Report: THE MEGA LIFE AND HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANY
Category: Insurance Companies
THE MEGA LIFE AND HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANY Health insurance plan is NOT what they claim North Richland Hills Texas
*UPDATE Ex-Employee responds ..I worked for them in the 90's
THE MEGA LIFE AND HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANY
Fax:
North Richland Hills, Texas, 76182
U.S.A.
Submitted: 2/12/2005 2:49:29 PM
Modified: 6/30/2009 8:55:08 AM
Will
Aptos, CaliforniaI was a member of NASE aka Mega Life. I had an insurance policy before but I gave it up when NASE offered me a plan for the same amount. Since they represent self-employed persons alledgedly, they have extra benefits that I thought would be useful.
I think I paid somewhere in the area of $200 to $250 a month for a single person, age 35-40, non-smoker, and living in California.
At any rate, when I actually USED any service I always had to foot the vast majority of the bill! I'd get a lab test done that cost $90 and they would pay something like $12 of it. I'd have a doctor's visit for $125 and they'd pay something like $20 of it. It was ridiculous. A total waste of money.
It wasn't really an 'insurance' plan so much as a 'discount' plan. Nothing at all like any other plan I've been on. I would highly recommend you get a real schedule of service with real dollars for various types of tests that they will pay and compare it with the same from another carrier.
Aside from all this, it was presented to me as an association for self-employed which also just happened to provice a health plan. In reality NASE has very close ties to the insurer Mega Health and so they are just insurance salesmen, not looking out for the welfare of their customers as self-employed. Just abusing that perspective to sell insurance.
Will
Aptos, California
U.S.A.
Search for additional reports
If you would like to see more Rip-off Reports on this company/individual, search here: Search Tips
Rebuttal Box
Respond to this report!
What's This?
Victim of this person/company?
What's This?Repair Your Reputation
What's This?
Updates & Rebuttals:
- I'm sorry you didn't understand what you were buying Joe [9/26/2005 11:55:50 AM]
- NASE and MEGA too-close for comfort Will [9/26/2005 12:48:24 PM]
- NASE and MEGA are good companies Jerry [11/7/2005 3:33:47 PM]
- Health Care In America Carlos [1/14/2006 7:56:49 AM]
- Sorry but yes it is a problem. Attorney General's don't seem to agree with you Will [1/14/2006 11:14:54 AM]
- The NASE agent's rebuttal is a load of crap (ex-ins agent) B. [1/25/2006 7:48:18 PM]
- Will and 'Anywhere Maryland' Mike [1/26/2006 3:12:07 PM]
- Actually Mike.... John [1/28/2006 6:38:45 AM]
- Look around you!! Dallas [3/8/2006 12:53:54 PM]
- MEGA + MID-WEST = U FILE BANKRUPTCY! TRUTH TOLD! ..this pathetic excuse for health insurance John [3/12/2006 12:13:37 AM]
- I'm a present agent with MEGA and believe this is the best health insurance in the country. Chris [3/12/2006 11:24:34 PM]
- What??? Four to one larger John [3/14/2006 9:16:33 AM]
- Mega Screw Up Blain [3/15/2006 4:06:57 PM]
- Blue Cross Blue Shield For Me Please Nichole [3/16/2006 11:08:03 AM]
- MID-WEST MEGA LIFE SCAM SCAM SCAM FRAUD FRAUD FRAUD John [3/19/2006 11:12:31 AM]
- hey john from miami beach John [3/29/2006 3:02:32 PM]
- NASE - does nothing for small business Duane [3/31/2006 10:57:43 AM]
- to john from miiami beach John [4/3/2006 8:20:03 AM]
- Ex Agent of Mega Life/NASE Mark [4/4/2006 7:06:49 PM]
- Shop and Compare Christopher [4/4/2006 10:05:17 PM]
- Hard advice to follow Will [4/4/2006 10:43:33 PM]
- Listen up everyone Brian [4/6/2006 3:05:04 AM]
- Top Mega Agents Rare Breed Pat [4/11/2006 11:49:13 PM]
- Balance billing Lance [4/12/2006 9:54:26 AM]
- Balanced billing Pat [4/12/2006 2:06:46 PM]
- Competition Bashing is Not Very Professional Laura [4/13/2006 7:48:02 PM]
- Are you kidding me? John [4/13/2006 8:06:15 PM]
- He's absolutely right. Leonard [4/14/2006 11:48:26 AM]
- Resonse to Laura John [4/15/2006 5:55:28 AM]
- I Did Some Research Laura [4/15/2006 9:55:09 AM]
- Not enough. Leonard [4/15/2006 12:37:29 PM]
- You are Right, I am Wrong...Does This Make You Happy Laura [4/15/2006 2:57:39 PM]
- NASE, UGA, UICI, Mid-West National, Healthmarkets & MEGA Life & Health Insurance Paul [5/3/2006 4:00:10 PM]
- Did someone say 20.00 dr office visits? John [5/24/2006 9:10:55 AM]
- Does this seem fair? Stephen [6/15/2006 2:36:11 PM]
- Stephen - you're a liar John [6/19/2006 1:07:44 PM]
- Laura. Did anyone tell you you might not be eligible for Health insurance. David [6/20/2006 10:30:04 PM]
- John- Des Moines. you are on fire. David [6/20/2006 10:41:35 PM]
- How to get the best health coverage and avoid ripoff Dawn [7/1/2006 11:50:05 AM]
- MEGA Lies, MEGA Deceives Amy [7/11/2006 9:07:04 PM]
- I TOO AM A RECENT VICTIM John [7/13/2006 8:39:03 AM]
- Very well thought out Amy Leonard [7/15/2006 1:09:09 PM]
- Thanks to those who contributed to this discussion, you saved me a crummy experience! Amber [7/19/2006 1:32:49 AM]
- again Chris [8/2/2006 2:07:48 PM]
- Ex Mega Life Policy Holder Debora [8/2/2006 4:47:19 PM]
- Chris - I worked with you a couple months ago....wake up bud Leonard [8/3/2006 1:35:37 PM]
- just read it! no one here is trying to bash a competitor...and no one here is 'jealous'... Dallas [8/3/2006 7:28:50 PM]
- Leonardo IS right. John [8/5/2006 12:29:19 PM]
- Thank God I Found This Site In Time Andy [8/8/2006 1:56:09 PM]
- Oh my word A [8/8/2006 3:53:51 PM]
- Leave while you can Kelly [8/10/2006 8:31:30 AM]
- Leave while you can Kelly [8/10/2006 9:04:35 AM]
- MEGA Agent Chris from Atlanta, How dare you call me lazy!!! Amy [8/12/2006 1:03:14 PM]
- Bravo, Amy, bravo A [8/14/2006 9:48:40 AM]
- NAIC info from State of MD A [8/14/2006 12:01:41 PM]
- Congratulation, A! Amy [8/14/2006 7:30:42 PM]
- Wonderful Information Freddy [8/16/2006 12:12:57 AM]
- Wise choice Freddy A [8/16/2006 7:46:35 AM]
- Waste of time and money L [8/18/2006 7:05:08 AM]
- Clean Break Laura [8/18/2006 10:23:19 AM]
- Don't stress about paying them back Amy [8/19/2006 11:40:47 AM]
- Just be careful with the debt, though A [8/21/2006 4:52:34 AM]
- Independent Agent Laura [8/22/2006 2:56:32 PM]
- An Agents Comments Jim [8/23/2006 8:37:54 PM]
- Dodged a bullet Art [8/24/2006 9:40:51 AM]
- Jim, Thanks for the head's up....MEGA still doesn't have annual deductible!!! Amy [8/24/2006 4:50:36 PM]
- Jim - you're wrong - - you're instrumental in leading people into possible bankruptcy John [8/27/2006 4:39:08 AM]
- Mega Life and Health 2006 (HealthMarkets) Pat [9/9/2006 9:16:29 PM]
- Really? John [9/10/2006 6:13:19 AM]
- Pat from Cabot your opinion rings hollow Will [9/10/2006 9:55:58 AM]
- No Fish Hook Here Pat [9/11/2006 10:57:15 PM]
- Somebody help me! Todd [9/12/2006 3:15:43 PM]
- PAT - YOU'RE RIGHT John [9/14/2006 5:49:39 AM]
- Todd, Cancel That Appointment!! Amy [9/14/2006 8:42:12 AM]
- Thank you Amy Todd [9/14/2006 3:26:34 PM]
- Back To The Past Pat [9/14/2006 8:21:25 PM]
- I lost track Pat.... John [9/15/2006 10:07:26 AM]
- Now, to the real stuff... Todd [9/15/2006 11:13:43 AM]
- just one more thing... Todd [9/15/2006 11:40:31 AM]
- UGA - A Salesperson's Dream.. Todd [9/19/2006 7:55:14 AM]
- commission structure John [9/19/2006 9:52:07 AM]
- A response from my former district mngr Todd [9/22/2006 6:56:53 AM]
- Unprofessional and Biased Blake [9/22/2006 11:14:11 AM]
- Reasonable charges explained Will [9/23/2006 10:06:16 AM]
- On the Contrary, Blake! Do you understand that YOU are a captive agent? Amy [9/23/2006 4:23:36 PM]
- Reasonable Charges?? Blake [9/23/2006 7:13:36 PM]
- You keep mentioning this $120 claim we paid $18 on... Blake [9/23/2006 7:23:40 PM]
- Mega pays what it says it will pay, nothing less, nothing more Marie [9/27/2006 2:08:05 AM]
- I was a potential Mega customer Ken [10/15/2006 8:16:27 PM]
- major medical sold by a non captive agent Dallas [10/19/2006 8:57:44 AM]
- Major Medical Out of Network? Pat [10/19/2006 10:33:22 PM]
- Pat - you still don't get it John [10/21/2006 5:43:10 AM]
- Pat, stop misinforming your clients... Amy [10/21/2006 7:31:44 PM]
- Interesting that...... John [10/22/2006 5:42:20 AM]
- Thank you, thank you John A [10/23/2006 2:25:30 PM]
- Step Up John Pat [10/23/2006 9:59:55 PM]
- You're kidding, right? John [10/24/2006 4:55:13 AM]
- Mega Agents in it For the Money? Ask John the $15,000 per Month Man Pat [10/25/2006 9:11:34 PM]
- GOOGLE MEGA LIFE + SCAM John [10/26/2006 11:47:03 AM]
- Do your homework M [10/27/2006 4:51:39 PM]
- Using so many names... Jeremy [10/30/2006 10:02:36 AM]
- California customer - first impressions Bob [10/31/2006 9:51:48 PM]
- Clearing the air Philip [11/10/2006 12:25:46 AM]
- Good Info, may have saved me Dan [11/11/2006 5:29:19 PM]
- WHAT SHOULD I DO? Roman [11/16/2006 1:28:24 PM]
- Careful Roman A [11/16/2006 8:11:07 PM]
- Call a independent broker... Amy [11/18/2006 10:04:02 AM]
- I SWITCHED Roman [11/22/2006 7:06:01 PM]
- Stop being ripped off Paul [12/26/2006 8:12:46 AM]
- Oh, by the way... A [1/9/2007 3:45:27 PM]
- Thats Security! Sam [1/9/2007 6:38:38 PM]
- Just signed up D [1/17/2007 2:12:54 PM]
- To D in Georgia Philip [1/20/2007 10:54:21 PM]
- Nice choice Georgia! Sam [1/24/2007 8:57:37 AM]
- Does anyone know anything about World Health Ins? Lee [1/31/2007 4:27:49 PM]
- new plans marketed by MEGA David [2/5/2007 11:40:46 AM]
- Walking away Bob [2/9/2007 6:41:33 AM]
- About Those NEW PLANS..... Brian [2/13/2007 4:26:10 PM]
- MEGA does NOT sell MAJOR MEDICAL!!! X [2/14/2007 3:45:04 AM]
- Mark Zayti R. [3/4/2007 9:35:05 AM]
- Generalizations = Ignorance Jeremy [3/5/2007 8:47:52 PM]
- Mark Zayti Trained My Managers!!! Amy [3/15/2007 5:52:50 AM]
- Bashing MEGA agents Joe [3/17/2007 8:57:53 AM]
- Former Agent who has a conscience Len [3/19/2007 9:42:24 AM]
- 'Mother's claim' from Blain - Fort Smith, Arkansas Thomas [3/19/2007 5:22:20 PM]
- JOHN WHO? DES MOINES IOWA } Vic [3/28/2007 5:27:01 AM]
- This is humorous, yet scary Jim [4/5/2007 9:41:17 AM]
- You're right! John [4/7/2007 4:28:48 AM]
- Hmmm... John you left out the Company you Broker for Heidi [4/9/2007 9:31:52 PM]
- Jim - Center Valley Joe [4/10/2007 6:16:38 AM]
- Heidi...... John [4/11/2007 7:53:42 AM]
- Thanks Robert [4/15/2007 10:10:25 PM]
- There are too many ex-agents complaining -there must be truth here Len [4/16/2007 9:42:09 AM]
- need advice Bob [4/20/2007 9:59:35 PM]
- 3 days of training and Stop with the pole signs Luke [4/27/2007 1:09:30 PM]
- Thanks Rip Off Report Ed [5/5/2007 10:52:10 AM]
- THANK YOU, THANK YOU Sarah [5/5/2007 6:37:24 PM]
- JOHN = Bxxx Shxx!!! Vic [5/9/2007 7:42:51 PM]
- MEGA LIFE WARNING FOR ALL POTENTIAL REPS John [5/13/2007 6:56:26 AM]
- how long to get my money back? Ed [5/14/2007 12:51:49 AM]
- Len in Scranton Joe [5/14/2007 8:26:52 AM]
- BEWARE OF THE PAY! John [5/16/2007 4:57:35 AM]
- This company is deceitful John [5/18/2007 3:08:56 PM]
- To John in Iowa Jim [5/19/2007 11:24:28 PM]
- Blackstone Group Acq UICI Press Release A [5/20/2007 4:13:09 AM]
- Jim -your issue. EX-AGENT CLASS ACTION SUIT Brian [5/27/2007 5:22:50 PM]
- Everyone take a chill pill. John [5/29/2007 11:46:20 AM]
- If Mega's so fantastic... John [5/30/2007 12:19:29 PM]
- The Vicious Cycle of Mega Agents.... Brian [5/30/2007 9:19:57 PM]
- Outrageous Mega/NASE premiums William [6/4/2007 6:49:57 PM]
- To John - Tulsa, OK Bob [6/17/2007 7:23:30 AM]
- Their new 'awsome care one plan' Robert [6/19/2007 10:52:01 PM]
- Advice? Jeremy [6/20/2007 1:41:42 PM]
- Jeremy ... get out as soon as you can! Joe [6/23/2007 5:48:33 PM]
- Almost..... Rob [6/28/2007 4:01:22 PM]
- Not even close! John [6/29/2007 6:03:38 AM]
- I agree with Marie 09/27/2006 02:08:05 am Benjamin [7/16/2007 2:43:52 PM]
- UGA Training Benjamin [7/16/2007 8:26:38 PM]
- please let the ink dry on your insurance license before you proceed to educate the masses about how health insurance works John [7/17/2007 4:14:08 AM]
- let the ink dry on your insurance license Benjamin [7/17/2007 11:35:35 AM]
- let the ink dry on your insurance license Benjamin [7/17/2007 5:00:16 PM]
- You can Contact Me..... Brian [7/18/2007 2:42:38 PM]
- Contact Benjamin [7/18/2007 8:51:37 PM]
- Brian, you're UGA's worst nightmare John [7/19/2007 4:38:48 AM]
- E&O Benjamin [7/19/2007 1:19:00 PM]
- What's the source? John [7/24/2007 5:38:34 AM]
- Get off the fence- Brian [7/31/2007 9:24:39 AM]
- garbage company Robert [8/7/2007 4:31:33 PM]
- Figure this out for myself... Benjess [8/7/2007 10:34:38 PM]
- Huh? Brian [8/9/2007 5:05:48 PM]
- Tell your brother... John [8/11/2007 4:23:03 AM]
- Return of Premium Benefit Jayne [8/14/2007 2:07:30 PM]
- Fluff.... Brian [8/14/2007 6:51:10 PM]
- ROP is a sales gimmick John [8/15/2007 5:30:41 AM]
- Return of Premium Jayne [8/15/2007 11:10:00 AM]
- Any Advice? Help Me [8/18/2007 1:14:16 PM]
- Paybacks for HelpMe A [8/19/2007 10:19:19 AM]
- would like independent agent advice D [8/20/2007 3:12:06 AM]
- ALL MEGA AGENTS ON YOUR WAY OUT.... Brian [8/20/2007 8:14:21 PM]
- Jayne - your ROP Rider..... Brian [8/20/2007 8:25:55 PM]
- USA TODAY - FRONT PAGE ARTICLE ON MEGA LIFE & HEALTH.... SEPT 5th. 2007 Brian [9/5/2007 6:43:00 PM]
- So Many Agents... Jon [9/20/2007 3:17:40 PM]
- Not Taught to Lie Independentgeorge [10/4/2007 12:05:07 PM]
- So if everything is so fantastic.... John [10/9/2007 4:40:19 AM]
- United American Products are being sold by MEGA / NASE agents? Rhapsody [10/10/2007 2:32:07 PM]
- UA & MEGA Brian [10/11/2007 12:35:59 PM]
- I hope you cancelled your policy Ex Employee Of 4th Floor Healthmarkets [10/15/2007 9:44:34 PM]
- Insurance 101 Sandra [10/21/2007 6:14:25 AM]
- NASE and MEGA Life and health are NOT the same company M K Allaire [10/21/2007 9:47:54 AM]
- Are you serious M K? Bay Area Agent [10/22/2007 1:19:51 PM]
- Thanx MK Brian [10/23/2007 10:08:17 AM]
- Response Newagent In Sacramento [10/27/2007 5:24:00 PM]
- Are we Defaming Mega - or Exposing them? Brian [10/30/2007 6:48:28 AM]
- Problems with health insurance - ubiquitous Newagent In Sacramento [11/1/2007 12:08:39 PM]
- Scoop on this company, the criticisms are correct Jane Doe [1/3/2008 8:42:23 AM]
- employee or independent contractor Disillusioned [1/6/2008 7:55:25 AM]
- Mega Agents - Why do you stick around there? Brian [1/9/2008 9:37:51 AM]
- Negative Comments about Mega Life and Health Noainc [1/16/2008 8:12:26 PM]
- How do you explain this? Brian [1/20/2008 11:15:53 AM]
- BIG QUESTIONS About my Status as an AGENT Unsure [1/26/2008 4:47:54 PM]
- How Do I get Out without owing so much money? Unsure [2/2/2008 12:15:49 PM]
- Advice for All Mega Agents - Brian [2/10/2008 6:23:43 PM]
- Current MEGA Agent Leaving... Company has gone too far! Jay [2/12/2008 10:32:40 PM]
- Jay your leaving Mega to where? Unsure [2/16/2008 11:56:09 AM]
- Most Important Thing Current Agents Should Know! Jay [2/22/2008 1:01:51 PM]
- it's sad to see Brian [3/1/2008 10:03:38 AM]
- What about Alliance for Affordable Services? Confused [3/5/2008 2:34:11 AM]
- I Know who you met with Confused Unsure [3/5/2008 6:44:36 PM]
- Hi Brian Unsure [3/5/2008 6:58:15 PM]
- Hi Confused Unsure [3/5/2008 10:56:21 PM]
- definitely decided to look for health insurance elsewhere Confused [3/6/2008 1:15:25 AM]
- What? Brian [3/6/2008 1:25:49 PM]
- Sounds like same sales tactics used by American Republic Insurance Company Gregg [3/11/2008 9:20:54 AM]
- BUYERS BEWARE....5 FACTS YOU MUST READ BEFORE PURCHASING MEGA INSURANCE Brian [3/16/2008 8:44:34 PM]
- Mega life plan works great for me Mmmmmmgood [3/18/2008 2:07:42 PM]
- Boy, I am eating my own words! Eating My Own Words [3/20/2008 9:59:20 PM]
- Thanx for the good laugh Mr. Agent in NC.... Brian [3/22/2008 7:03:19 PM]
- Just realize who's giving you the information John [3/26/2008 4:47:45 AM]
- Wow..it is all true isn't it? Michael [4/1/2008 9:37:12 PM]
- Mega Life slapped with a HUGE fine.... P [4/4/2008 9:32:27 AM]
- MEGA Agents - do a historical study on 'CAPTIVITY' Unsure [4/6/2008 9:12:44 AM]
- what is all the fuss At A Loss [4/7/2008 11:20:49 AM]
- Wait and You will See all the FUSS Unsure [4/7/2008 5:46:15 PM]
- MEGA RATINGS - AM'S BEST AND S&P......LOWERED!! Brian [4/9/2008 5:50:38 PM]
- Most of The Things Here You Read Are True... But Stop And Think Jay [4/12/2008 12:22:16 PM]
- OK - I'm going to assume you are referring to me...... Brian [4/13/2008 9:24:31 PM]
- Yes I was... for good reason... Jay [4/14/2008 7:23:39 AM]
- The grass is GREENER on the other side of the fence Glad I Am Gone [4/15/2008 11:59:03 PM]
- Recruiters of MEGA Agents often just as pathetic and unethical as MEGA itself Chuck [4/16/2008 2:25:06 PM]
- I Replied to that Email - and now I'm out Jim [4/17/2008 9:12:11 PM]
- Well said Jay [4/19/2008 5:22:20 PM]
