses are paid by UGA.

*So you're a UGA manager? Like those overrides? Here's my structure - compare to what you have:

I get 30% advanced commission and hire at 15% to 20% depending on experience. That means my overrides are 10% to 15%. I have no expenses and I can hire agents literally all over the country. Now do you really think you can make more than me when I can have agents from FL to CA to WA to Maine? There are general agents working from home doing $500,000 a week and making $50,000 a week. Do you really think you can make more just getting overrided off Mega business? I get overrides off 4 different companies and my agents can sell any company they want - and I still make an override.

ADVICE TO ANY UGA AGENT PLANNIGN ON QUITTING:

IF YOU'RE PLANNING ON QUITTING DON'T SAY ANYTHING! GET ALL OF YOUR APPOINTMENTS WITH OTHER COMPANIES FIRST!

Len,

Did you work out of an office in Allentown? And was your branch manager from the Stroudsburg area? If so, then you are right about him being a slimeball. I just looked on Monster and saw 4 ads for 'A Salesperson's Dream Job' posted.

I don't know how this guy can sleep at night!

Now I see MEGA adverising on TV. I feel bad for anyone that contacts that number. If you live in central PA, contact Highmark BS for a REAL plan that will have you covered.

I bought mega health. On the 4th day I sat down and actually read what I signed up for. I called the sales agent to cancel, he told me to wait until I got the policy in the mail. I thought that was odd, so I called Mega in Oklahoma or Texas to cancel. The call center told me they would be sending me a cancelation latter for me to sign and return to them before I could get my refund. I checked with the department of Insurance and found out that my "independant agent" was licensed to sell Mega ONLY! Now I know why he wouldn't tell me about any other plans I asked about. How long do I have to wait to get my money back?

ANYONE THINKING ABOUT JOINING THIS OUTFIT - UGA AND CORNERSTONE:

*You will be asked to pay an upfront fee - normally $200+. WARNING! No legitimate sales position has you pay anything upfront. Do NOT pay them any fee! The only fee you should pay is your licensing and proper state appointment fee.

*You will get a whopping three days of training! WARNING - it takes at least two weeks of training to properly learn the plans, rates and sales process.

*You must sit down with every client which means no matter how far away they are, you're driving there. You will be stood up and told "I'd like to think about it" while your gas bill racks up. Compare this to EVERY other that has online applications!

*You cannot sent clients quotes and plan details upon request. What legitimate company refuses to mail or email clients plan info? UGA will say "because it's too confusing and too many options for client to choose from" BULL!!! It's because if any client actually read the limitations and exclusions they'd NEVER buy!!!

*You are paid the LOWEST commissions in the entire industry!!! Most health insurance companies pay 20% - Golden Rule, World, Assurant, etc...Those companies also pay a FULL YEAR advance!!! That means you turn in 10K AV and get $2,000! Ask UGA how much you'd make if you turn in $10K!

*They LIE and say the average rep make 80K a year! LOL! The average rep quites within a month!!!! Watch the trickery! You only get advanced 5 or 6 months of commission. Even if you sell the upgraded membership you're only getting around $800 if you submit 10K due to the 80% taken rate.

*You MUST hard-close every client and ask for not only a check for the 1st month premium, but also a "fee." Most clients are not prepared to put money down! You must be a BRUTALLY hard closer to get client to pay ANYTHING upfront! NO OTHER HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANY NEEDS MONEY UPFRONT!

LET'S DO SOME MATH FOR PAY!

10K a week is $800. Say you did that every week and did $500,000. That's only 40K IN YOUR POCKET! Also realize it takes 3 to 4 years for your account to "clear."

Now...tell your manager that you want to speak to someone hired withing the last 6 months who is doing 10K a week every week! NO ONE IS!!!!

*WARNING: MANAGERS WILL SAY THAT MOST PEOPLE AREN'T SUCCESSFUL WITH UGA BECAUSE THEY'RE LAZY AND CAN'T MANAGE THEIR TIME! WRONG! MOST PEOPLE CAN'T MAKE MONEY BECAUSE THEY SELL LIMITED PLANS, OFFER HORRIBLE TRAINING AND FORCE NEW AGENTS TO COLD-CALL B LEADS!

*Next, you will be calling "B leads." These are leads up to 5 years old that have been called over and over and over! It's no different than cold-calling. THE PEOPLE YOU ARE CALLING DO NOT EXPECT YOUR CALL - IT IS COLD-CALLING!