- Healthmarkets isn't going 'after' anyone John [4/20/2008 4:46:11 AM]
- I Think You Might Be Confused... Jay [4/22/2008 7:29:04 AM]
- Negative posts are not the problem John [4/23/2008 6:09:21 PM]
- Couple of Things - Brian [4/24/2008 3:45:02 PM]
- Why work for someone else.... Jay [4/25/2008 7:05:35 AM]
- You have a lot to learn- Brian [4/25/2008 12:31:40 PM]
- Back and forth, back and forth Chuck [4/25/2008 8:54:13 PM]
- Hyprocrites Brian [4/26/2008 9:43:42 AM]
- Is all this critism 'objective'? Nitehawk [6/5/2008 9:34:56 PM]
- I was fooled as well and now they say I owe $30,000 Ms. Terri T. [6/15/2008 5:06:14 PM]
- Tried to Leave and I owed about 40 THOUSAND Unsure [7/16/2008 4:53:38 PM]
- Pay Off Your Debt! Jay [7/17/2008 3:20:23 PM]
- New AM Best Ratings - MEGA Downgraded from A- to B++ Jay [8/7/2008 10:57:29 AM]
- You Owe Money Because You Borrowed It Lee [8/15/2008 3:06:11 PM]
- How many Mega agents are eating Crow now? Brian [8/17/2008 6:26:38 AM]
- Regarding those lower Ratings...... Brian [8/17/2008 10:17:30 PM]
- I have reached my verdict. Warren [9/6/2008 9:59:12 AM]
- I think I've reached my verdict. Warren [9/6/2008 10:33:53 AM]
- I think I've reached my verdict. Warren [9/6/2008 10:39:20 AM]
- Guilty as charged your honor Bubbabee [9/10/2008 5:17:25 PM]
- Mega Corporate Level Mission Statement Mega Blows [9/12/2008 11:11:58 AM]
- Eating Crow? Jay [9/18/2008 1:57:51 PM]
- Eat Crow and choke on it Bubbabee [9/20/2008 7:00:37 PM]
- What??? Brian [9/25/2008 6:54:50 AM]
- stay away from uga, health markets, mega, and nase Billy [9/30/2008 11:12:24 AM]
- Show up to a interview and save the others with the truth Bubbabee [10/7/2008 9:04:24 PM]
- Healthmarkets on Monster Rob [11/9/2008 2:38:14 PM]
- Mega Life and Health Insurance constantly increases their premiums Brett [11/24/2008 9:49:01 AM]
- looks like the fighting died down Michael [2/4/2009 1:00:20 PM]
- My Story Continued Unsure [2/11/2009 6:34:50 PM]
- Nice.... Mega Blows [5/13/2009 2:40:46 PM]
- HEALTHMARKETS IS STILL MEGA LIFE & HEALTH!!!! Mega Blows [6/24/2009 8:10:25 AM]
- I worked for them in the 90's M. [6/30/2009 6:37:51 AM]
I'm sorry you didn't understand what you were buying
I'm sorry you had such a horrible time with NASE (National Association of the Self Employed) . I am a reresentative for both Nase and Mega and it sounds to me like you were sold a NASE health plan, not a MEGA insurance health plan. If you purchase a health plan from NASE, it is a disount plan that pays a percentage, like you stated. Mega Insurance is a full health insurance plan and has a $20 doctor visit co-pay.
I'm also sorry if the agent did not make this clear to you when he/she met with you. Just as in any other field, everyone presents information differently. There was nothing holding you back from asking additional questions to the agent.
Personally, I always look out for the welfare of my customers. Many times I have told individuals/families that our plan is not for them. Although we have discount plans as well as full insurance plans, we can not make everyone happy and fulfill everyones needs.
Instead of attacking the company, you should report the individual agent with who you dealt with to the Insurance Commissioner of your state.
NASE and MEGA too-close for comfort
NASE and Mega are so closely-held together that they do not constitute seperate entities. N.A.S.E. (National Association for the Self-Employed) is merely, in my opinion, a vehicle to sell Mega plans.
I was sold a MEGA plan, no matter what Joe implies. I was looking for health insurance, not a 'discount plan'. It's completely ridiculous to think that a person would give up a regular health insurance plan, paying 60 to 80% of all fees for a discount plan, with the same monthly premium, which is only paying 10 to 15% of all fees.
Just the mere fact that a salesman, not a company rep, responded to this shows, in my opinion, that Mega and Nase are merely trying their best to rip-off small business. If Joe has an actual health-insurance plan lets here the actual numbers. What is the premium? How much do they pay for LAB work Joe, I don't care what the so-called co-pay is, that is a drop in the bucket of what consumers actually pay for health care.
NASE and MEGA are good companies
Reading your complaint it is obvious that you did not understand what you were buying. NASE and Mega are two different companies. In order to buy Health Insurance from Mega you MUST be a member of NASE. With NASE membership you get discounts on over 100 different products in addition to offering health insurance through MEGA. Also the plans offered by MEGA are customized to your individual needs. If you were only getting a discount on the tests,you did not have that covered on your insurance plan. Same thing with the doctors visit. If you had doctors visits covered you would have paid $20. Your complaint should be with your agent that you were dealing with not MEGA or NASE.
Health Care In America
To Will and any other dishearted Ex-Mega clients:
I just want to start out by saying, that it all starts with the agent. The larger that an insurance company gets, the more exposure it has to the public and the more chance there is for mis-representation. However, the other bigger factor, is how a customer wants to interpret their coverage versus what they chose to discount during the 'building' of their insurance plan. 1st of all, Will you hit it right on the head that NASE and Mega are tied at the hip. So What! Is this supposed to be a crime! If so, please tell me then we can have McDonalds arrested for selling toys in happy meals, Walmart for giving you 3 cents off at the pump if you pre-buy their gift card my local supermarket who will not discount my groceries on the special buys unless I use my Kroger card.
What I'm trying to say is simply this; The whole reason for the National Association For the Self Employed (NASE) was formed, was to help provide a place where self employed people could join and use their group size to get discounts to business services as well as access to affordable health insurance. They don't try to hide this fact in any fashion that you cannot have the health insurance through Mega unless you join the association. I tell all of my prospects this up front and have no prolem with it. In fact, it is a selling point for us. The way individual health insurance is setup today is through risk pooling. When you enroll in an insurance plan with other independant insurance companies, you have usually a 12 month period before that particualar plan is closed off. Once that plan closes, no can ever enter that same exact plan again. Not to mention that you are usually confined to a small group based on your zip code or region. So when you take a plan with xyz, you may have 6,000 more people that signed up for the same plan during the enrollment period. So what happens when these people starting getting sick, having heart attacks and major surgeries? The rates of even the healthy people are increased. And they continue to increase each year. Ever have this happen? The fact that NASE is an association (group), we have over 500,000 members. Now Mega is the only health insurance provider we offer because we want to keep all of our business and it's large members with one company so that we can get great discounts on the health insurance. This is no different than Wal-mart using it's massive sized to get a great group rate for all of it's employees.
Now here's something else I bet you didn't know; With 99% of all the other individual helath plans out there, they pay benefits based on Usual Customer and 'Reasonable' charges. The reasonable part of that phrase, is the biggest word in the insurance industry that can wipe you out. I was at a customers home last night and they had a policy with a certain company and they were paying $270 a month with a $5,100 family deductible with 100% coverage after that. My program that I offered to them was a $7,500 deductible PPO program per person with an additional $4,500 total out of pocket maximum, for $312 per month. Now which program do you think you would rather have? That other plan they had with a lower deductible, 100% coverage after and cheaper monthly, or my program with a total out of pocket exposure of $12,000? It's not a trick question initially. Heck, I would rahter have their plan than mine, if i DIDN'T understand insurance!
Here is the biggest thing:
When a company includes the words 'reasonable' in terms of how they pay, that means that they have the right to dertermine how much of the hospital bill is considered reasonable under the benefit plan. The National average of how much a company using this payment method cosiders reasonable, is 63%. So although you may have a plan that 'claims' they are going to pay 100% after your out of pocket maximum is met, that doesn't mean that is all YOU will pay. So if this client would have kept their old plan, and had a $100,000 hospital bill, they would have been responsible for the first $5,100 of the bill which would reduce the bill to $94,900. Now this company actually had to have in writing but hidden in legal jargon that they cover in the 60th percentile for reasonable charges. This is code for 60%, a little less than the national average. So 60% of $94,900 is $56,940 which they consider 'Reasonable' charges. So what happens to the other $37,960 that was not covered? Oh, YOU are held responsible and you better hope the hospital gives you a break and reduces that 50%! And if you pull that miracle off, that is still a grand total of $24,080 total out of pocket that you paid. Imagine if the bill was higher!
Our plan says in writing, we cover for Usual and Customery charges. We don't use the word 'Reasonable'. So what this means is if you had a total hospital of $750,000 with our program, you would pay your $7,500 deductible and your total out of pocket of $4,500 which comes to a grand total of $12,000 and that's it! We cover absolutley 100% after you pay these amounts, no questions asked!
Also, it showed in their policy in writing, that the insurance company can raise their rate at any time as long as they provide a 30 day written notice. They also said they can raise the rates based on the claims ratio in the schedule of benefits which means, 'the more you use your insurance, the more we will increase your premium'.
My policy says in writting 'You cannot be individually picked out for a rate increase'.
So in the end, you know why my client signed up with me, for a higher premium with a higher deductible. Because we protect our people! We are not designed to cover every little sniffle or cover 100% of all your testing and doctors visits. We are designed to help keep you from losing every thing you own if you had a serious catastrophic event. We are Dream Keepers!
However, if you want to pay a little more premium for these things, we can offer doctor's visits for $20 co-pays, $10 for generic medication (automatically included with any health plan. We can help you with the big testing such as MRI's and Cat Scans with a deductible of $500. We have the best indemnity products in the country for the money which includes: Accident, Critical Illness, Income Protection, Life Insurance and Income for each day that you are hospitalized. And we also offer Dental and Vison which most companies don't offer anymore.
So in conclusion (finally) I am very proud to be a NASE field represtative and a licensed agent for the Mega Life & Health insurance company. I truly take time with each client to explain in full detail, everything I explained in this letter and exactly how each of our benefit options work. Then I let them decide what is important to them in their plan. So we may not be the 'cheapist' insurance company in the country, but we darn sure are the best! Chao'
Sorry but yes it is a problem. Attorney General's don't seem to agree with you
Several State Attorney General's don't seem to agree with you. In fact at least one state has passed a law to prevent exactly what NASE/Mega/UICI is doing. How many names does a reputable company need anyway? Why would NASE be sued and fined by states for doing something *honest* and *helpful* instead of deceptive and criminal?
Here are some links to learn more about how *wonderful* NASE is
http://www.selfemployedweb.com/nase-wsj2.htm
http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2004/01/18/premium_deal_with_complications/
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/12269183.htm
In particular let's quote the last one 'the policy imposed CAPS on nearly EVERY type of coverage...'
A real insurance plan does the exact opposite.
NASE is and always will be a fraud, this is my opinion. You can read up on the links I've posted, I'm sure there are dozens more like that.
The NASE agent's rebuttal is a load of crap (ex-ins agent)
When I first got out of college, I sold health ins and life ins for a couple years. I had general agent's contracts with many different companies, and I looked at selling for NASE, until I recognized what a crap policy it was!
The whole sales pitch that Carlos so elegantly recited has been around at least since the late 80's or early 90's. And while it may appear to be true on paper (and it sounds like a helluva sales pitch), it's totally false because doctors and insurance companies just don't work the way NASE is implying. Their whole sales pitch is a scare tactic.
They essentially say: Buddy, you better give up that cheaper policy with Blue Cross/Blue Shield that gives you better coverage.
Customer says: Gee whiz. Why?
Nase says: Oh, because of the reasonable and customary wording. They'll screw you big time, beacause the docs and hospitals always charge MUCH MORE than the reasonable and customary rates.
Customer says: Oh. I didn't know that. Gee, where do I sign?
The truth is: Nase kinda sorta ~forgets~ that virtually every big-name health plan...Kaiser, Cigna, Aetna, Blue Cross, Definity, etc...all have contracts with docs and hospitals. The docs and hospitals sign a CONTRACT with the insurer that they will accept $X amt of dollars that the company pays, and that the hospital or doc WILL NOT go after their customer for the balance!
Example: Cigna is your insurer. You have knee surgery. Doc charges $4,000. Hospital charges $6,000. But they are both in Cigna's PPO plan. Cigna only pays $2,800 to the doc, and $4,500 to the hospital. Do you owe the balance? NO. NO. NO. They are CONTRACTED with Cigna, and they agree to accept whatever they pay.
Nase just loves you to believe their scary sales pitch. Don't fall for it.
Will and 'Anywhere Maryland'
Thanks God you are an Ex-Agent b/c you were spreading bad information. IF your insurance contract reads 'reasonable charges' the insurance company determines what is paid to the provider. If it reads 'Usual and Customary' then the prevailing charge in that geographic area is what the insurance company pays. I would rather have doctors and hospitals determining what is paid rather than ANY insurance company. Just b/c an insurance company has a contract w/doctors and hospitals DOES NOT MEAN THEY WILL COVER ALL CHARGES ASSOCIATED WITH A CLAIM. Please understand what is called 'Balance Billing.' Here is an article from the Patient Advocate Foundation http://www.patientadvocate.org/index.php?p=439
PLEASE PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION TO THE BOTTOM WHERE IT SAYS THE PATIENT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR PAYING THE DIFFERENCE. (also, do your homework before educating others)
Usual, Customary and Reasonable Charges (UCR)
Defined Usual, Customary and Reasonable Charges (UCR) are a calculation by a managed care plan of what it believes is the appropriate fee to pay for a specific health care product or service in the geographic area in which the plan operates.
Neither State nor Federal governments regulate UCR charges. Medicare is one entity that publishes their UCR charges. Providers of care may have different UCR Charges (Actual Charges) from the UCR Charges (Allowable Charges) of the insurance carriers. When an insurance carrier has a UCR Charge (Allowable Charge) that is below that of a provider of care's UCR Charge (Actual Charge), then the patient may be responsible for the difference. This is called Balance Billing.
Actually Mike....
All of the insurance compaies I deal with do not allow balance billing. It's in the Blue Cross policy my clients receive - in writing. If you'd like a copy faxed to you just say the word. Clients are not responsible with paying the difference. The 'uc vs ucr' is a scare tactic employed by UGA agents to scare people into buying Mega policies.
And Mike, what would it matter anyway:
ER = $1,000 max benefit
Lab = $2,000 per day max benefit
Doctor visits = $75 max benefit
Prescriptions = $1,000 max benefit
Chemo = $2,000 per day max benefit
Deductibles = per-occurance (unless PPO Plus or Signature - almost never sold)
No outpaitent charges count towards the plan deductible. You have a seperate deductible for lab and ER. All out of pocket expenses involving lab, ER and doctor visits don't count towards the deductible.
These are extremely limited plans. I guess you have to tell the client something to get them to sign.
'But we put people into a large association and give valuable business benefits'
So does everyone else, including Assurant Health, Golden Rule, Celtic, AMS, American Republic, Continental General, etc....All of thoese companies are association coverage JUST LIKE MEGA/NASE and give business benefits while putting people into a huge pool of people thereby speading out the risk. It's called 'association group' insurance.
You need to do some research.
Look around you!!
I am an ex-agent of the Mega Health and Life Company...all of the reports I have read here are very true, and it boggles my mind how many agents post rebuttles to try to defend this company...I know it is hard to look in the mirror and accept that you have been duped...but look around you...Why is everyone in your office a 'newbie' why are the big producers in your office only one or two years in the business...Why are your managers trying to hire as many new agents as they can every week??? Its because they know that when the ones they have figure it out they will need replacements...Its all a sham they lock you up in a room and teach you that the legit company's will cancel you if you have claims, or will increase your rates to drive you out, or they only pay reasonable and customary charges...and that MEGA is the consumer's answer to all those problems. I noticed one rebuttle that said you could taylor the plan to your needs and add doctor's co-pays, Labs ect....With Mega this is true but what gets paid after the co-pays??? Not reasonable and customary but MEGA'S price... I believe today it is $75 for an office visit after a $20 co-pay and it is limited to once or twice per quarter the cost of adding this benefit to your plan is more per year than you could ever hope to get back out of it...and it is that way with all of the optional riders...the Ambulatory care rider only pays up to $2000 per day after a $500 or $1000 deductible...the ER rider only up to $1000 after a $250 deductible...Have an accident go to the ER for a couple cat scans, an MRI and some stiches...total bill of over $10,000...MEGA pays a maximuim of $3000 for these services and you pay the rest....OH and your base plan deductible hasn't even been touched yet so when you have to go back to have a let's say ACL surgery you pay your $2500 deductible then 30% to $4500 more for a total of $7000 more...oh and if anything else happens to you in that calander year...you have to do it all over again...because the deductibles are 'per occurence'...Its an awful plan and all agents eventually figure it out...usually by lots and lots of phone calls from unhappy clients...If you don't believe just stay around for 2 years or more by then the calls will come...I hope by writing this I save a few of you agents that pain... there is nothing worse then being responsible for putting people who put their trust in you in a finacially devasting position. Anyone in your office (other then a manager) that has been around for more than 2 years knows what they are doing and should be ashamed of themselves...any one below two years I hope I have helped you to question what you are doing...there are plenty of legitimate carriers out there that will pay you more for selling their products, and they will truely protect your clients. If you are still not convinced ask yourself one question Why must you be a captive agent?? None of the other carriers require this...It is because MEGA knows that if you were comparing their products with true major-medical plans in the marketplace that you would never write any of their product...they want to control what you learn about health insurance and keep you in the dark about the truth...they only want you to know their truth...that is why they hire only agents new to the industry...they don't recruit experienced agents...look around you!!! Type other major-med carriers into the search on this web site...why aren't there pages of bad reports on them???? There is a reason!!!
MEGA + MID-WEST = U FILE BANKRUPTCY! TRUTH TOLD! ..this pathetic excuse for health insurance
I am a former agent and it's great to see all of these great postings bashing this pathetic excuse for health insurance. Folks, for the record, I am a very successful broker. My career began with UICI (Mega-BS/Mid-West National Crap of TN) It took about 6 mos to really see how terrible this stuff was. I did what every current Mega/Mid-West agent should do...SEEK OUT KNOWLEDGE! Yes, you brainwashed little morons! Stop asking your DSL or your RSL about insurance. Pick up your phone book and call an INDEPENDENT AGENT. One thing you'll find that I'll guarantee; you'll NEVER find an Independent selling this crap. Well, I really got the goods on these scammers and promptly resigned. WOW! What a weight off my shoulders that was! No more, trying to explain all of the god damn limitations.
You know what I love to hear these days??? When I talk to prospects that have talked to a Mega/Midwest agent they say: 'they won't single me out for a rate increase or a cancellation!' What a play on words!!! No other policy can will do this either folks!! How bout this one...'you can go to any doctor or any hospital' Yeah right, sure you can but will they pay? HELL NO!!! I love snagging people away from this crappy insurance, it's sooooo easy!! I just refer them to ripoffreport.com or a million other places that speak the truth!
Well that will do it for now. All you former agents be sure to post your 2cents! We need to let the public know just how bad this stuff is. It's your duty!!!
To anyone considering buying MEGA LIFE OR MID-WEST NATIONAL LIFE INS CO OF TN -please pick up your phone book and contact a local independent agent. There's a seal indicating this. Don't give these motherf*#$ers a second of your time!
I'm a present agent with MEGA and believe this is the best health insurance in the country.
I have done my research, and lets look around:
4 to 1 bigger than any insurance company in country in the individual family and small group marketplace.
The fastest company to pay claims.
Insurance accepted in all 50 states.
Only company that is slashing prices while everyone else is going up.
Have more products coming out that will kick the daylights out of our competition's behind. and on and on. Mega is a great company. I think it is Jealousy and a few bad agents that has caused these complaints. If the agent explained the product right, the customer will not have a problem. Also lazy brokers who just want to sit and make sales instead of going to see the customer is part of the problem. Even if i don't stay with this company, they are doing a great job. I'm looking around, and the future is BRIGHT.
What??? Four to one larger
Four to one larger than any other company in the individual market? I checked with the NAIC - National Association of Insurance Commissioners and this is what I got from premium dollar amounts collected in 2005.
Assurant Health: 1.4 bill
Mega Life: 1.3 bill
Golden Rule. 1.2 bill
Not only are they not 4 to 1 bigger, but Assurant is the largest individual company in the country, and they're also association coverage just like Mega. Also, both Assurant and Golden Rule dropped their rates.
Mega is not in all 50 states and all insurance companies must pay claims in within 30 days.
Just saying that Mega is in all 50 states and they're 4 to 1 larger than other individual companies means you're 100% completely clueless.
Mega Screw Up
for about $600 a month, Mega pays its claims like this. My mother developed cancer and here is a summary:
Charges/ Amt Paid
6/22/2004 $39.00 $0
6/22/2004 $44.00 $0
8/30/2004 $45.00 $0
8/30/2004 $139.00 $78.00
9/2/2004 $147.00 $50.00
9/8/2004 $7.00 $0
9/17/2004 $71.00 $0
9/17/2004 $39.00 $0
9/17/2004 $44.00 $0
10/1/2004 $39.00 $0
9/2/2004 $172.00 $79.92
10/1/2004 $44.00 $0
10/1/2004 $71.00 $50.00
11/22/2004 $71.00 $0
8/30/2004 $139.00 $0
8/30/2004 $45.00 $0
12/2/2004 $1316.00 $368.64
12/8/2004 $105.00 $0
12/8/2004 $44.00 $0
12/8/2004 $39.00 $0
12/7/2004 $2308.51 $0
12/10/2004 $115.00 $0
12/10/2004 $90.00 $45.69
1/6/2005 $84.00 $0
12/10/2004 $519.00 $87.86
1/5/2005 $154.00 $50.00
1/8/2005 $139.00 $0
1/11/2005 $185.00 $0
12/7/2004 $614.00 $0
12/29/2004 $132.00 $32.00
1/7/2005 $285.00 $0
1/6/2005 $110.00 $0
1/10/2005 $84.00 $0
1/7/2005 $84.00 $0
1/6/2005 $1168.00 $0
1/7/2005 $2629.00 $0
1/7/2005 $2219.00 $0
1/13/2005 $873.00 $0
1/11/2005 $110.00 $0
1/12/2005 $550.00 $0
1/19/2005 $2029.00 $0
1/14/2005 $410.00 $0
1/11/2005 $410.00 $0
1/24/2005 $43.00 $9.00
12/29/2004 $64.00 $37.74
1/18/2005 $882.00 $0
1/20/2005 $3986.00 $0
1/13/2005 $725.00 $0
1/17/2005 $410.00 $0
1/8/2005 $410.00 $0
1/10/2005 $882.00 $0
1/12/2005 $410.00 $328.00
1/8/2005 $33.00 $0
1/24/2005 $56.00 $41.00
1/6/2005 $625.00 $0
1/12/2005 $190.00 $0
1/5/2005 $1120.00 $0
1/12/2005 $28.00 $0
1/5/2005 $25143.02 $0
2/13/2005 $168.00 $0
1/18/2005 $882.00 $0
1/19/2005 $2029.00 $0
1/20/2005 $3986.00 $0
1/8/2005 $410.00 $0
1/10/2005 $882.00 $0
1/11/2005 $410.00 $0
1/12/2005 $410.00 $0
1/13/2005 $725.00 $0
1/14/2005 $410.00 $0
1/17/2005 $410.00 $0
12/10/2004 $4105.29 $0
1/11/2005 $28.00 $0
1/24/2005 $5516.00 $0
1/7/2005 $6138.00 $0
1/7/2005 $5442.00 $0
1/25/2005 $1640.00 $0
1/31/2005 $1440.00 $0
2/2/2005 $882.00 $0
2/4/2005 $99.00 $99.00
1/24/2005 $40.00 $0
1/31/2005 $2814.45 $0
1/19/2005 $2387.50 $0
1/24/2005 $2419.00 $0
2/4/2005 $584.95 $484.95
2/13/2005 $34.00 $0
2/13/2005 $33.00 $0
2/13/2005 $43.00 $0
2/15/2005 $56.00 $0
2/16/2005 $67.00 $0
2/16/2005 $14.00 $0
2/19/2005 $124.00 $0
2/15/2005 $110.00 $0
2/16/2005 $20.00 $0
2/18/2005 $45.00 $0
2/19/2005 $24.00 $0
2/21/2005 $40.00 $0
2/13/2005 $32.00 $0
2/13/2005 $234.00 $0
2/22/2005 $20.00 $0
2/23/2005 $10.00 $0
2/19/2005 $248.00 $0
2/18/2005 $284.00 $0
2/4/2005 $24.00 $24.00
2/4/2005 $410.00 $0
2/24/2005 $20.00 $0
2/26/2005 $45.00 $0
2/26/2005 $14.00 $0
2/16/2005 $32.00 $0
2/13/2005 $25936.85 $5605.85
2/16/2005 $82.00 $0
2/17/2005 $198.45 $101.45
2/14/2005 $20.00 $0
2/14/2005 $20.00 $0
2/15/2005 $20.00 $0
2/16/2005 $10.00 $0
1/7/2005 $966.00 $0
12/29/2004 $749.08 $565.66
2/28/2005 $381.00 $0
2/28/2005 $150.00 $0
2/28/2005 $100.00 $0
2/20/2005 $32.00 $0
3/2/2005 $75.00 $0
2/23/2005 $248.68 $200.68
2/21/2005 $259.18 $50.18
2/13/2005 $25931.00 $0
2/28/2005 $28.00 $0
2/28/2005 $49.00 $0
3/12/2005 $168.00 $0
3/11/2005 $84.00 $0
2/28/2005 $625.00 $0
2/26/2005 $32.00 $0
3/1/2005 $347.00 $0
3/1/2005 $83.00 $0
3/4/2005 $28.00 $0
3/3/2005 $26.00 $0
3/16/2005 $75.00 $0
3/14/2005 $511.00 $0
3/16/2005 $633.00 $0
3/3/2005 $28.00 $0
3/5/2005 $56.00 $0
2/22/2005 $32.00 $0
2/18/2005 $45.00 $0
2/19/2005 $10.00 $0
2/15/2005 $56.00 $0
2/16/2005 $35.00 $0
2/26/2005 $24.00 $0
2/27/2005 $10.00 $0
2/22/2005 $20.00 $0
2/23/2005 $10.00 $0
2/13/2005 $28.00 $0
2/14/2005 $33.00 $0
3/10/2005 $28.00 $0
2/14/2005 $20.00 $0
2/14/2005 $10.00 $0
2/24/2005 $20.00 $0
2/26/2005 $35.00 $0
2/20/2005 $24.00 $0
2/22/2005 $35.00 $0
2/15/2005 $20.00 $0
2/16/2005 $10.00 $0
2/16/2005 $51.00 $0
2/17/2005 $10.00 $0
2/13/2005 $34.00 $0
2/13/2005 $15.00 $0
3/8/2005 $28.00 $0
3/16/2005 $56.00 $0
3/23/2005 $28.00 $0
3/14/2005 $200.00 $0
2/19/2005 $700.00 $304.00
3/18/2005 $28.00 $0
3/17/2005 $28.00 $0
2/4/2005 $410.00 $328.77
2/23/2005 $10.00 $0
2/22/2005 $20.00 $0
2/21/2005 $40.00 $0
2/19/2005 $24.00 $0
2/18/2005 $45.00 $0
2/2/2005 $882.00 $0
2/27/2005 $1055.85 $250.85
2/27/2005 $0 $0
3/14/2005 $215.00 $0
3/7/2005 $28.00 $0
3/19/2005 $55.00 $0
3/22/2005 $360.00 $0
3/15/2005 $28.00 $0
3/5/2005 $240.00 $0
3/7/2005 $360.00 $0
3/9/2005 $28.00 $0
3/20/2005 $84.00 $0
2/28/2005 $492.00 $0
3/1/2005 $480.00 $0
3/10/2005 $480.00 $0
3/18/2005 $175.00 $0
3/21/2005 $28.00 $0
3/20/2005 $28.00 $0
3/19/2005 $28.00 $0
2/4/2005 $584.95 $0
3/25/2005 $28.00 $0
3/13/2005 $56.00 $0
3/11/2005 $28.00 $0
3/22/2005 $28.00 $0
2/13/2005 $25931.00 $0
2/28/2005 $21.00 $0
3/24/2005 $28.00 $0
2/28/2005 $144432.39 $34987.00
2/13/2005 $25931.00 $0
2/19/2005 $700.00 $0
3/24/2005 $28.00 $0
12/7/2004 $2308.51 $1001.05
12/10/2004 $4105.57 $1134.22
12/10/2004 $115.00 $0
12/7/2004 $614.00 $0
1/5/2005 $1120.00 $740.96
1/6/2005 $84.05 $50.05
1/24/2005 $5926.00 $1251.31
1/7/2005 $11170.00 $1251.31
1/25/2005 $2260.00 $1809.89
2/1/2005 $1702.00 $1363.02
1/6/2005 $110.00 $0
1/7/2005 $84.05 $50.05
1/7/2005 $285.00 $0
1/6/2005 $1168.26 $250.26
1/7/2005 $4848.00 $0
1/6/2005 $625.00 $0
3/13/2005 $42.00 $0
2/28/2005 $144432.39 $0
2/13/2005 $25931.00 $0
2/19/2005 $124.37 $100.37
2/16/2005 $82.79 $50.79
2/13/2005 $234.79 $50.79
2/13/2005 $33.00 $0
2/20/2005 $32.00 $0
2/19/2005 $248.37 $100.37
2/16/2005 $20.00 $0
2/18/2005 $45.00 $0
2/19/2005 $24.00 $0
2/21/2005 $40.00 $0
2/13/2005 $168.00 $0
3/11/2005 $28.00 $0
3/13/2005 $56.00 $0
3/10/2005 $480.73 $200.73
3/18/2005 $175.37 $100.37
3/7/2005 $360.55 $150.55
3/1/2005 $480.73 $200.73
3/5/2005 $240.37 $100.37
2/28/2005 $493.36 $371.76
3/7/2005 $28.00 $0
3/9/2005 $28.00 $0
3/8/2005 $28.00 $0
3/14/2005 $511.00 $0
3/3/2005 $26.00 $0
3/1/2005 $347.00 $0
2/28/2005 $625.00 $0
3/11/2005 $84.18 $50.18
3/12/2005 $168.37 $100.37
2/28/2005 $49.00 $0
3/2/2005 $75.00 $0
2/28/2005 $100.00 $0
2/28/2005 $150.00 $0
2/28/2005 $382.12 $305.92
3/10/2005 $28.00 $0
3/5/2005 $56.00 $0
3/3/2005 $28.00 $0
3/4/2005 $28.00 $0
3/1/2005 $83.00 $0
2/28/2005 $28.00 $0
2/26/2005 $32.00 $0
3/24/2005 $28.00 $0
3/22/2005 $28.00 $0
3/13/2005 $56.00 $0
3/19/2005 $28.00 $0
3/20/2005 $28.00 $0
3/21/2005 $28.00 $0
3/15/2005 $28.00 $0
3/22/2005 $360.55 $150.55
3/20/2005 $84.18 $50.18
3/19/2005 $55.18 $50.18
3/14/2005 $215.00 $0
3/17/2005 $28.00 $0
3/18/2005 $28.00 $0
3/14/2005 $200.00 $0
3/23/2005 $28.00 $0
3/16/2005 $634.80 $492.20
3/16/2005 $75.00 $0
2/19/2005 $304.00 $0
1/8/2005 $410.00 $0
1/10/2005 $882.00 $0
1/11/2005 $410.00 $0
1/13/2005 $725.00 $0
1/14/2005 $410.00 $0
1/17/2005 $410.00 $0
1/18/2005 $882.00 $0
1/19/2005 $2029.00 $0
1/20/2005 $3986.00 $0
1/19/2005 $2029.00 $1250.00
1/18/2005 $882.00 $705.60
1/13/2005 $725.00 $580.00
1/11/2005 $410.00 $328.00
1/8/2005 $410.00 $328.00
1/10/2005 $882.00 $705.60
1/17/2005 $410.00 $328.00
1/20/2005 $3986.00 $1250.00
1/14/2005 $410.00 $328.00
The MEGA Life and Health Insurance Company
PO Box 982009
North Richland Hills, Tx 76182
Blue Cross Blue Shield For Me Please
Let's start back in December of 2005 when my 5 year old daughter went to the doctor for her wellness visit and school shots. Paid $459.00 out of pocket (I admit my fault since I misplaced her identification card). Filed claim for reimbursement and received a check payable to my daughter for $100.00. When I called to verify benefits and have the check made out to me so I could cash it and I was told that was all her wellness visit covered and had always covered. That was the first part of February and here it is March 16 and I still have no check. Called and now it is a problem to issue check to me because I am not on the policy. Let's see I pay $200/mo for 12 months $2,400.00 and only see $100.00 back for taking her to have a check up. Pretty amazing to me. Even though I have a co-pay I still get billed by the doctor's office for the part that MEGA won't cover. I then canceled the policy on March 6 and go figure they still drafted the next month from my account yesterday. Now I am being told that they won't send me a refund until April 9 because my bank can reverse the draft. Whatever! I would not recommend this company to anyone. My agent to blame maybe so.