*Check Monster and Hotjobs for "UGA" and see how many 24/7 jobs they have. If their opportunity is so fantastic who do they recruit 24 hours a day!

WARNING: UGA AND CORNERSTONE WILL SAY ANYTHING YOU WANT TO HEAR TO GET YOU TO PAY THE $200+ FEE! IF THEY HIRE 10 REPS A WEEK THAT'S OVER $2,000 A WEEK JUST IN FEES!

*YOU WILL COLD-CALL OLD B LEADS!

*YOU WILL SPEND HUNDREDS IN GAS SHOWING CLIENTS LIMITED PLANS THEY DON'T WANT TO BUY!

*THEY WILL LIE AND SAY THAT EVERYONE WHO'S NO LONGER THAT GOT FIRED! 99.8% OF ALL NEW REPS HIRED DON'T MAKE IT PAST 2 MONTHS! THEY ALL GOT FIRED FOR ETHICAL VIOLATIONS? MOST NEVER WROTE A DEAL!!!

FINAL WARNING: YOU WILL NOT BE SELLING QUALITY MAJOR MEDICAL PLANS. YOU WILL BE SELLING LIMITED BENEFITS PLANS WITH MORE HOLES THEN SWISS CHEESE!

IF YOU THINK YOU CAN CONVINCE A CLIENT TO TAKE A PLAN WHERE THE DEDUCTIBLE NEEDS TO BE MET THREE TIMES PER YEAR MORE POWER TO YA!

REVEAL YOUR NAME AND AGENT NUMBER: You sold a policy to my brother in Iowa, which was a big RIP-OFF!!!

DO YOU REMEMBER MY QUESTIONS BELOW!!!!

JOHN WHO? DES MOINES IOWA }


JOHN,

Are you the agent that was fired from Mega for ethics violations and insurance fraud? or was it John from Miami?

You stated that you are a agent for the State of Iowa, are you the same John that is currently being investigated for the same problem above? (By the way, the Amy from Orlando, wasn't she fired for the same thing?) Perhaps the public record info is incorrect with the State.

If you respond(or any other agent) please state the following:

1)You state license number and full name
2)You address to contact


If you (or any other agent) is license! And sincere about giving me insurance advice about any company then it's appreciated. If you do not reply because you fear you may lose your license for your comments(since most states make it a violation to make comments against other companies) THEN ALL YOU COMMENTS PAST,PRESENT OR FUTURE ARE BASELESS AND USELESS!!! SO PUT UP OR SHUT UP........

........I have completed my research on all these comments about insurance companies, which again I state that everyone major company is on this web site, in fact,every major retail company is on this site!!! Which tells me that no company is PERFECT!!! Including RIPOFF.COM!!

I await your response...

Thank you ripoffreport and all who have posted on here. My husband just went to an "interview" in Scottsdale, arizona in search of a better paying career with more stability for our family. He was pumped when he called me on his way home and said this was definately for him and how he was going to make alot of money.

See, my husband is no dummy but when it comes to his family he wants the best. His current job pays about $60K a year. He put his resume online to see what happened. I actually asked him to respond to "UGA" email in regards to a sales position. Needless to say, after he got home and told me all that the job entailed it sounded good but in the back of my mind it sounded too good to be true. My Husban actually has a sales background, but NOT insurance.

Anyways, this guy he interviewed with told my husband to talk it over with "your wife" this weekend and make sure she is "on-board". Within an hour after he got home I jumperd on here(ripoffreport) only to find that indeed, it was "Too good to be true". Thank God we found out now and not 2 months from now when we could have been losing our house.....

I definately smelled a rat and I was right!!!!

I recently lost my cobra coverage and was suckered into Mega. I'm a pretty sharp guy, and the salesman was GOOD! I had a nagging feeling in the back of my mind and decided to check out Rip-off report. I am not going to argue the merits of Mega, however, when any company generates this much anger from its customers and former employees, its a sign to GET OUT! I cancelled my Mega policy and went back to xxxx. xxxxx isnt the best, but at least I know what Im getting

I worked there for 3 months (in late 2006) with no insurance back ground. I could not believe they had me selling insurance 3 days into training. I had no idea what I was doing. They recruit as many people as possible (whom pay $250.00 to UICI) run them through 3 days of training then start calling old, old leads. What a scam. No wonder they get a bad rap. Honest people like me want to start a new career and get no training. How could I possibly give someone looking for insurance correct information. Out of the 30 people in my training class, maybe 3 made it a month like I did. Once I realized what was going on I left. I guess the insurance is much better then 2005 but you have to fine an agent who understands it. I also they make you neighborhood look like crap with all the pole signs.