MID-WEST MEGA LIFE SCAM SCAM SCAM FRAUD FRAUD FRAUD
POTENTIAL HEALTH INSURANCE BUYERS: RUN RUN RUN, DON'T BUY THIS CRAP. IT WILL BANKRUPT YOU!! THE REBUTTALS POSTED HERE BY CURRENT AGENTS IS ONLY EVIDENCE OF THEIR BRAINWASHING. THESE DOUCHEBAGS WERE RECURITED RIGHT OFF THE STREET, BRAINWASHED, THEN THEY CALLED YOU! THE FUNNY PART IS ASKING ONE OF THESE AGENTS TO LOOK AROUND AT THE CHEERLEADING SESSION OF A MEETING THEY HAVE ONCE A WEEK. THEIR 'COLLEAGUES' ARE NOT EXPERIENCED, THEY'VE ONLY SOLD MEGA/MID-WEST. THEY DON'T KNOW A GOD DAMN THING ABOUT INSURANCE. THESE GUYS SUCKS MONKEY NUTS. GET A NICE GOLDEN RULE, ASSURANT HEALTH, AETNA, SOMETHING OTHER THAN THIS BS. THIS COMPANY KNOWS HOW TO BEND THE RULES, HAVE NO ETHICAL STANDARDS WHATSOEVER, LIE AND CHEAT, IF I HAD A AGENT CLOSE TO ME NOW I'D KICK HIM IN THE NUTS TILL HE PUKED.
hey john from miami beach
i am currently an agent for mega and i would like to contact you because i have had a bad feeling for quite some time about these guys and i want to look around and work somewhere that i can feel better about. i know there is no perfect company. also i have a mega plan for myself and i don't feel good about it at all. i got into the health insurance industry by signing up with their agent and then i was looking to change careers. so at the time i knew nothing about insurance. i was always on group plans and didn't know what to look for. well i've been doing this for about 6 months and the more i've learned the more i've found it harder to want to sell for mega. anyway the reason i singled you out is that i live in miami.
NASE - does nothing for small business
I have some experience in dealing with this company. I have been in sales for a few years now and was looking for a new opportunity with a different company. I responded to an ad on monster for a sales position with the NASE. Went to a group interview (which was my first inclination something was wrong) and had some guy pitch us on how he used to sell TV's & VCR's at Sears before he was presented with the Opportunity of a lifetime.
The way he sold how NASE reps helped small businesses really had me interested, I sat through the whole interview and was actually optimistic about the opportunity. A few days later I had a second interview with a team leader. She was very nice and explained all the ins & outs of the business to me.
I really was interested at this point, talked to whole thing over with my wife and the only thing that held me back was that I have a 10 month old daughter and I was a little worried about leaving my current job with a salary guarantee plus commissions going to a straight commission only job. After much discussion and thought, I decided not to pursue the position.
I did however; recommend a few of my friends & even my wife, who are in business for themselves to the team leader that I met with as possible people that would be interested in insurance.
One of my best friends signed up right away…I am sad to say. He was ripped off. I do have to say that MEGA did call him and go over his policy with him, and it was not what he thought it was. He is paying almost $300 a month for pretty much a discount program. Needless to say, he is canceling, and going with Blue Cross.
The NASE says it represents small businesses by lobbing for them discounts, blah blah…I have done some research and have found nothing that they have done for small businesses as far as lobbing goes. Maybe the $35 membership for the discounts is something worthwhile…but from my small dealings with this company, I would say to stay clear of the health non-insurance.
I have been to the Primerica recruiting seminar also…and the old verbage “If it's to good to be true, it probably is…" fits here.
to john from miiami beach
hey john i noticed that i can't leave any contact info but i would like to speak with you because i have sent a resignation letter to mega via e mail and i'm talking to a couple of brokers to go independent. plus i'm planning to switch my coverage. so i don't know how to reach you.
Ex Agent of Mega Life/NASE
I worked three months for the company and almost went broke because I could not sell the product it was so bad.
I asked a manager once about the limited benfits and he told me if I noticed, he never mentioned it while giving the presentation. WTF??? Our daughter just had a ACL replaced and the bills total just short of $30,000. Thank goodness we had BC/BS of Iowa or we would be bankrupt.
Always thought it was strange that my commisssion check was a check from my managers personal checking account and they always said don't worry about the taxes for a couple of years as the commissions were advanced not earned. Bet that is fun explaining to the IRS.
I dont know how any agent selling Mega can sleep at night. Stay far, far, away from this company as an agent or client. You can do better.
Submitted: 4/4/2006 10:05:17 PM
Modified: 4/4/2006 10:05:17 PM
Christopher
Colorado Springs, ColoradoU.S.A.
Shop and Compare
I sell health insurance in Colorado. I looked at a Mega Life proposal. Mega is a limited benefit plan. In Colorado, insurance companies are required to provide a description of benefits form in the same format from company to company so you can make easy comparisons. Line 16 deals with ambulance benefits for instance.
I quoted a family. The Mega plan was quoted at about $450/month. The major med HSA I quoted was $465. Here are the comparisons.
Mega Chemotherapy Benefit (additional cost) $7500
Other company included in plan up to $8,000,000
Mega air ambulance benefit (additional cost) $3500
Other company included in plan up to $8,000,000
Mega accident coverage up to $50,000 max $500/day
Other company included in plan up to $8,000,000
Mega family deductible $2,500 per confinement period.
Other company family deductible $2,500 per year
Bottom line. Use the Benefits Description Form to compare benefits. Know what you are buying.
Hard advice to follow
While that may be true in Colorado, it may not be true in every state.
In addition, you are an insurance agent. It's doubtful that consumers would be aware of any form of the type you are referring to. And an unscrupulous company would not inform them of it.
I for one, was never given anything like a list of what they would and wouldn't cover and for how much. Not at all. I'm just glad I realized early on what a scam it was before I had anything major occur.
It's too bad that there are companies that profit off people's ignorance of what the law may or may not require.
Listen up everyone
It's almost humorous to me as I read some of the post from current MEGA/NASE reps. I guess it's because I see how hard you're trying to believe in what you are saying. I am an X-Mega agent. I came into the business fresh, young, blind and ambitious. I won my quickstart class- sold $175,000 AV in 3 months and continued writing at a pretty heavy pace for an additional 6 months. I even remember placing post like the guy above -Chris from Georgia who is obviously clueless. I believed everything that my trainers told me, but turns out- THEY LIED. Turns out, Mega operates by the same insurance guidelines as their competitors... which mean my clients cannot be singled out for cancellation or rate increases based on claims from any carrier!
LOOK at all of the horror stories above.. WHY? Currently, Mega is at an all time high with agent misrepresentation and customer complaints. Look it up with the NAIC reports...Why? Because top level cunning managers at UGA hire unemployed family people to become agents with them, they show them some money, they show them how to mislead their clients into getting the check and their blind agents run around selling with no clue how and they end up placing unsuspecting families into bankruptcy.
It took me about 10 months to figure it out and get out. Today, I am the owner of my own agency and I actually enjoy training and helping agents do it a better way. We carry only the top insurance companies I offer good contracts to my agents -240% 9 and 12 month advances on just about all of my carriers. Commissions paid directly from the insurance companies. We sell quite a bit online - where we truely are CONSULTANTS to our clients as they can review their coverage and compare the best plans. We leave the brochures behind, we let prospects actually think it over for a day or two because buying health insurance is not like buying a used car or a time share - IT'S an important monthly expense and needs to be made wisely. And guess what??? We actually sell policies and a lot of them doing it the ethical way...
We offer full major medical plans that are as simple as this: $500 up to $5,000 1 time annual deductibles- than 100% co-insurance on all Inpatient and Outpatient scenarios. Unlimited doc. office visits with co-pays, 1st dollar wellness coverage, and Unlimited RX with $15 generic co-pay - $30 brand name after $200 annual deductible- PPO Networks and Traditional plans...All plans have associations build into them and the monthly cost are as little as $3.00/month - Believe me when I say it- IT'S JUST THAT EASY! Any agent who is selling what I am will agree with me that they will beat and take away any Mega plan EVERYTIME! We salivate when we get a lead of a Mega client.
Bottom line: Any consumer looking to buy MEGA- there are so many better options! Any agent selling Mega- there are SOO many better options. If you need a hand getting out- I could show you how to double your take home, decrease your expenses, make an excellent earning and actually sleep at night...(all the stock in the world cannot beat that last one)
GOOD LUCK TO ALL!
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.
OR
sorry, …allowing you to give a competitors name would instigate others to just file against their competition, to only come back later to suggest their company… your comments on this policy are welcome! 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.
Top Mega Agents Rare Breed
I too finished in the top of my quick start class. I am still with the company and unlike the other gentleman, I had my own agency BEFORE I went to Mega Life and Health. It is very hard work and very few make it. I grant you that. However, it is not because of ANYTHING the company does. It is a result of many new agents not doing what it takes to become successful. Yes, they do hire a lot of people. Yes, very few stay long term. But, it is not the fault of the company. The same can be said for many very recognized insurance companies that very few make it in their company. It takes hard, dedicated, disciplined work. It also takes a passion and full understanding of just how damaging balanced billing can be. It results from a reasonable or allowable amount that the insurance company sets being much less than the actual bill. Go to the American Medical Association website and read about how insurance companies are being sued over balanced billing. Why is it that 3/4 of the people who have to file bankruptcy for medical reasons had health insurance to start? Talk to the thousands of Americans who went through a major bankruptcy because they HAD TO FOR LIFE SAVING REASONS---go out of network for treatment. They hit the reasonable and allowable monster head on and lost everything the owned. It faces good people every single day. Insurance is not designed to cover every nickle and dime. Most people by it to protect themselves from life's worst health tragedies. That is known as ASSET PROTECTION. One last thing. Look at the character seen in the replies of the agents who are bashing Mega. I don't hear the sincere agents who are doing well today using cussing etc to make their point. We don't have to. We believe in what we do and it doesn't make us ignorant or blind.
Balance billing
Did you ever really pay attention in health insuance class 101. Balance billing is not done by any companies and Blue Cross puts it right in thier policies. Every insurance company has out of net work charges even MEGA thats why HSA's are becoming very popular. If mega dose not do balance billing then why do they put caps on almost everthing that is covered totally opposite of all the other companies.
Oh yeah one more thing if mega does not do balance billing why on the major medical plans that they do have, why do they have the MAC which for all you agents that never worked with the N.A.S.E. the mac means maximum allowable charge. Which mega is the only one's that know what that maximum is, the agents have no idea what the maximum is neither do their clients.
So before anyone says anything about balance billing check your state laws. this is not done any more. Any policy thats has a network has prenegotiated rates that are already been work out with the providers and payments are exepted at these prenegotiated rates. Thats why ppo networks where created to do away with BALANCE BILLING.
Balanced billing
I am holding a PPO brochure and it says, and I quote, 'in addition, if you go out-of-network, you will also be responsible for any 'balance billing' - in other words, the difference between what the providers bill and the Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield allowed amount.'
The MAC you mentioned with Mega has nothing to do with it's Premier PPO plan which is what we sell in Arkansas. If companies don't use UCR to their advantage, then explain the lawsuits on the AMA website regarding this area.
Also, do a search for hospitals etc on the Net that print on their website that you would be responsible for any amount above and beyond the UCR charge. I found several. Read the USA Today, Money and other ads that reveal the horrors behind balance billing and then tell me that it doesn't happen.
Another thought, talk to the people that we do who have lost everything they had because of major gaps in an insurance policy. Lastly, PPO plans do not do away with balance billing. They open the door to it. Yes, if you stay in network, it does. That is not and has never been the issue with those of us agents who hear the horror stories of people who had insurance and still lost it all. What our competitors do is convince people they will never have to worry about GOING OUTSIDE THEIR NETWORK. Then what happens? They go outside the network for WHATEVER REASON and meet the monster of UCR-balance billing head on. Just do the research. You have to go no farther than some Google searches. If anyone would like more info on UCR-balance billing and they are open to the FULL TRUTH, I will make it available.
Competition Bashing is Not Very Professional
I have been somewhat amused for the past hour reading general complaints (which appear to be from Blue Cross Blue Shield agents or brokers, as opposed to real customers with legitimate complaints) with rebuttals submitted in defense of Mega by Mega Insurance Agents.
After reading all the Mega bashing posts, I decided to see what kind of complaints are being posted about Blue Cross Blue Shield and, also, to see the amount of rebuttals posted in their defense from their agents.
There were NONE. Maybe it's because if enough attention is paid here, no one will even think to look elsewhere for complaints on BCBS.
The complaints on the BCBS search appeared to be from bonafide unhappy customers with detailed descriptions of what happened to them. These were the type of complaints I had expected to find with the Mega search, but didn't.
In fact, I didn't see one general complaint on BCBS that appeared to be posted by an agent from some other company. I guess Mega agents would rather not waste their time bad mouthing the competition, which, in my opinion, is professional behavior.
Licensed insurance agents can be fined large sums of money for bashing the competition, not to mention losing their licenses to do business in the insurance industry.
I guess I'm glad that I'm not easily swayed one way or the other by what is posted, good or bad. It appears that the Mega agents really do want to help explain how the plans work, are apologetic for consumers who have dealt with less than ethical agents (they are in every company), and do believe in what they have to offer.
Just from what I've read on this website on both Mega and BCBS makes me more inclined to try a Mega plan any day. I like the way the agents responded. Very professional.
Are you kidding me?
So your answer to the health care crisis and not having your client go into bk is Premiur PPO with:
1) Per-occurance deductibles
2) Out of network is a $9,000 out of pocket max plus whatever deductible you have.
3) $1,000 ER limit
4) $2,000 lab and therapy limit
5) $1,250 per day chemo benefit with NO CAP - client always pays 20% of the charges.
ER visits must be deemed a medical emergency to be paid. Who gets to decide if it's a medical emergency? Oh Mega. Doctor visits must be deemed medically necessary to be paid. Who decides if it's medically necessary? Oh Mega again.
Physical Therapy? Cannot recieve it unless hospital confined but didn't receive therapy while confined. Ambulance? No benefit unless hospital confined.
Lab testing - not covered by doctor office visits, ER, outpatient facilities, etc.
Should I go on or do you know that I was million dollar seller for Mega? I'm now independent and wouldn't sell a Mega plan for all the money in the world. You just have to be educated.
He's absolutely right.
Laura - If I could save just one individual from purchasing a Mega policy, I would feel so much better about my complete waste of time as a mega agent the last 5 months. Please, please do detailed research and make sure you compare every single part of the medical plans before you make your decision.
John from Des Moines is ABSOLUTELY RIGHT about Mega Life. Their agents are very poorly informed, and although it may seem like they are taking time to explain the policy, I guarantee you they are either directly misleading you, or they are too uneducated to know that their policy is tremendously inferior in many, many areas. There are so many short comings to even their best policies, and their limitation on cancer (chemo/radiation) is vastly short of the coverage you will need when confronted with that illness. Chemo is anywhere from 8-18k a day, and some treatments are as agressive as every day for a couple weeks.
Do the math - mega pays around $1500/day, and if the chemo drugs are running 10k a day, that is over 100k shortage in coverage for a 2 week cycle. And that is only the first round of treatment. Mega tells you that you can go in or out of network and that you'll never need to worry b/c you'll always know that there is a max out of pocket. They insist that they cover the big things very well, like Cancer. They say 'dont you want to go to the best hospital if you or your spouse were ever to get cancer?'. But it's all a lie, b/c if you get cancer with their policy you're screwed no matter where you go. 99% of the agents don't realize they are lying b/c they are clueless about health care costs, and how their policies really pay - but you can't blame them b/c they are only repeating what they were taught word for word. There is a reason that Mega gets bashed by former agents, and there is absolutely a reason they get bashed by so many customers.
Pay attention to these warnings - they are not agents from other companies trying to mislead you. They are mostly just people who feel sick to their stomach about all the unfortunate individuals they they put in mega plans, and they are trying to make up for it by warning others. As for me, I am no longer in the insurance business at all, and pretty soon I'll close the book on Mega life for good. I'm just trying to help a few individuals before I do. Good Luck.
Resonse to Laura
So Laura, you're looking for a independent unbiased review the health insurance company complaints? It exists. Go to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners website and run a national complaint search. This is what you'll find:
2005 national complaint ratios:
Mega Life: 6.63
Assurant Health: 1.90
Golden Rule: 1.20
Continental General: .67
Humana: .28
Mega not only has the highest complaint ratio in the nation for individual health companies, but it's 5 times higher then anyone else!
Now if you don't like this feel free to contact the NAIC and complain. This is the same organization that launched a 25 state investigation following Washington State issuing a cease and desist.
Laura - can you please explain to the class why Mega Life has the highest national complaint ratio?
I Did Some Research
The negative comments being made sound legitimate on certain types of plans being sold throughout the country. I, myself, wouldn't care to purchase a plan like the one you are describing, if it pays the way you say it does.
However, I did some research and discovered that Mega sells all different kinds of plans that cater to different kinds of needs and they are different in every State. To generalize to the public that Mega is not a reputable company because you don't like the features of one plan they offer, in my opinion, is not very fair.