unfortunately, i currently work with this scumbag of a company. i would like to become truly independent and offer plans from multiple companies; how best to go about this? also, how best to deal with my due company? it is well over $10k and i don't have near the funds to pay it off (interest on your commission -- wow).

totally agree with the general tenor of the anti-mega comments in this thread. mega's policies are hapless in every regard, as we all know, and could NEVER be sold without the front that is NASE/AAS. the managers and agents i have encountered during my short tenure with the company have by in large been the most unscrupulous, backhanded, and ignorant crowd i have EVER come across.

some lovable facts about MEGA:

1) NASE/AAS/AFS have NO connection to the health insurance. the memberships don't provide a discount (they aren't even required in some states) in terms of the premium or guarantee better coverage or any of that crap. THEY ARE A FRONT for INADEQUATE COVERAGE!

2) MEGA's careone suite is better than the previous plans, true; but this amounts to saying that d**k Cheney is better than the devil. The plans STILL HAVE: max mega will pay for the ER (500-1500 post Ded.), max MEGA will pay for RX (only $1500/yr!), max MEGA will pay for preventative (which is outrageously priced), sub-par dental coverage, high max-out-of-pockets (if you even have one, and don't forget up to 3, yes 3 deductibles per year), screening's only covered AFTER deductive (absurd), and of course some outrageously priced ancillary products (income protection/theft(ha), critical care, term life (prices=haha), etc. could go on and on.

the short of it is this. MEGA offers a piss poor catastrophic suite that is moderately cheaper/the same price as much better coverage. only ignorant consumers even consider going with MEGA.

for anyone who has left MEGA and gone independent successfully already please advise me. thank you.

Jim,
There are too many ex agents complaining about the same things. How could it possibly be that all these ex agents have an ax to grind without some merit. I am a reasonable person and agree that there are angry vindictive people in the world who will write unfounded negative comments, but there are too many people saying the same things.

My main beef is that the NASE is just a cover to sell this ( my opinion) crap insurance. I was specifically told to make up an answer by my district manager since he didn't know all the answers after four years. He said most people won't even ask complicated questions and I was being too much of an insurance agent.

The Branch manager said all the time that people who try to be insurance agents will not succeed, just sell the NASE benefits in a 30 minute presentation of NASE and let the insurance be three minutes and sign them up.

Heaven forbid an agent should suggest they do not have enough product information to sell this stuff after three days of training. Two days of NASE and four hours of insurance, and four hours of paperwork.He flew through the insurance product training as if I would be selling cutlery or something insignificant.

Can you tell me why they run the ad on monster " salespersons dream job" like every week? There is unprecedneted turnover at UGA, that is why. It is a recruiting trap for people to sell a few policies and then realize what they have done and leave. How many people are hired and leave in a calendar year?? You know what I am talking about. Every person that attends an interview is offered a job. EVERYONE !!!!

As I said Jim there are too many ex agents complaining about the same stuff for there not to be some validity. They belittle people at their weekly meetings if you don't sell, and chastize you for asking product questions. You know what I mean !!!

If we are failing at our next job too, then we must be failures at all we attempt, so then why would UGA hire us in the first place?? Because we are disposable agents.

As I said, the managers have no conscience, they basically lie during their well reheared pesentation and lure people. The branch manager at my office is without a doubt, one of the slimiest people I have ever met, next to my district manager that is. Sorry, but the truth hurts.

I saw an advertisement for Mega Health and wanted to check them out.
The tv ad had no web address and the web site had no hard facts or information.
Thanks for the great site again and for saving me the representative BS.
Bob

I saw an advertisement for Mega Health and wanted to check them out.
The tv ad had no web address and the web site had no hard facts or information.
Thanks for the great site again and for saving me the representative BS.
Bob

I saw an advertisement for Mega Health and wanted to check them out.
The tv ad had no web address and the web site had no hard facts or information.
Thanks for the great site again and for saving me the representative BS.
Bob

I saw an advertisement for Mega Health and wanted to check them out.
The tv ad had no web address and the web site had no hard facts or information.
Thanks for the great site again and for saving me the representative BS.
Bob

I don't write for Conceco or Bankers. I listed all the companies I write for. I also don't sell coverage where the deductible has to be met three times per year. And what's up with that "MAC" - maximum allowable charge? Hmmmm....sounds like the Mega clients need to do a lot of homework before seeing a doctor!