For instance, in my State of Washington, they don't offer the type of plan you are describing. It was explained to me as a Major Medical plan with a calendar year deductible that I could decide on, based on what I could afford to pay in the way of premiums per month. They have certain co-pays for hospitalizations, doctor visits (they said 'unlimited' doctor visits per year), testing, ER, etc., but from what I can see with all the other Company's offerings, everyone has co-pays. There are other features that appealed to me, such as, up to $1 Million dollar transplants paid at 100% after deductible, but that's not the point I'm trying to make here.
If I had Cancer and I knew I was going to need that type of coverage, I probably wouldn't decide to go with a plan that you describe, as it definitely could cost me a lot out of pocket, if you are correct with your figures on the maximums it pays daily for treatments. I would have to decline that type of policy as it wouldn't meet my needs. However, at that point, I would probably ask to see what other types of plans they have, and if I didn't like them either, I would say 'thanks, but no thanks' and keep looking. It's my right to decide on the type of plan that would save me the most money on health care costs based on my specific needs in a policy.
If all the features of the plan are stated up-front by the salesperson/agent, and you don't like what you are hearing, send them on their way and don't buy. At least it sounds like they aren't hiding the details of what they are trying to sell.
I guess my point is, all companies have different product offerings and not every plan is going to appeal to all people. That's why we have choices.
I think the main complaints being posted against any insurance company should be the one's regarding 'Customer Service' or how timely was your claim paid, or what kind of hassles and time wasted did you have to go through to get your concerns handled to your satisfaction or dissatisfaction, and so on. Or, was something so hidden in the fine print of your policy that what you thought you were buying turned out to be just the opposite? Those are the types of complaints I am interested in against insurance companies.
I don't buy based on what I'm told, but on what's in the contract. I read every detail and if I don't understand something, I ask for my questions to be answered in writing.
Don't bad mouth a company just because you don't like a specific plan or the agent presenting it. Agents are suppose to be ethical and truly believe in the products they are promoting. There are good agents and bad agents and the bad ones need to find a new profession as they don't serve anyone's best interests; the company or the client.
Not enough.
Laura,
Let me just say that all the ex Mega agents who just read your rebuttal either put both hands over their face and shook their head, or they giggled and then shook their head.
It's ironic that you are in the state of Washington. There is a specific reason why you are only able to get that one major medical plan in that state - a very important one. I strongly suggest you contact the insurance commissioner and get as much information as possible with regards to Mega Life. If you take the time to read through ALL of the many complaints about Mega on this site (alot of them are under other search categories too, not just this one), you'll also find plenty of information about Mega's operation in the state of Washington. I believe there are some very nice links to other publications as well, newspaper articles, magazine articles, etc...
You'll find that Mega was forced (after a cease and desist order) to stop selling all other policies, and to only offer a major medical plan. Now, that being said - maybe they were forced to offer a plan that doesn't have the gaping holes that all of their other policies do. Maybe an agent who recently practiced in Washington can pop in here with some facts? But I will tell you this - ALL of the policies that I had at my disposal (about 8), had the same inefficient coverage b/c they all had the same 'riders' to their policies. The chemo/radiation was slightly different on a couple plans, but it was basically as I stated, and no matter what plan you have, you are going to be screwed with cancer. This is pretty much consistent in all states that mega operates in, with slight variations here and there.
A couple other things that you need to consider. Your comment about looking for a better plan to cover you if you had cancer, is an uneducated comment. Even the active Mega agents scrambling around on this site trying to put out all the fires will tell you that once you get cancer - you'll never be able to get another insurance carrier to cover you in the individual market. You're stuck with what you've got at that point, so it's not like you can go with a Mega policy b/c of one of it's advantages, like - I don't know - the 'wonderful association benefits' (ex mega agents laugh again - I couldn't think of any part of a mega policy that is actually better! i suppose the transplant benefits could be, but I'm waiting for someone to show me where the holes are in that too), and then switch to another insurance policy to have your cancer treatments covered. You're screwed at that point. Plus, the chemo/radiation coverage is only one (albeit major) deficiency of their plans. There are ALOT of deficiencies.
The other thing is, why on earth do you care if tons of customers and ex agents are doing their part to help protect consumers from insurance companies. The fact that Mega is getting bashed all over the place, and not just for claim paying (there's plenty of those threads), or customer service, should TELL YOU SOMETHING!!! I mean - hell, if I'm on ripoffreport looking up a company, I want to hear about everything that people have experienced. It has nothing to do with being unprofessional. Granted, I'm sure there are plenty of agents/company reps who are on here putting out fires, trying to steal business, and misguiding people. But come on. There's common themes amongst many of these threads and one of them is Mega's agents (people with no experience and who are often desperate for work) mislead customers about the coverage they are getting. The customers complain when they find out after it's too late that their coverage was not what they thought, and the ex agents get on here and TRY to turn the light bulb on for individuals before they make a crucial mistake. I'd say that's pretty damn important and useful information.
You are Right, I am Wrong...Does This Make You Happy
OK. I don't know why I am going here, but I am. Ex-Mega agents may be laughing and putting their hands over their eyes and, well, so be it. That's their perrogative.
The fact of the matter is, I'm sorry they think I'm stupid, but that's what most lobbyist will try to project against the competiton. I am not the competition and I am not for Mega Health and Life...I am for fairness. I understand that some plans that Mega offers may not be the best for a lot of people, but may be for others.
I want to hear about companies that are ripping off consumers, also..I am a consumer!!! I don't want to be ripped off. I just want people to post legitimate complaints!!! I'm done here. You don't get my drift; therefore, nevermind. Sorry I even entertained this forum.
I thought I could get some answers... NOT!!! Good luck all on your health insurance endeavors.
NASE, UGA, UICI, Mid-West National, Healthmarkets & MEGA Life & Health Insurance
Just a word of THANKS to all the kind folks who took the time to reveal the true facts on NASE, UGA, UICI, Mid-West National, Healthmarkets & MEGA Life & Health Insurance!!!
I recently went for a job interview with this company after they responded to my resume posted on Monster.com. When I arrived for my 'interview' at their Woodland Hills, CA office – I was led into a meeting room where I was surprised to find a number of other applicants who also just happened to have an interview at the same time as mine!
I soon discovered that the “interview" was actually a “sales presentation" with the specific intent of 'selling' us on going to work for UGA (or whatever their real name is they have so many). We were told that in order to be hired (as an independent contractor 1099 on straight commission), we would need to pay a non-refundable 'setup fee' of $275!
The bulk of the presentation was on the vast amounts of money we could make and how bad all the other insurance companies were. The presenter showed us stacks of bonus checks, some as high as $30,000.00 that had recently been paid to salespeople over and above their regular commissions. “Just two sales a week, and you too could be making a six figure income", the presenter said! “And that's just the beginning!'
After the 90 minute presentation we were finally given the opportunity for an individual interview. In my interview the presenter, who I presume to be the branch manager, didn't even look at my resume, work history, or educational background. I continued to feel I was “being sold" versus a normal interview where one is asked to sell themselves. When I said I needed a few days to think things over, the presenter gave me all of two days to make my decision, or I would lose the 'opportunity'.
My subsequent research on NASE, UGA, MEGA et al., confirms my own intuitive feelings about this company. Based on my research I can only conclude that this firm is not a highly regarded company, or a company that I would want to work for. UGA's prime market is insurance for the self employed. I've learned that there really is no such thing as “special insurance" for the self employed. Insurance is insurance. What UGA is doing is capitalizing on the small business person's frustration with the high cost of 'legitimate' health insurance in order to sell their less than comparable policies and programs. I also called two independent insurance brokers in the Los Angeles area asking for their input on UGA and MEGA. Both laughed outloud and gave me an earful with respect to the deceptive nature of MEGA'S policies, the multitude of exclusions, the deceptive nature of their programs, the lack of training of their salespeople, and their record of not paying out on claims, etc., and so on. Remember these were 'independent' agents who were not wedded to any particular company.
So THANKS AGAIN to all the posters at Rip-off Report for taking the time to tell your story. YOU HAVE SAVED ME (and hopefully many other people) from making a very bad career move and/or insurance buying decision!
Did someone say 20.00 dr office visits?
The dreaded 20.00 co-pay for Doctors visits
Thats what they tell you but they dont tell you untill they have your check and are out the door that it is 1 or 2 pending on which one you opt for visits per quarter at 20.00 which they will only pay upto 75.00 for medically necessary services... nor do they tell you that it does not pay for routine exams..When someone asks for a 'AGENT' to visit them and explaine what they are buying they depend on the 'AGENT' Why because they Agent is supposed to be providing a honest service thats the difference MEGA 'Agents'are not AGENTS they are salesmen who will tell you they can show you the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow...How about that DEntal insurance where there is a 12 month waiting period with a max of 1000.00 per person per year..Your paying a full year before you have to pay your 50.00 deductible per person then are only getting upto 1000.00 for that year..
Vision Insurance what a joke they pay for an exam then its a discount program thats in a network..Most vision places nowadays give you free exams..What about procedures it pays for non..But its an Insurance right?
There is not a benefit in the NASE booklet you cannot get online and get your self..They say they get big discounts what a crock I myself got online and gotten better deals than with their benefit guide..
Submitted: 6/15/2006 2:36:11 PM
Modified: 6/15/2006 2:36:11 PM
Stephen
Santa Rosa, CaliforniaU.S.A.
Does this seem fair?
I am considering a Mega Plan and previously I had a Blue Cross of California Plan. My wife gave birth to our son on December 31 and checked out of the hospital on Jan. 2. We had to pay two calendar year deductibles of $5,000 each, how fair is that?
Stephen - you're a liar
It's amazing when Mega agents come on places like this an pose as customers.
A: If you checked in on Dec 31st you would have only had to pay one dectible, even though you didn't check out until the second of Jan. You would have only had to pay another deductible if you would have checked into the hospital for a new event after Jan 1. But nice try.
B: Most Mega plans - Health Choice and Premier PPO have per-occurance deductibles. So what's your point?
Laura. Did anyone tell you you might not be eligible for Health insurance.
Laura. You might be ineligible for IFP health insurance please do yourself a favor. Stop wasting your time researching and typing long columns on the internet. What you need to do is get serious about buying insurance. If you don't have insurance, CALL A broker not a agent. Tell them what conditions you have, and what RXs you are taking. They will be able to better asist you than any joker on this entire website.
I am using my ESP when I say you probably will be declined by the the major carriers. I have a sneaking suspision you might be recieving treatment for a possibily serious condition. You certainly are familiar with how much you are spending and what is covered. BC BSh AT, kai, HN will avoid you like the plague. Mega will prey on you.
Mega puts a limit on what they will spend.
Major Ins. carries put limits on what you will spend.
Screw out of network. You are never going to go out of network. What do you think you are going to get a kidney transplant at the Getty Center in Hollywood, like the stars.?
Please call a Broker, tell him what I told you.
I think a broker will tell you what you need to know, not what you want to hear.
dp SF
John- Des Moines. you are on fire.
you are right on target.
Why would mega agents be at this site?, defending their product?
They know they are frauds?
Here is one reason to not to work there? I sold a IFP plan the other day for Nationwide Health Plans.( a major Medical plan, not indemneny)
$2600 Commision. One plan. It was the bigest in company history. It beats trying to steal a bone from other hungry dogs.
Put me head to head with a Mega agent, and I will deepfry'em, dip'em in mayo, and swallow'em whole.
Submitted: 7/1/2006 11:50:05 AM
Modified: 7/1/2006 11:50:05 AMDawn
WOODLAND HILLS, CaliforniaU.S.A.
How to get the best health coverage and avoid ripoff
I am a health insurance broker. I developed a series of questions to help people decide for themselves whether or not they are looking at the right plan for them.
I have heard from countless people who've had to pay for office visits, ER visits, lab work and even a hip replacement because they THOUGHT they had good coverage - most of the complaints were holders of policies mentioned in this thread (parent company UICI).
If you are uninsurable please know that most states offer Major Risk - in CA it is MRMIP - it is VERY expensive and the coverage is limited to $75K/year - but you can get it and it is legitimate coverage. New websites PPARX - partnership for prescription assistance and rxhelpforca Rx help for Californians are NO COST sites that will help people without insurance try to get help with their medications.
If you can't get the answers to the following questions IN WRITING (from their brochure, not a photocopy or a 'letter') DO NOT BUY! If it is wishy washy or vague - DO NOT BUY!
The best way for you to decide which coverage you'd rather have is to have the following questions answered IN WRITING
How much do I have to pay for a $120 doctor visit?
How much do I have to pay for a $200 lab test done at and billed by the doctor?
How much do I have to pay for a $60 generic prescription?
How much of a $2,000 emergency room visit for stitches do I have to pay?
How much of a $54,000 appendix removal surgery do I have to pay?
If I have $200,000 in expenses from cancer or a serious illness in one year, how much of that do I have to pay?
Don't just take the agents word for it... get their brochure and look for the Max out of pocket - that's the max you'll pay in any one calendar year with a participating provider in the network of the insurance company.
Just get a plan. If you're not sure what you want at least go for a high deductible plan. Once you need coverage IT'S TOO LATE.
There are 45 million uninsured americans today. The fact that some are screwing the hospitals out of their money is contributing to the jacking up of the price of health care and health insurance in this country. How many $30,000 hospital bills do you think a hospital can afford to get screwed on before they start increasing their prices to make up for them. Get coverage, even if it seems like you 'never use it' - like your car insurance, it will be there when you need it.
Good luck and good health.
MEGA Lies, MEGA Deceives
Thank you John from Des Moines for sharing your professional expertise. I have been an AFS and MEGA field rep for the past 3 months and should have listened to my gut from the beginning. You have confirmed everything that I knew in my heart but couldn't confirm until recently.
My first clue should have been the initial phone call from the Division manager in which he avoided all of my questions about what I would be selling by resorting to a canned spiel about how AFS uses a strength in numbers concept to provide over 100 benefits to the self-employed, blah, blah, blah. Since I had been self-employed for over 4 years and had just sold my business, I was intrigued by what he said, went for the interview and was hired on the spot.
To be honest, I thought at first that I was being hired to sell memberships for AFS simply because he glossed over the health insurance part during the interview. It was the secretary that clued me in and explained that I would have to get an insurance license, pay a $250 'set-up' fee, etc., etc. Clues number 2 and 3 I guess, but, again, I didn't listen to my gut.
Clues number 4-10 occured over the next few months during our weekly training meetings. In a nutshell, here's how they taught me and my colleagues how to lie and deceive:
Clue 4) Avoid specifics about the policies because that will 'confuse' the prospect, and the more you explain what they are getting, the less likely you are to get the check. (I.e. sell to clueless people because smart people will see right through us.)
Clue 5) Do a 1-call close because health insurance is an emotional decision and if you give them time to think about it, you won't get the check. (I.e. don't let them shop around because if they do they will see right through us.)
Clue 6) All of our competitors are 'individual' insurance carriers and will increase their client's premiums drastically every year and eventually drop them if they ever file a large claim--i.e. scare the pants off them so you can get the check.
Clue 7) When booking an appointment, don't tell the prospect what insurance company you represent, they are less likely to book an appointment.
Clue 8) If a person has a major pre-existing condition, convince them that NO insurance company will ever give them insurance (I now know this is a lie) so they might as well buy our membership and get a $200 per day hospital confinement benefit because 'something is better than nothing.'
Clue 9) Don't leave a prospect with any materials about the specific policies if they want to think about it (this goes hand-in-hand with clues #4 & 5)
Clue 10) If you can't get a check for health insurance, convince them that they need a premier 'stand-alone' membership to AFS because if we don't sell a certain percentage of stand-alone memberships, the insurance commission may see our association as a front for selling health insurance. (Hmmmmmm, perhaps we are a front for selling health insurance.)
I started having serious doubts a month ago when one of the managers scolded me for losing a sale because I explained that the Health Choice policy paid 80% after the deductible was met and the client wanted something that paid 100%. I was told I should NOT have explained the policy in that much detail--I had forgotten rule number one in training, I guess.
About a week ago I lost a sale because a client preferred a policy through BCBS. The same manager told me that he would have looked that woman right in the eyes and said 'BCBS is going to drop you if you ever get a major health condition.' I guess I forgot the scare 'em rule. This was the kick in the gut for me to finally realize the kind of company I was working for.
These 'sales tactics' are not shoved down your throat at once. It is a gradual process. The irony is that somehow, in between all these deceptive tactics they teach you over months of training, they also convince you to believe in their motto of H.O.P.E. Helping Other People Everyday.
I am not a 'moron' as someone previously called MEGA agents. I am an honest, intelligent, moral person who thought they were working for a legitimate company that helped people with affordable health coverage. I did not know any better. I was new to the insurance industry (as was every single person hired into my office over the last 3 months. What clue number is that?) and had no idea that the information they gave me was not true. I did not want to believe that I was working for a company that scams innocent people.
To the current MEGA agents that are trying to justify this company, STOP. Listen to your heart, I know I am not the only one that has been ignoring instincts. Stop thinking about yourself and all of the wealth they are supposedly going to lavish on you through their 'generous' stock program (which is probably another ENRON waiting to happen).
I have not officially resigned from MEGA yet. I am debating whether or not I want to make a statement to my managers for training me to be a lier. Perhaps they don't know better--afterall, none of them have any experience outside of MEGA either. I have been pondering the great people I have been working with and whether I should clue them in too. Most of all I have been thinking about my clients and it sickens me to think that I thought I was helping them but may have actually hurt them.
Any suggestions from anyone as to how I should handle me resignation would be appreciated.
I TOO AM A RECENT VICTIM
I worked with the company for about 6 months before realizing how big of a scam they are. I went to training at least 2 times a week at the Tampa office before I finally opened my eyes. Actually it was one of my clients that I sat down with for 5 hours and compared 4 different policies from insurance companies. (One of them being that crap they call health choice).
After that I investigated more and more,placed a few phone calls, even consulted with a lawyer. Oh my God! I feel so bad for the other agents in the office scaming people in the area without even realizing it. Since I am no longer with the company and out of the insurance business period, I will make sure to contact all my previous clients and let them know, after I apologize to them, that they should look up a well known company and get coverage that is more suitable to their needs.
Lucy I know you are reading this but what goes around comes around. What you guys are doing overthere is WRONG. It is a big scam and you know it. You are taking advantage of all the agents at the office and it is plain wrong.
Very well thought out Amy
Hi Amy - I was a rep just like you only a few months back. I realized the same exact things over just about the same time frame. Don't feel bad about falling for this scam, it is extremely well devised, and if you see what they want you to see, you are blind to the truth. Intelligent and independent people like yourself eventually see what they DON'T want you to see, and if you have any concience, you have no choice but to leave.
On your way out, you won't be able to convince anyone about the lies you have uncovered. Most of them are desperate, ignorant, or both. They are usually old and can't find work, or young and stupid, or just ignorant like us with basically no concept of the insurance industry. The second you start to 'poison' others, the DM will go into all out damage control mode to make you look very bad. He'll break out every lie in the book, and those desperate souls will sadly believe the DM, until they themselves wake up, or go broke, or hurt someone badly by misrepresenting the policy and it's coverages.
You absolutely need to get out right now. To make a clean break - go to the office and sit down with your DM. Tell them everything you told us, and make them face the ugly truth about themselves (even though they will fight you tooth and nail - it will hurt them inside). And lastly tell them don't even think about trying to collect any premiums back from you, as you have collaborative proof (with other agents) that they trained you to lie, misrepresent, and mislead customers about their insurance products. They will deny it, but they know the truth. You wont hear another word about it from them. Then, they will get right to damage control, and will be forced to eat any of your unearned advances (from cancellations or turned down policies) on their own statement. They could try and come after you, but if you let them know that you are not afraid to fight and expose their racquet, they won't take the chance. Dont feel bad about sticking the DM - they earned it...
Then walk away..and don't look back. Come back to this website once in a while and educate people. It will help to make up for the damage that was caused by the few policies you did sell...
Good Luck
Thanks to those who contributed to this discussion, you saved me a crummy experience!
I received an email from a recruiter from UCI and was suspicious because of their offer of an interview and immediate orientation-they had't even met me yet! The appointments they requested seemed odd as well, since one of my two choices was well after normal business hours. The statement that the average person earned $75,000-$100,000 annually was also a red flag. I am glad that I came here and found confirmation before wasting my time and attending this 'interview'. Any company that wants you to pay them to work for them is bad news. Keep these things in mind while looking for employment next time. Unfortunately, there are a lot of snakes out there.
again
As i said in my previous responses, most of the people critizing MEGA are lazy brokers who wants to just sit around a desk instead of going to see the client, or ex agents who just couldnt cut it in sales. Give me a break. There is a very good stop loss max on our main selling policy. Complaints are from state to state because we are nationwide, in ga our satisfaction is very high. We are a ever growing company and constantly upgrading our coverage. We actually cut our prices last yr unlike most others out there that raise their premiums.
As a previous lady said, bad mouthing is very unprofessional and most sensible people see through that. We are told not to bad mouth other companies and in fact another company bad mouthing us is the easiest way to replace that company. MEGA has its own marketing staff, no brokers. You guys are JEALOUS because you cant lump MEGA into one of your plans. We have products coming out this yr that will beat you down more than we are doing right now.
I'm a very proud of the company and what its trying to do. Keep up the bad mouthing. You reap a lot more than you sow.
Ex Mega Life Policy Holder
I've read the negative comments regarding Mega Life and Health and am so glad my family and I have cancelled our policy with Mega and gone with a reputable company.
My experience for the last couple of years with Mega has been that we paid a lot of money for almost no coverage. It sounds good at the start but you soon find out that Mega limits everything. You may pay a small co-pay for a drs visit. But you will receive a bill from the doctor because Mega pays very little on the remainder.
Thank God we left Mega when we did. I would hate to think what would have happened to us financially if we had a serious illness.
Deb-Fern Park, FL
Chris - I worked with you a couple months ago....wake up bud
Chris - you are brainwashed bud. I remember you and i know you are a nice guy, but trust me - you are 110% wrong. Most of the posts you are reading here are true. Yeah - there are plenty of uneducated idiots here, but I am not one of them, and I think you know that. Patrick is completely brainwashed as well, and he will never admit the truth. It would be crushing...
Your policies have alot of gaps and limits. They won't pay squat for cancer treatment, yet you go in and start talking about how mega covers the big things like cancer. You're lying to them pal. You don't realize it - but you are lying, and you're going to hurt these people when they need the policy.
Chris - be a broker. It makes no sense to do what you are doing. Sell all the policies, not just one!! You'll get paid more - trust me. You'll have more freedom and you'll really be working for yourself. Open your eyes....get out of mega.
just read it! no one here is trying to bash a competitor...and no one here is 'jealous'...
Good job Leonard... I believe it is important to keep this thing going and atleast get possible clients and agents thinking before they buy/sell... Seriuosly, no one here is trying to bash a competitor...and no one here is 'jealous'...hell Mega Managers will hire anything that has a pulse...any of you who work for them have surely seen that, if it were such a good policy then the company wouldn't require you to be captive to sell it...it would stand on its own like all the other credible companies do...As an agent you have the responsibility to be well informed and offer true protection for your clients...
Don't fall for the load of crap the managers feed you about 'usual and customary', 'power of the association's numbers' 'cancellation', ect. They are using industry buzz words to brain-wash you...MEGA is the very worst when it comes to delivering on the promise...Read the Policy...and read the policies of major medicals in the industry...none of them are perfect...and as an honest agent it is important for you to share the bad as well as the good with your clients... problem is that most MEGA agents do not know the bad about they're product. When was the last time your manager told you to be sure and tell your clients that chemotherapy treatments are capped at $1000 per treatment???, and that most treatments run between 7-10 thousand dollars every two weeks for six or more months...do you think someone fighting for their life VS cancer really needs to find out how crappy this plan is by being presented with a 60-100 thousand dollar bill???
Please...the people in here are sharing their experiences with you to help keep you from making a huge mistake...I encourage anyone whom might have doubts as to the motives of the negative comments here go to other third party sources; as well as question the printed words in your brochures with your managers...don't be lazy its your ass and integrity on the line out there...they will turn their back on you in a heartbeat when claim time comes trust me...don't let them make you into a liar!!
This web site is an open forum...try typing Time Insurance, AMS, Golden Rule, John Alden, Companion, Empire and search... Think there might be a reason none of them have any postings, not to mention several like MEGA...yeah there is a reason...I still can't believe that 60 minutes or some other news magazine has not picked up on this company... Whether you are thinking of buying it or selling it... I hope I have helped you to atleast question it...ultimately everyone has to live with their own decisions!!!
Leonardo IS right.
When I started working with Mega, I made a couple of friends who were nice and honest people just wanting to do the right thing. I have opened my eyes since then and left the business. My friends unfortunately have not. The level of brainwashing that they are subjected to on a daily basis is just amazing.
Chris, You will be back on this site when you open your eyes. I too was here not too long ago defending mega...until I opened my eyes.
Sooner or later you will really hurt someone and I hope you get out of this before it is too late. The mere fact that you were here checking this out is an indication that you are a good person trying to do ther right thing. Listen to your friends or ex co-workers that have left.
Becoming a broker is the right decision. Of course at the office, you are brainwahsed into thinking that they are lazy but it really is not the case. As a broker you still have to work very hard because the hardest part of this job will be to generate enough appointments every week for you to close some of them. As a broker,Closing the sale will be a breeze...instead of a nightmare. Help yourself,do some research, don't just look at this website...there are so many more of them out there. There is no smoke without fire. Yeah sure, ALL insurance companies will have their share of problems, actually, ALL MAJOR companies will have lawsuits and the like against them but the MEGA story is just totally unique and different!
lies:
'we are the only company that let you taylor design the plan to fit your needs and budget.'
NO THEY ARE NOT!
Lies:
'With us, you can't be singled out for rate increase or cancellation'
TRUE. But THAT IS THE CASE FOR 99%of MAJOR INSURANCE COMPANIES.
lies:
'Diabetics are uninsurable and so are people with major pre existing conditions such as heart attacts, so you are better off selling them a 'stand alone' which is better than nothing.
MAJOR BS. THERE ARE INSURANCE PLANS FOR DIABETICS AND EVERYONE ELSE WITH PRE EXISTING CONDITIONS.
' we pay usual and customary. The company does not decide what is reasonable'
THE PLANS ARE DESIGNED NOT TO PAY ANYTHING SPECIALLY THE HEALTH CHOICE DISADVANTAGE. THERE IS NO NEED TO DECIDE WHAT IS REASONABLE OR NOT. 100% OF NOTHING IS STILL NOTHING.
Thank God I Found This Site In Time
I was practically days away from quitting my current job and going to work for UGA, Healthmarkets, MEGA, whatever they are called. It's a good thing I didn't pay the so called 'sign-up fee' either.
I was involved with the group 'interview' where they were trying to sell their company. I sat through the presentation and also had the individual interview afterwards. I asked the District Manager straigt up if this was to good to be true. All of the money and trips that they promise you, I have been fooled before and this was looking very shady.
He told me that same stuff about HOPE (Helping Other People Everyday) and they were actually helping small business owners. Not knowing very much about insurance I'm glad that I stumbled onto this site. I actually looked up UGA before the interview and couldn't find any bad responses but when I googled for MEGA it was one of the first pages to come up. (WEIRD) Different names?? Why??
When I updated my information on Monster.com I was contacted again by a script and an e-mail after I was already there for the so-called interview. So they must have an auto-responder set up to try and get as many people as possible. I was actually sent some leads today to try and set some appointments for my general manager because I haven't been to training (sounds like brainwashing) and have not passed the license test.
I would just like to thank all of you that posted your remarks about your experience with this company and preventing me from making a huge mistake. I am a moral person and would have never forgave myself for selling people lies. My mother died of cancer and if our insurance company would have pulled this crap on us we would be still be bankrupt. It looks like I will be staying at my current job until I find something better. I would still like to look into the insurance industry, where is a good place to start??
Oh my word
I have been with MEGA for 5 months now. I left my other job because I was constantly babysitting employees. I guess I should have stayed, because now I am running around the state picking up the broken pieces after other agents.
First, if I sell you a rotten fish, and you buy it, I guess it sucks to be you. However, if I sell you a rotten fish, but first pour bleach or lemon juice over itand hide the fact it is rotten, sucks to be me. I tell my clients up front what they wil pay, and instead of giving large ($100,000) claims and what they would pay, I give them reasonable ($5-15,000) claims and what they would pay. I was wondering why my sales weren't as good as I was told they could, should, and better be. I don't know, maybe I was too honest? Divulging too much info about the plans?
It is August 8 today, just yesterday I signed a lady who liked what she saw, and I explained the deductible and everything that was in small print (I guess I have too much of a conscience). I got a call this morning from her, telling me she wanted to cancel, because a friend told her she would be sorry for the purchase (inevitably, it was the 3rd such situation in the past month, and what ultimately led me to this site). Her friend works as a medical biller and sees what types of claims come through and how they are paid.
For someone looking to buy this product, sell this product, or anything in between - Talk to doctors, medical billers, the people who work in the office of your doctors. Go to the state insurance commissioner, and DON'T STOP THERE!
I got sick to my stomach when a friend said he needed a policy for a few months. Thankfully he didn't need to use it, and is now insured with another company. I know all the arguements given by managers, how people thik what they want and don't listen to what they are told. Yeah?? Still don't believe us? Go ahead and go through the initial interviews. Request a quote online, and when a MEGA agent calls you (it will be MEGA, Mid West, Tenn Valley, because no one else has responded to me or my clients when we search), get to know them and go to the weekly 'hoopla' meeting. Ask the agents how long they have been there (ask the ones who are not managers - anyone there for about 2 years will get an office to try to expand the company, thus becoming a manager and sucker). Just remember, someone is always being sold.
Where was this site when I searched in February? I would have saved myself a lot of tears and a boatload of money I spent to pursue what I thought was my dream.
Leave while you can
I was once a MEGA rep. After 8 months I was let go. The reason? I wasn't selling enough insurance policies. I guess it was because I took time to explain to potential customers everything. I had to laugh when I was fired or 'let go' as they call it. It's not like MEGA or NASE or anyone else paid me if I didn't make a sale.
Leave while you can
I was once a MEGA rep. After 8 months I was let go. The reason? I wasn't selling enough insurance policies. I guess it was because I took time to explain to potential customers everything. I had to laugh when I was fired or 'let go' as they call it. It's not like MEGA or NASE or anyone else paid me if I didn't make a sale.
MEGA Agent Chris from Atlanta, How dare you call me lazy!!!
Chris,
I find it interesting that you claim that you 'are told not to bad mouth other companies and in fact another company bad mouthing us is the easiest way to replace that company,' when in the previous paragraph you claim that 'most of the people critizing MEGA are lazy brokers who wants to just sit around a desk instead of going to see the client, or ex agents who just couldnt cut it in sales.' Is that not bad mouthing?
I was NOT a lazy agent when I worked for MEGA and am still not a lazy agent now that I am non-captive and independent. When I was with MEGA I spent 12-20 hours on the phone every week booking appointments and another 20-30 hours seeing them. I think by anyone's standards, that is not laziness.
The reason I was not top in my Quick Start class was because I answered every question my clients asked me with honesty and integrity and helped them compare MEGA with other programs they were looking at. I got chastised from my MEGA leaders for this because I was losing sales. When I started to see what else was out there, I started to get embarassed about what I was offering to people and realized I wanted to be able to give people real choices from reputable companies.
I do not need to bad mouth Mega or Mid-West products in order to convert a client. The proof is in the product. Mega agents snow people into thinking no other company offers their 'Mega Difference.' Guess what? The 'Mega Difference' is a Mega joke. Almost every other major medical company offers the same benefits in their policies and they guarantee their rates for 12-months, too.
But you probably never realized this, Chris, because you have never really compared your products to others, have you? And if you have, you would obviously gloss over the fact that other companies limit the loss a client will face in a given year, while Mega will only stop the loss per incident.
When you say things like 'There is a very good stop loss max on our main selling policy,' it is obvious you have no idea that your policies really don't have an actual stop loss.
Chris, if I called everyone of your clients up tomorrow, I would only have to ask a few questions and point out a few details to show them the holes in the program you sold them, and I don't have to say one negative thing about your company. No matter how nice you were to them, they will be embarassed that they were so foolish and did not ask the right questions.
What would happen if you take your child to the ER in the middle of the night for an ear infection and racked up a $1000 bill?
Answer--It would be 100% out of pocket because your ER coverage is for accidents only and the smallest deductible Mega offers is $1000 per incident.
What if the child gets sick again in the middle of the night next week, or next month, or in 3 months?
Answer--Out of pocket, out of pocket, out of pocket!
Guess what, Chris? This situation was exactly what was asked of me by my last Mega prospect. She had to take her child to the ER 4 times in one year for various serious illnesses that started in the middle of the night. Obviously, she didn't like my answer.
Guess what my leader suggested I tell this woman when I asked for advice? First, he told me I needed to adjust my sales presentation to avoid getting such crazy questions because I must be doing something wrong.
When I pressed for an actual answer instead of a way to avoid the question, he told me she should have found a 24-hour urgent care clinic to take the child to because then they only would have had a $20 copay.
I am sure parents have nothing better to do than drive around at 3 AM to find an open clinic when there is a hospital right down the street. Incidently, the nearest in-network 24-hour clinic to these folks was a good 30-mile drive. I checked.
So $1000 at a time might be frustrating, but what happens when hopitalization is $10K at a time. But this is unlikely to ever happen right? That's what I was told by my Mega leaders. But isn't that why we need health insurance? To cover the unforseeable?
If MEGA has such impressive products, why are they one of the few companies out there that don't allow a non-captive agent to sell their plans? I'll tell you why. Because an independent agent has hundreds of other plans to compare it to and no savy agent would even waste their money for an appointment to a company with programs they will never sell.
Chris, I have no animosity (or jealousy) for you, only pity. Leonard said you are a nice person, which I am sure you are. I worked with a lot of nice people at Mega just like you. You are not a bad person, just misguided and close-minded. You have to be willing to see the truth in order to accept it.
Good luck with your career, and I hope you never have to deal with a client devastated by what you sold them.
And to all the other Mega Agents out there that are starting to see the light, do not be afraid or embarassed to get out. Your experience at Mega will just make you a better, more well-informed independent agent. So find a new home and start really helping people!!!
Bravo, Amy, bravo
Very, very true, Amy. I have gone back over the info given to me by my manager. The 'techniques' I was given were by the top sales leaders in UGA, so I figured they must be something. I was told to direct the conversations and that questions should not come up if I was doing my job correctly. I was also told to offer a return trip to see the client when they received their policy. That way, I could explain what was so confusing to them again. When I brought up the fact that I was told to only set foot in a clients house or business once, because if I had to go back they would be more likely to cancel, I was told that people would not take me up on my offer, it would just reassure them, and if someone did book a follow up when they had their policy, to just be soooo busy that I wouldn't have time for a few weeks (then they would forget about it, because 2 weeks is past the 10 day free look). I quit today,and I feel great, even with not having another job lined up. I just felt too embarassed to continue selling a product that will screw people, whether they know the caps and understand them or not.
NAIC info from State of MD
www.mdinsurance.state.md.us/documents/megalife8-12-04.pdf
this link is the review to the MD state insurance commissioner. Go to page 66 for an overview, and you will see the number of violations, JUST IN THE STATE OF MD!! Some claims not paid for over 600 days? more than 1/2 of claims not paid with in 30 days? Come on, people!
Congratulation, A!
It's great to hear about another Mega Agent coming to their senses. Don't be afraid to go out and find a new agency that will give you the opportunity to work as a non-captive agent. You will feel so much better when you have control over what you sell and how you sell it. You really will be helping people and you won't be afraid to bump into your clients at the grocery store after you sell them a policy. Keep us all posted here with your progress...
Submitted: 8/16/2006 12:12:57 AM
Modified: 8/16/2006 12:12:57 AM
Freddy
Thousand Oaks, CaliforniaU.S.A.