Now, get back to calling those leads. Your district manager, division manager and regional manager are all counting on those overrides!

I challenge you to compare the junk plans you sell to your main competitor/nemesis, Highmark BS and see that your plans have more holes in them than swiss cheese! As has been stated before:

1. You are GREEN to the insurance business as I was at one time; and with no prior knowledge of the health insurance business, you have no idea that what you are selling is garbage.

2. You are fed lies on a daily basis by your division and district managers who live off of your overrides.

3. Your customers are the real victims here because you have no idea what you are selling because of the above said lies fed to you.

4. Get out and sell real major medical policies.

I feel good every time someone calls me and wants to ditch the MEGA policy they have because it doesn't pay for anything!

Just go to Monster and see how many ads your division manager has placed. you know, 'A Salesperson's Dream.' All he does is recruit, recruit and recruit. Look around and see how many new faces are there on a monthly basis. They turn over so quickly because the 'green' agents soon realize that they are given useless leads and the policies are junk. The ones who are there for any long period of time just have no morals.

Red flags should've gone up in your mind when your division managers' first words were about the all-expense paid trips and yearly 'Reunion' before anything about what it was that you were going to sell! Get out there and sell some real policies before the ones you've already sold go off the books and you have to pay back all those advances aka loans @ 12% interest!

I challenge you to compare the junk plans you sell to your main competitor/nemesis, Highmark BS and see that your plans have more holes in them than swiss cheese! As has been stated before:

1. You are GREEN to the insurance business as I was at one time; and with no prior knowledge of the health insurance business, you have no idea that what you are selling is garbage.

2. You are fed lies on a daily basis by your division and district managers who live off of your overrides.

3. Your customers are the real victims here because you have no idea what you are selling because of the above said lies fed to you.

4. Get out and sell real major medical policies.

I feel good every time someone calls me and wants to ditch the MEGA policy they have because it doesn't pay for anything!

Just go to Monster and see how many ads your division manager has placed. you know, 'A Salesperson's Dream.' All he does is recruit, recruit and recruit. Look around and see how many new faces are there on a monthly basis. They turn over so quickly because the 'green' agents soon realize that they are given useless leads and the policies are junk. The ones who are there for any long period of time just have no morals.

Red flags should've gone up in your mind when your division managers' first words were about the all-expense paid trips and yearly 'Reunion' before anything about what it was that you were going to sell! Get out there and sell some real policies before the ones you've already sold go off the books and you have to pay back all those advances aka loans @ 12% interest!

I challenge you to compare the junk plans you sell to your main competitor/nemesis, Highmark BS and see that your plans have more holes in them than swiss cheese! As has been stated before:

1. You are GREEN to the insurance business as I was at one time; and with no prior knowledge of the health insurance business, you have no idea that what you are selling is garbage.

2. You are fed lies on a daily basis by your division and district managers who live off of your overrides.

3. Your customers are the real victims here because you have no idea what you are selling because of the above said lies fed to you.

4. Get out and sell real major medical policies.

I feel good every time someone calls me and wants to ditch the MEGA policy they have because it doesn't pay for anything!

Just go to Monster and see how many ads your division manager has placed. you know, 'A Salesperson's Dream.' All he does is recruit, recruit and recruit. Look around and see how many new faces are there on a monthly basis. They turn over so quickly because the 'green' agents soon realize that they are given useless leads and the policies are junk. The ones who are there for any long period of time just have no morals.

Red flags should've gone up in your mind when your division managers' first words were about the all-expense paid trips and yearly 'Reunion' before anything about what it was that you were going to sell! Get out there and sell some real policies before the ones you've already sold go off the books and you have to pay back all those advances aka loans @ 12% interest!

I challenge you to compare the junk plans you sell to your main competitor/nemesis, Highmark BS and see that your plans have more holes in them than swiss cheese! As has been stated before:

1. You are GREEN to the insurance business as I was at one time; and with no prior knowledge of the health insurance business, you have no idea that what you are selling is garbage.

2. You are fed lies on a daily basis by your division and district managers who live off of your overrides.

3. Your customers are the real victims here because you have no idea what you are selling because of the above said lies fed to you.

4. Get out and sell real major medical policies.

I feel good every time someone calls me and wants to ditch the MEGA policy they have because it doesn't pay for anything!