Wonderful Information
I would like to thank everyone who took the time to post there thoughts here. I am currently in the process of obtaining my Life license in California, mostly because I was like many others who fall prey to these people and think its a wonderful opportunity, almost too good.
After much skepticism and investigation I still decided to go through the 'interview' process and paid for my background and set-up fees.
As most of the agents they hire I have no insurance background but I do have some sales experience and small business background so I understand what it takes to succeed in this type of business. That being said I though it strange when we we're bein offered 'free, fresh' leads, as well as not being told specifics of the products we would eventually being sold until after we obtained our license and signed our exclusivity with the aforementioned. After being in the required pre-licensing classes I learned these were not general practices as most people paid for leads and many people represented several companies so as to be able to offer a wide array of policies which would best suit the client.
So after finishing my pre-licensing classes and now preparing for my state licensing exam I have again come to my informational source to search out the truth about the company I may be working for. I had no intention of ever selling insurance until I was contacted through careerbuilder.com from these guys, and the thought of helping people get health/life insurance, especially in my state (and btw I don't have health insurance and I know the importance) was a very gratifying thought. And from what I know I and what I've read I can see why nobody would want to sell or ever buy from these people.
I would again like to thank everyone who contributed to this, you have saved me at the least, 3-6 mos. of my life that I will never get back. (Not to mention any grief I may have received to those people had I been unlucky enough to sell policies to. I do believe though that any insurance is better than no insurance, but the sales tactics of half-truths, while not lying, is very deceptive and it hurts real people and no amount of money can ever fix that.) I can now pursue other companies, or talk to another recruiter I know. So I say thanks for your honesty and candor.
Wise choice Freddy
Glad you are no longer going through with this, Freddie. I did lose 6 months of my life (and thousands of dollars, and some sanity) For all the current agents and managers, yes I was able to sell. It wasn't until a week or two after I sold the policy that they would call and cancel, they found new insurance (actually, they found sites like this and were scared spitless). Freddy, you have your licenses. There are plenty of brokers who need licensed agents. Go for it.
Waste of time and money
I also am a recent victim of this scam! I luckily was able to bail out before my first sale, though I still can't get over how stupid I was to fall for this in the first place.
When I had my first appointment with a potential customer and I was told by my manager what to say and what not to say and basically I was told to fudge the app to get the sale.
Long story but I knew right then this was a bad scene. Not to mention what was told to us during training and what was told by the managers were completely different.
The thing that really burns me up the most about these managers and agents is how they do not feel they are scamming people..come on! They all make up 'company names' for themselves, ie: John Doe Insurance Co and their voicemails and interactions with the consumer leads one to believe these are real companies when their licenses do not reflect that.
From what I learned from the licensing exams, being licensed as an individual, yet misrepresenting yourself to the public as a non-existent insurance company is a violation right there.
The other comical thing is they tell you to make cold calls and not say you are with Mega, or NASE or AFS but that you are an 'insurance advisor' and never let on until you visit them that the insurance is Mega. The other thing is the tear off sheets that they want you to put in public areas. Who the @#$% would buy health insurance from an individual whose flyer sits near a flyer for a yard sale!
I went on the bbbonline and looked up Mega in Texas, supposedly corporate office and found exactly what I expected, a negative report. Wish I found that months ago!
Clean Break
I appreciate all of the above comments - this has certainly helped me feel that I am not alone in having serious doubts about being a Mega agent. I have been selling for just over 3 months, and have now realized that 1 sale/week does not equal $80K/year. There have been so many red flags, I feel ashamed to have ignored them for this long. I am concerned about leaving because I can't afford to pay back advances. Do any of you have advice about preventing this from happening?
Thanks!
Don't stress about paying them back
Laura,
Don't stress about paying back your advances. By contract 95% of your 1st year's commissions will be credited to your debts on account. It took almost a month for me to be processed off of UGA's books, and even then you will have access to watch your debt with them through their website. As long as your policies stick to their books, you won't have an issue. Once you find a new company to start making an honest living with, you will realize that the little debt you incurred with Mega no longer matters. Good luck and keep us posted.
Just be careful with the debt, though
Amy is correct, according to your contract you can have 1 year of premiums applied to your debt, then have the remainder applied to your taxes. However, if the business does not stay on the books, you could be holding a large debt. One of the big reasons I got out is I had 5 policies cancel within 8 days. Some were new apps, some were a few months old. Once the customer started seeing sites like this, they were spooked and bolted (not that I blame them). The sooner you get out and let the 1 year of commisiions start adding up, the better you will be.
Independent Agent
Well - it is certainly a relief to know that I may not have to pay those advances back. Thanks for the information.
You don't have to tell me specifics if you don't want, but are you now an independent agent representing many different companies? I'm not sure where to look for information as to how to become an independent agent or the steps to take. Any advice?
An Agents Comments
I would like to offer some clarity on the postings above as I see it in regards to the products Mega / Midwest has had to offer in the past.
I was not charged any fee to join the company. My checks are not from personal accounts of my field leader. I am sure there are some dishonest leaders out there and your stories are true. But it is like a car dealership. Because the salesman lied, it does not mean the owner or the manufacturer condones it. They may not know. Report the liars to the company so we can weed out the bad seeds and fill the positions with honest individuals. Look inside your own companies. Are there less than honest people there? The answer is yes.
As far as the products are concerned, are there companies with better products? In my opinion, Absolutely. Are there gaps in our products? Certainly. Would it be great if everyone had full coverage with no out-of-pocket? yes.
One thing about Mega, we offer the opportunity for the customer to customize their plan. As with any free choice, this can be good or bad. No customer that gets cancer ever remembers declining the Chemo & radiation rider, even if you told them 100x of the danger. It is never their fault, it is the agents, so you have to look at those complaints with a grain of salt. Of course there are dishonest agents who do not disclose the dangers.
I am not one of them.
The reality is, not everyone can afford policies like that and something is better than nothing. Look at GM. Why don't they just make Cadillacs? Because some people can only afford Saturns. Sure it does not have all the bells & whistles, but it is sufficient. In insurance, we are in business because some of the competition do not offer plans as affordable as us. Plain and simple.
I think all of us would agree some coverage is better than none at all. I explain the limits. I over explain the limits. I have lost sales by over explaining due to confusion or the customer electing another company, but I am ok with that. I make sure they know exactly what they are getting.
With that said, I believe the company heard all of you and made changes.
We have new products coming out this month that address each issue you have listed.
- No max on Chemo. & Radiation
- max out of pocket = $4,000 + deductible.
- Deductible is by occurance and good for 365 days, on a rolling basis not a calendar year. Can you incur more than 1 deductible per year? Yes. But look at the premium savings we offer per month compared to the competition. If I save a family of 4 $300 per month (realistic amount) and they have to pay the deductible 3x that year, I still saved them $600. It is not creative math or spinning it in anyway, it is simple math.
- Less riders and more services included to prevent customers from under-insuring themselves.
- Increased pay out rates for services.
- More medical conditions covered
- Preventative testing is covered
- The ability to have all POV and testing covered at 100%
- Less expensive premiums than our options offered today.
I had a competitor's product until recently. It was better than what Mega had and I could afford it at the time. I was a customer of theirs for years. The competitor's premium was $344.55 per month for an individual PPO policy with $0 deductible. It was the best product they had to offer at the time. I had 2 surgeries in the last year for the same issue. One in October and one in May. All together, they were about $4500 each. I had to pay about $450 for each. So I paid about $900 for $9000 of service. Not bad at all.
If I had Mega's product, I would have paid $1000 deductible, then 20% of the costs from there, or about $1600. Total bill would be $2600.
At first glance, the other guy looks a lot better. Except when you consider, Mega's policy would cost $155 per month less and save me $1860. That is retail, not including agent discount.
By paying the additional premium, the out-of-pocket costs are actually less with Mega.
Another point. If I did not need the surgeries or only needed one, my out-of-pocket cost would have been considerably less with Mega. I still paid an additional $1860 in premiums, whether I needed it or not.
This example I stated is actual and real based on my own experience. I am not trying to sell my company to anyone on this site because you have already made up your minds. I am just pointing out that changes have been made. Things are not as bad as some stated or as good as others have stated. It is about free choice.
If you were a customer and feel that you were wronged, I do empathize with you and hope you get your issues rectified.
If you are a past employee with an axe to grind, move on with your life. It is not healthy to be bitter. For some reason this company did not work out for you. If you are in a better situation, be happy. This company is the 'better situation' for many good people.
I hope you see this as an honest entry. I am not blowing the companies horn nor I am I blasting the past employees. I am trying to offer an honest assessment of my own experience.
Dodged a bullet
As I was preparing to attend my 'interview' with UGA/MEGA, I, as a normal course of preparation, was doing my due diligence by researching MEGA. I stumbled across this website and was astounded by what I read. My thanks to those of you who had taken the time to write, particularly John from Des Moines and Mark from Cedar Rapids. I called and cancelled my appointment. My wife appreciated it, too.
Art - Des Moines
Jim, Thanks for the head's up....MEGA still doesn't have annual deductible!!!
Jim, Thanks for the heads up on MEGA's new product that is going to put all of us independent agents out of business and make us all jealous and wish we were MEGA agents. (That's sarcasm, folks)!
I am sorry Jim, but you seem like a very honest, ethical person and it would benefit you to become an independent agent. Your arguments don't hold true in my state of Florida. I, too, thought that MEGA was the least expensive option out there with the best programs because that is what my MEGA managers told me.
After several months with MEGA and seeing the quotes my prospects were getting from other companies, I realized MEGA isn't cheaper and the programs aren't better. The new product you and Chris keep talking about is not going to be better than your competitors. It may bring it closer to the standards of coverage other companies already have in place, but I can assure you it won't be cheaper. And, SURPRISE, it still doesn't have an annual deductible.
Based on the current plans offered, let's look at similar (I say that tongue-in-cheek) programs through MEGA and xxxx( company name redacted by ROR))). This is one of many carriers I now offer as an independent agent.
For example:
A typical, healthy, family of 4 in Orlando, Florida.
xxx 35 plan is $408.35(that's standard rates without a preferred health discount)
MEGA's Premier PPO plan is $571.36(that's with an access membership which I was instructed never to sell, no ancillary products and as close to the same coverages as I could get)
Let's compare Apples to Artichokes:
DEDUCTIBLE
xxx--$2500/person annually (max 2 times/year per family)
MEGA--$2500/period of confinement (max 3 times/year family)
COINSURANCE AND MAX OUT OF POCKET
xxx--80/20 up to $3000 plus deductible ($5500)
MEGA--70/30 up to $4500 plus deductible ($7000)
ER VISITS
xxx--$500 first-dollar benefit for accidents then 80% after deductible, $100 additional copay for illnesses if not admitted
MEGA--$100 copay for accidents up to $600 first-dollar benefit, then 70% after deductible, NO COVERAGE FOR ILLNESS UNLESS ADMITTED INTO THE HOSPITAL (see my previous entry on Aug. 12 about this limitation)
DOCTOR VISITS
xxx--$35 copay unlimited visits
MEGA--$20 copay for up to 2 visits per adult/ quarter, 4 for childen, but limits benefit to $75/visit
PRESCRIPTIONS
xxx--$20 copay Generic; $50 copay Namebrand after $250 deductible
MEGA--$15 copay Generic; $30-45 copay Namebrand after $250 deductible (max benefit $1500/year)
CHEMOTHERAPY
xxx--80% after deductible
MEGA--70% after deductible limited to $1000 per day
OUTPATIENT TESTING
xxx--80% after deductible
MEGA--70% after $500 deductible limited to $1000 per day
I could go on and on, but you do the math. For $160 less per month you can have a better program with fewer restrictions and limitations and less overall out of pocket.
In fact, that same family can get the tax benefits of an HSA with 100% coverage after their 1 family deductible of $2100 is met for under $500 per month. That still beats MEGA's 70/30 plan by over $70/month.
This is a comparison with only one other company. There are hundreds of other programs out there!!!
And guess what, MEGA is not the only company that is putting a new program out. All carriers restructure their programs regularly which just gives the independent agent the opportunity to place their clients with the most competative option. I have many Major Medical options to offer my clients from multiple carriers. The MEGA agent has one. So who is really helping their client to customize a plan for their family?
It is not bitterness that motivates me to spread the word about MEGA--it's decency. Most MEGA agents do not deserve to be called names or ridiculed. There are bad agents in every company, but, unfortunately, I saw several bad leaders at MEGA that were training their entire team to be deceptive and irresponsible agents.
Moreover, it is the product that lacks credibility. A good agent with a bad product is what it is. You may be able to sell it, but it still stinks.
To Laura, and those of you looking for a new home after MEGA, be very careful. You can search job websites, classifieds and even call agencies in the yellow pages. Just make sure you ask what companies they offer and if you have to be a captive agent. If they only offer one company that you have never heard of, or they tell you that you have to come in for an interview to find out more, hang up and call someone else. Do not sign a captive agent contract unless it is with a reputable company and you have done your research.
Sorry to be so long winded.
Jim - you're wrong - - you're instrumental in leading people into possible bankruptcy
Jim, you can post until your blue in the fact but here' some facts that you cannot refute:
1) You haven't spent one hour in the insurance field before UGA.
2) Your district didn't spend an hour in the insurance field before UGA.
3) Your division manager didn't spend an hour in the field of insurance before UGA.
Therefore no one you're talking to knows anything about health insurance. Have your managers been formally trained on Assurant, Golden Rule, Blue Cross, Aetna, CGI, Amer Rep, Unicare, Humana, World, etc...? No.
So without any formal training how in the world can you possibly compare Mega's plans and rates to others?
You're currently getting 100% on your knowledge from managers who make money off you. Not a great source of information.
You want to look at nasty articles about other companies? Try Mega by Googling them:
'mega nase scam'
'mega life lawsuit'
Go ahead and read about how many people lost their homes on Mega coverage. Pull up the Sacremento Bee article (google 'mega life sacremento bee) and read about how great that daily chemo cap is. Google 'it's enough to make you sick' and read again about how great Mega's plans are.
Then realize that you're instrumental in leading people into possible bankruptcy. And I've seen the new plans. Hardly anything has changed and you know it.
Mega Life and Health 2006 (HealthMarkets)
As a consumer, be aware of opinions. There is a tremendous amount of ignorance spouted about this company. If you live in a state that offers the new HealthMarkets plans; check out the CareOne suite of products. As far as the heart and ethics of the company; ask hurricane victims from last year what it was like to receive a letter that they would have 90 days of premiums waved to help them in their recovery. Ask the COUNTLESS foundations that this company gives to what kind of people make up this company. Don't listen to an agent who didn't stay with the company long at all, or even necessarily those who were with them for an extended stay. I have owned my own agency and sold for several companies. They all have flaws in them, but if sold properly, in my opinion, the newest Mega plans are second to none. Don't let other agents go back to older plans when you look at this awesome company. The most popular feature of Mega's plans is out of network care. However, there are some procedures you just don't want to have done out of network. One of them, (the one almost always argued by our competition) is the limited chemo benefit. That benefit with repricing (IN NETWORK) is plenty sufficient. That limitation has changed with newer plans anyway. The other area agents love to slam is emergency room pay. Sorry, but that has changed as well. Go out of your network with the most popular companies and see how much you end up spending. All the major companies make you pay anything that is not part of their 'allowable amount.' Mega is the only company I have found that doesn't determine what is allowable as relating to individual plans. Some of Mega's plans were weaker in some ways, but the biggest issue was how agents sold them or how the customers understood them. In most cases, it was not unethical behavior on the part of an agent. Agents most often sold what the client could afford. I can tell you from experience that clients often don't fully understand what they are buying. I am EXTREMELY thorough in explaining the options. The main argument other agents use against Mega is having multiple deductibles. It was and still is designed to allow clients to have smaller deductilbes that were separate from the main plan deductible. This is a GREAT THING! Would you rather have an accident related outpatient MRI and have all of the cost applied to your plan deductible (in other words you pay 100% out of your pocket) or pay a $0-$100 deductible for an accident related MRI and have the insurance company pay up to $1800 as is the case with Mega's Premiere PPO? That is the beauty of a separate deductible not the curse. Just ask around and see now many people malign ALL health insurance companies. They are an easy target. Other people think their company they are insured by is the greatest. Experiences vary and it doesn't make any difference what company. I can provide the horror stories for just about any company that some agents have with Mega. As far as all the agents slamming Mega; I have been independent, owning my own agency, was not brainwashed and love the company and its mission. Please look at Mega 3rd quarter 2006 and beyond. By the way, Mega is an amazing company to work for. It gets better all the time. It is not an easy business, but self starters can plan for a nice future. Do you like the idea of a plan that offers convenient first dollar doctor visit coverage with NO COPAY, coinsurance or deductilbe? It can happen. With Mega.
Really?
The entire sales process is heavy-handed and depends on clients who are too lazy to do their homework.
Let's review the sales process:
1) Call client. Don't send any info, just book the appointment. Avoid any and all questions with 'you have a lot of choices and it's too much to go over on the phone.' Client asks for info? Get into 'it's way to much to send.'
2) Show up, present confusing options. Scare client into thinking that if they choose another company a house will fall on them, then sign them up after the client gets about 2 to 3 seconds to think about it. Remember that the goal is to get the check since you're paid on submit. Is this health insurance sales or a time-share presentation?
3) Client says they want to think about it for a few days. Launch into a disertation about how busy you are and you can't come back. Client has no opportunity to research the company or products. Get mad. How dare they actually want to do research! If they actually do research you won't get that advance you need!
4) Don't present all the products. That'll just confuse them and you won't get the sale.
5) Load the plan up with ancillary products. After all, that gets you those QPC points you need for contests and more pay.
6) Remember that premier membership people don't need. After all, you want more of an advance and those NASE semi-annual bonuses. You'd never want to do anything like give them the basic membership and more health benefits. That lowers your pay.
7) Remember that weekly AV - after all, numbers are all your manager cares about since they live off overrides. Oh, your division manager lives off those overrides, as does your regional manager.