Just go to Monster and see how many ads your division manager has placed. you know, 'A Salesperson's Dream.' All he does is recruit, recruit and recruit. Look around and see how many new faces are there on a monthly basis. They turn over so quickly because the 'green' agents soon realize that they are given useless leads and the policies are junk. The ones who are there for any long period of time just have no morals.

Red flags should've gone up in your mind when your division managers' first words were about the all-expense paid trips and yearly 'Reunion' before anything about what it was that you were going to sell! Get out there and sell some real policies before the ones you've already sold go off the books and you have to pay back all those advances aka loans @ 12% interest!

How Ironic my Great Aunt in Des Moines Iowa bought a Conseco policy from you. That is your true name John ****?
You conveniently left out the Iowa Insurance Division complaints of Companies you sell for.

Bankers Life & Casualty Company
22
$36,672,828
0.600

Conseco Health Insurance Company
37
$11,853,125
3.122

Conseco Senior Health Insurance Company
21
$6,607,629
3.178

Not to mention that the NAIC complaint list, consists of over 200 carriers. Check it out your very own carrier is on there. Our dear old cherished Hartford has its share of complaints too. I guess that happens!

In fact Insurance alone is enough to complain about let alone any carrier. The fact is and always will be if I don't want to be wiped out financially by a devastating, catastrophic loss I can use Insurance to counter my loss.

Insurance is not for profit for me, it is for profit for the Insurance Company ANY & ALL Insurance Company's including John's.

You are absolutely right. No consumer should make a buying decision or given much weight to these reports since they could be written by anyone. What it should do is prompt a consumer to do more research.

Type is "mega life scam" and start reading articles.

Better yet, go to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners website (NAIC) and run complaint reports for health insurance companies that write individual plans. I did and here are the results for 2006:

Humana - .13
Unicare - .16
United American - .56
Continental General - .65
Golden Rule - 1.27
Time Insurance - 1.35
World - 1.46
American Medical Security - 2.13
Celtic - 3.85
Mega Life & Health - 5.1

Mega has the worst compliant ratio of any individual health insurance company in the country - over 5 times the acceptable average. Now....you can argue with these posts all you want, but Mega is the worst based on NAIC reports. Go argue with them.

You are absolutely right. No consumer should make a buying decision or given much weight to these reports since they could be written by anyone. What it should do is prompt a consumer to do more research.

Type is "mega life scam" and start reading articles.

Better yet, go to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners website (NAIC) and run complaint reports for health insurance companies that write individual plans. I did and here are the results for 2006:

Humana - .13
Unicare - .16
United American - .56
Continental General - .65
Golden Rule - 1.27
Time Insurance - 1.35
World - 1.46
American Medical Security - 2.13
Celtic - 3.85
Mega Life & Health - 5.1

Mega has the worst compliant ratio of any individual health insurance company in the country - over 5 times the acceptable average. Now....you can argue with these posts all you want, but Mega is the worst based on NAIC reports. Go argue with them.

You are absolutely right. No consumer should make a buying decision or given much weight to these reports since they could be written by anyone. What it should do is prompt a consumer to do more research.

Type is "mega life scam" and start reading articles.

Better yet, go to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners website (NAIC) and run complaint reports for health insurance companies that write individual plans. I did and here are the results for 2006:

Humana - .13
Unicare - .16
United American - .56
Continental General - .65
Golden Rule - 1.27
Time Insurance - 1.35
World - 1.46
American Medical Security - 2.13
Celtic - 3.85
Mega Life & Health - 5.1

Mega has the worst compliant ratio of any individual health insurance company in the country - over 5 times the acceptable average. Now....you can argue with these posts all you want, but Mega is the worst based on NAIC reports. Go argue with them.

Reading all of these reports about Health Markets and Mega Insurance is very humorous, yet scary. What is so funny about this is that all of these ex-agents (who are, even if they claim that they are not), that could not hack it with our company get disgruntled and decide to cry about how bad everything is in order to justify their failure at our company.

The scary thing is that just about anyone can come on here, write a negative report, and then other people see this garbage and get scared off. I realize that is the point, and this is why people take the time to write this. These are also the same people that are now failing at some other job right now, and who will probably go and bad-mouth that company when they get fired there in a couple of months.

The bottom line is this. It is true, anyone can get the "rotten-apple" agent, who lies to them, and tells them that everything is free, there are no co-pays, no deductibles, and you get a free box of candy mailed to you on the 15th day of each month. But lets face it, this is true for EVERYTHING that you will ever purchase in life.

I can get on my soapbox and tell you how are products are the best and that everyone should be on our plans, but that is not why I am here. I just want everyone to take these reports with a grain of salt, and realize that anyone, repeat - ANYONE, can write these.

Now you could make your decision based on some disgruntled ex-agent's experience, or some less than intelligent individual who did not understand what they were buying, and always expects everything without paying anything. (Let's face it, look around, how many people out there would you trust to give you accurate information on ANYTHING) Or you could go to someplace like AM BEST or you state's department of insurance and get your facts. You know, the people the study insurance companies for a living. Afterall, if all of the horror stories posted here were true, do you really think that Mega would be allowed to sell insurance in any state? The choice is yours, but when I am going to buy my next car I will consult Consumer Reports. When I purchase my next home I will consult the best home inspector and realtor that I can find. I would just be a little hesitant if I were you about the validity of these statements.

JOHN,

Are you the agent that was fired from Mega for ethics violations and insurance fraud? or was it John from Miami?

You stated that you are a agent for the State of Iowa, are you the same John that is currently being investigated for the same problem above? (By the way, the Amy from Orlando, wasn't she fired for the same thing?) Perhaps the public record info is incorrect with the State.

If you respond(or any other agent) please state the following:

1)You state license number and full name
2)You address to contact

Since I am considering buying insurance (BY THE WAY,every major insurance company, including the ones you endorse are on this RIPOFF.COM site, are also being investigated). Also how does a site like RIPOFF.COM make money and paid their employees?

If you (or any other agent) is license! And sincere about giving me insurance advice about any company then it's appreciated. If you do not reply because you fear you may lose your license for your comments(since most states make it a violation to make comments against other companies) THEN ALL YOU COMMENTS PAST,PRESENT OR FUTURE ARE BASELESS AND USELESS!!! SO PUT UP OR SHUT UP.

I await your response on this....since I intend to buy insurance within the next three weeks and I have completed my research on all these comments about insurance companies, which again I state that everyone major company is on this web site, in fact,every major retail company is on this site!!! Which tells me that no company is PERFECT!!! Including RIPOFF.COM!!

I await your response...

I pasted "Blain - Fort Smith, Arkansas"'s data for his mother's medical bills into EXCEL, then I used EXCEL to parse his data into three separate columns to get the totals for the 9 months of medical bills Blain had listed:

The totals are as follows:

Gross Claims MEGA Paid % MEGA Paid
$597,944.79 $61,591.97 10.30%


MEGA Shortfall
$536,352.82

Doesn't this result make that $3600/year premium look like a bargain?

I am a former agent in Pa. who left after 30 days. The office is run by slime who teaches new agents how to avoid informing clients about useful information that helps them make the best decision for themselves. They give you a quick training on program highlights, and then out you go.

You call leads all day in the hopes of finding some desparate soul who will not ask too many questions. The dumber, the better. I have a conscience and gave it up in 30 days. Luckily I did not hurt anyone because I did not sell to anyone. My conscience would not allow me to. They have a ridiculous turnover, and they just hope out of 100 new agents , one will succeed.

I hope anyone who falls into their recruiting trap has enough to go with their gut. I went against my better jusdgement and signed up. I wondered how they could offer a job to each person in the room. A couple of people seemed so clueless that I would not offe them a job at Mcdonalds, let alone helping people with something a simportant as Health Insurance. They tell you what you want to hear. They are dispicable souls in that Pa. office, bith the Branch manager, and the District manager.

I would be interested in knowing how many agents sign up anf then leave in a calendar year? Is it all of us, or is it them. They tell you " you failed, not us." How do they sleep at night??

To all of you MEGA agents who think you are doing a service to your clients, well you're screwing them left, right and center! The only reason you think your product is fantastic is because you came into the insurance sales business totally green and were easily manipulated by unscroupulous division managers who are no better than snake oil salesmen.

Once you get out into the real world and sell real policies to people from more than one company, you'll see that you've been had by a corrupt, decietful system. I was in the same situation and thank God 'a little bird' told me to Google MEGA + scam. I was saved the grief of clients cancelling their crap policies and having high interest 'advances' instead of real commission checks from the company I sold for!

I hear horror stories from people all the time about how MEGA doesn't pay for any significant amount when the claim is filed! I have no problem switching these people into BC/BS plans with low yearly out-of-pockets maximums ... not this 'per occurrance' crap. Wake up people, you sell junk and your district, division and regional managers are getting fat off of your overrides by feeding you lies!