8) Question: Does UGA still pay the least commission on their better products thereby pushing agents to sell their more limited plans?
So you bust your butt to write a deal and:
District manager gets a cut
Division manager gets a cut
Regional manager gets a cut
Wow - I guess that's why you have to run around the field for 10 years struggling to submit $10,000 a week to get a check.
If I submit $10,000 for the week I make $2,500. How much would you make? I also get 7% renewals. What's your renewal? Oh - much less since three people above you get overrides off your renewals too. Great company.
But then again they give you about 60 exclusive qualified fresh leads per week, right? Guess not. Chances are you're cold-calling B lead lists or doing most of your own marketing like buying leads.
Get the fish hook out of your mouth.
Oh, well - get back to work. A lot of people above you need gas for their Mercedes. Hey, these wouldn't be the same people giving you all your info would they?
Pat from Cabot your opinion rings hollow
Pat from Cabot, Arkansas, it would really help you to achieve credibility in your opinion of Mega if you didn't use words like 'amazing' and 'awesome'.
I never thought when I first started this thread (see far above, I am the guy who started it) that it would generate so much feedback.
I especially appreciate the comments comparing it to other plans. I have a Blue Shield plan now by the way and it is head-and-shoulders above Mega both in terms of what it pays for and in terms of the price.
I'm just so glad I didn't have a major illness while on Mega. Years ago (before Mega) I had had a hospital stay and the total bill was about $25,000. I paid about $4,000 of that, my insurance at the time paid the rest. I really shudder to think what kind of bill I'd be stuck with if I'd had Mega at that time (which I didn't).
No Fish Hook Here
Maybe some of the agents use the tactics you mentioned. Maybe some of the agents work 10 years to produce 10k AV. Maybe, you still have not addressed ANY of the statements I made about our new plans. I had an agency. I think you are blind to that fact. I know the other plans and know how they pay.
They also don't offer a stock plan etc. I don't heavy hand people. I give them options based on their budget. I NEVER load up ancillary items etc. to make a check. I put some riders on almost all of my plans that I get paid nothing. Maybe you were around a group of people who looked out for number one. I happen to look out for my client. They will quickly vouch for this if you spoke with them.
I also will go back and meet a second time (or more) and in fact just did tonight. The arguments still address older plans and experiences. As far as taking advantage of the laziness of people not wanting to shop--three fourths of medical bankruptcy filers had health insurance.
I don't think people shopped too well. Don't you dare tell people that we imply that if someone doesn't go with us, their house will fall in on them. I wish to end the idiocy of this back and forth banter by letting you know this FACT. I have a client who works in the claims department of a major competitor of ours.
When she retires she is going to sign on with me for one main reason. SHE NEVER WANTS TO DEAL WITH BALANCE BILLING due to the reasonable and customary gap created. She gets cussed at every day and all she can do is tell people to read their policy better. That my blind friends is what shopping and studying has done for the general public. Do you THOROUGHLY EXPLAIN how balanced billing works and make clear what would happen to your client if they go out of network for specialized care or because they are traveling?
I have a far harder time accepting the deception with this than any TACTIC some agents use to get a sale. By the way, I relationship sell and use NO TACTICS. I do very vehemently insist I meet with people. I don't take a Chilton manual and read it while my mechanic works on my car. I don't read a medicine journal while having surgery. I become an expert in insurance to my clients in just the same way.
Somebody help me!
I just recently signed on with MEGA aka NASE aka UICI aka UGA and now I'm pretty scared reading this stuff! I have my first appointment scheduled for Thursday night and I think, after reading all of these horror stories, I'm going to cancel it. Can anyone help me out?
PAT - YOU'RE RIGHT
You're right Pat, you don't have to worry about balanced billing with Mega Life. Because after $1,500 of medication the client pays all of it. After $2,000 per day of lab, therapy the client pays all of it. After $1,000 of ER benefit the client pays all of it.
Yep - no problem there. Client gets put on $400 per month of medication they just get a letter from Mega 'you have exceeded your benefit limit.'
Oh, same with chemo - no worries about balance billing there either. Exceed the limit and client pays everything.
Now Pat, my best friend has stage four Non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Chemo is over and he's in remission. However, he's on two shots per week of medication to boost him immune system. The shots are $1,500 a piece and are done outpatient.
So what do you tell him? 'Sorry, you get one shot and your benefit is over.' By the way, he's on a Blue Cross plan, has had the cancer for 2 years and so far he's paid a total of $2,500. That's it. On a Mega plan he would have already lost his house.
Todd, Cancel That Appointment!!
Todd,
Cancel that appointment. The last thing you want to do is start selling their products because then you will be in debt to the company like so many of us ex-MEGA agents out there.
Dust yourself off from this MEGA scary experience and open up the Yellow Pages today. Call insurance agencies in your area and find a new home. The best scenario is to find an agency that offers many carriers. Ask the General Agents lots of questions about their experience and what companies they carry. If they only sell for one carrier such as MEGA, Mid-West, United American or any other company you have never heard of, hang up. You do not want to be a captive agent to any of these companies.
Find an agency that lets you get paid directly from the companies you sell. (In Florida there are a handful of carriers that will only pay to an agency. My GA lets us see the statements from these companies when they come in so we know everyone's cut--he hides nothing from us.) All the other carriers I write for pay me directly.
Good luck and keep us posted!
Thank you Amy
First of all, I sent in a resignation letter to my division manager, certified mail w/ return receipt.
Secondly, I called the people I was supposed to see and told them that I couldn't sell for this company. They asked why and I directed them google 'MEGA Life' and 'lawsuit'. I just said that I couldn't, in good faith, sell this stuff. They thanked me very much and said goodbye.
When I went to the intial interview/ seminar/ infomercial (Don LaPre style), I was told that they had so much business that they didn't know what to do w/ it all and that there would be leads'a'plenty. My 'training' lasted only 3 days. We even went to a regional training session for a 4th training day in Philadelphia so MEGA could introduce their new products. Sounded more like a Ronco infomercial (you know 'set it and forget it!') than a business meeting. The regional manager should be doing infomercials anyway...or maybe selling used cars..
I should have known this was a load of crap when I went to the 'interview'. There were three others with me. Who does a 'group' interview anyway? I got an email from my district manager that was also sent out to the other two people who trained with me. She was wondering why she didn't hear from anyone and why there were no appointments set up so she could field train us. Duh! How about giving me some of the fresh leads I was promised! One guy I called said he contacted NASE/ MEGA/ UGA/ UICI/ Healthmarkets/ Blackstone/etc..(Will the REAL company name please stand up!) THREE, yes three years ago! What the hell? Half of them had disconnected numbers or they had just moved on. I guess the B leads are just a 'little' outdated here!! Out of 101 leads, I could only get ONE appointment. What a waste of my time. So much for the leads'a'plenty!
My district mgr. even said to email her to get more leads if I couln't set up any appointments. Yeah right! I'll be wasting another whole day making useless phone calls when I could be looking for a real job with a legitimate agency!
Back To The Past
Todd,
Good luck. I wish I could chat with you and share my story. I have been hugely successful in my short time with Mega. I have worked my butt off though and most agents don't. The problem is that agents who don't make it with Mega USUALLY don't anywhere on their own.
I said usually. Most independent agents die on the vine. It is very difficult to get started. I know TONS, including Mega. There are more sources to get leads etc, but they are expensive. I can make a very good living without having to by ANY leads. You have to work your tail off to start with Mega and then you can buy leads, market etc. Again, good luck.
To the other agents who didn't stay with Mega. You have a balance with any other company you sell for and then leave as well. I know, I went through that as an INDEPENDENT AGENT. I owned my own company. Now as for the numbers that were just displayed on the chemo, outpatient therapy, and other, only one of them applies on the new HealthMarkets plan I sell.
Prescription drug coverage has its limitation. But, if you are going to tell a new agent info that effects his or her decision to start with a company. MAKE SURE IT IS ACCURATE. How about a 1 million dollar benefit for cancer/chemo or radiation therapy where the client pays deductible and coinsurance max at either 70% or 80/20? That my (quick to look at old plans) friends is the way the new plan I sell works. And that is per sickness up to 5 million dollars. The other thing I and other Mega agents get sick of hearing is how great your friend was taken care of by other companies. We can produce those kinds of stories as well.
One of our clients just brought in a $22,000 bill and had no deductible, no coinsurance and paid $269 out of pocket. That is the power of any PPO repricing. Do you know how big the line is of people who didn't get taken care of by their insurance company? I have a friend who went through a 2.5 million dollar bankrupty because they didn't pay a DIME. Most every day I hear people cuss the names of Blue Cross and every other company out there, including Mega. I have others who think their provider is divine. The old Mega plans left some gaps with some clients.
Other companies' plans have as well. But quit going after the character and ethics of we agents who do care about our clients, have been on both sides of the fence and feel we offer the best. Attacking an agents character is ilegal in every state and every one of you know that. Find legitimate problems in the HealthMarket plans. Then, lay what you sell out on the line and let us do our own COMPARING. Those of you who are looking at Mega and reading these boards, study the plans for yourself.
Don't let anyone tell you that any companies' plans are good or bad without being able to understand why.
I lost track Pat....
Sorry Pat, I lost track; which company are we talking about again:
PLF/Mega Life/Mid-West/UICI/HealthMarkets/UGA/Cornerstone/NASE/AFS
I tend to lose track of which name they use. I'm more used to Aetna, United Healthcare, Blue Cross - you know; companies that don't change their name every few years or hide behind associations.
Submitted: 9/15/2006 11:13:43 AM
Modified: 9/15/2006 11:13:43 AM
Todd
Quakertown, PennsylvaniaU.S.A.
Now, to the real stuff...
Well, I just got back from an interview with Aflac...a 'real' interview with the office manager. I wasn't recruited 'on the spot' like I was with UGA/MEGA (like I said, alarms should have gone off here as well, I wasn't even really interviewed, just recruited). I had a real sit down, one on one interview and was told after the interview that a decision would be made next week about who would be hired...not just a quick 'welcome aboard' like I got at UGA.
To Pat, from Cabot, Arkansas, I'm sure you work your butt to the bone with the 'quality' leads you get from your district manager! Most of mine were completely worthless...some with no phone numbers! How the hell are you supposed to call someone if there isn't a phone number!!!
If you enjoy spending hours every day making calls with an 'I'm sorry, but the number you have dialed has been disconnected, please hang up and try the number again.' crap, have at it! I need to get out and see clients so I can get paid so I can feed my family!
Submitted: 9/15/2006 11:40:31 AM
Modified: 9/15/2006 11:40:31 AMTodd
Quakertown, PennsylvaniaU.S.A.
just one more thing...
One thing I forgot. At the Aflac interview, I asked about training. There is a 6 week training program...yes, SIX weeks. Not the 3 day quickie from UGA. Tell me, MEGA/UGA/NASE agents, who's legit here? After 3 days, do you really know what you're selling? I don't think so. And field training was supposed to be once or twice...still not enough information to make an honest sale...just enough so you could regurgitate the crap you were fed at the 3 days in the office!
UGA - A Salesperson's Dream..
This is from an actual posting on monster
A Salesperson's Dream
Job Description
A Salesperson's Dream
Take charge of your sales and marketing career. We seek hard-working individuals with a desire for true opportunity.
UGA redefines the standard for success as we serve America's small business owners and self-employed individuals. We believe the achievements of our company inherently depend on the accomplishments of our representatives across the country, so we developed a company culture that places the achievement of our representatives above all else. This uncommon approach has attracted people from all walks of life, helping them achieve their dreams.
If you have experience in customer service, sales, marketing, public relations or management, you may have what it takes to be part of the UGA team. You will call only on business owners and others who have requested to see you.
Earning potential:
- Up to $150,000 or more on commission as a rep
- Up to $400,000 or more on commission as a leader
Even more benefits:
- Immediate cash weekly
- International vacations
- Up to 12 bonus opportunities per year
- Stock ownership
- Lifetime vesting
- Retire comfortably in 10 years
UGA offers a lifetime of personal rewards. It's not just a dream – it's your new career.
Contact UGA today and begin a fulfilling and rewarding career.
This position is relevant for applicants with experience in the following fields: customer service, financial, insurance, sales, marketing, advertising, public relations, retail, entry level, commission sales, supervisor, management, manager, medical, healthcare, business, business development, information technology, administrative, support services, call center
They don't even tell you what they sell or who they really are; all you get to see is the UGA acronym. In fact, all this company has are acronyms for names...UGA, MEGA, NASE, AFS, UICI. Any legitimate company would put their name right out front for all to see, but they have so many names, I guess they couldn't figure out which one to display!
commission structure
The UGA commissions depend on the product and whether or not you're a senior agent. But since that $150,000 is in their ad let's take 15% commish. Let's also forget that you'll only see about half of that if you choose to take the advance and say you go as-earned.
To make $100,000 for the year at 15% commission you need to have submitted, placed and kept on the books for 12 months $700,000 of business.
If 80% of everything you submitted lasted 12 months (which is very generous) you would need to submit about $900,000 of volume. UGA currently have about 10 people in the entire country capable of doing those numbers.
So to post an ad like that is cruel and deceptive. If a division manager did the math on every single rep hired over an entire year and how many of them submitted $18,000 a week every week for a 12 month period of time it would be from 0% to .0001% of everyone they hired.
Heaven forbid you choose the advance with the debt account. The reality is even if you do $500,000 for the year of placed business at 15% with a 6 month advance you only have about $40,000 actually in your pocket.
To put $100,000 actually in your pocket with choosing an advance and 15% commish you'd need to have about 1.5 million submitted which would put you in the top 2 or 3 reps in the country.
But what's the actual reality? If they hired 20 people 15 wouldn't write a deal, with 5 left 4 of them would struggle to turn in $5,000 a week and one 'might' turn in $10,000 a week....then quit.
A response from my former district mngr
Todd, I just read your information on the rip of report.com. If you had concerns about your leads, all you had to do was pick up the phone and talk to me. Apparently, since you haven't done this type of sales before, you don't really get how it works.
The leads you had we're B leads, like the cheap car salesman explained to you in training. A 'B' lead is a previously worked lead and like I told you it could have been 6 weeks, 6 months or 6 years old. Its a name and a number.
The bottom line with those types of leads is for me to detect your ability to be successful in this job. It is to detect if you have the ability to make appointments off of a cold call. It is to detect if you have the drive to make mailers to the addresses that have disconnected phone numbers, or to ask for referrals from someone who wasn't in need of coverage. It was your test to see if you could actually function as a self employed contractor with our company and not be a waste of time.
Once you would have made appointments, like the other 2 in your training class have off the same leads. XXX-6 and YYY-7. This shows me they have the drive and the possibility of being successful. That along with the fact they call me every day with questions. Once you would have proved that you actually have some drive and ability, then you would have gotten the 'fresh' A leads that I pay for.
Why would I invest money in you when you haven't shown the ability to do this job? You are not an employee. You are an independent contracted agent who is supposed to be building your own business. It's obvious from the report that you were trying to blame your failure on the B leads rather than looking at yourself and what you did wrong. Not calling, asking questions and asking for more leads. Appointments don't just appear, and if you don't have appointments you don't get business.
The saying goes, the squeaky wheel gets the oil, and you didn't even squeak. (I can't believe that one hour of calling 50 leads really showed you how to do this job.) It is good you found out early that you would have not been successful.
Good luck with your new company. I have hired 3 reps from there in the past month who have the same complaints you outlined about us on the net, only they weren't new there, that was their regular leads for the year or plus that they were with the company. You'll see that in sales organizations, but you would never have been spoiled more than here if you actually would have been able to do this job.
It is obviously not in your personality and no 6 week training course is going to train you how to work like you need to in a sales job. It's about personality and how good the product is. We work hard so we can play hard and make a lot of money to live the lifestyle we're entitled to. Thank you for not wasting my time.
I find it amazing that she knew of this site. Any thoughts?
Unprofessional and Biased
I have no idea why I am even wasting my time on here but its amazing that 95% of the people on here are either competitors of Mega or former Agents that didn't make it with our company.
Bottom line is 'no insurance product is perfect' but consider that no one is telling the whole story about the companies you all work for.
Nearly all plans sold today other than MEGA do the following.
Base Deductible must be met before claims are paid.
With the average deductible of $1,000 that means that basically add $83 per month to your premium because it must be met for your receive the majority of your benefits.
We do not require the base deductible to be met unless you suffer a major illness or accident.
Items with copays do not require you to meet that deductible
Out of Network payouts are based on reasonable charges. Therefore no one that uses 'reasonable' charges in their plan can tell you what you will owe on any type of bill. We cap the out of pocket at $14,000 and that is if every service is performed out of network. it is significantly lower in network. you will never get a straight and correct answer from any company that uses these payout schedules.
Anthem says that if you leave our network they may pay little or nothing of your bill depending on the plan chosen. That makes me feel comfortable!
Many plans exclude coverage on the job leaving the self employed exposed. They shroud this exclusion in legal terms.
Should the primary die, we give the family one free year of coverage and they may keep the plan as long as they want. Who else does that?
Bottom Line this blog is ridiculous exercise in 'BASHING' which is illegal and unethical.
if you didn't like your stay with us then move on.
if you are a competitor then simply tout what your plan offers rather than tearing your competition down.
its this kind of hate mongering that makes people hate insurance agents.
Enough already!
Reasonable charges explained
Yes we see above, a very detailed example of what MEGA considers 'reasonable'. I had personal experience with 'reasonable' when I got bills like an $120 lab bill for which Mega thought 'reasonable' was $18. That's just one example. I never got a bill where Mega even covered 30% of the actual bill.
Of course they don't explain upfront what their reasonable schedule is, and the vast majority of people would never go to the trouble of sitting down with a list of 500 lab tests and comparing the average in their OWN area with Mega's rate.
That is just ridiculous. If MEGA wants to compete on a level playing field, they should base reasonable on what is actually paid in each county or city for that sort of test or procedure.
But they don't. They probably base it on what the least amount paid is, in the entire country or something. At least in my experience. Their reasonable costs were a joke. No other insurance plan I have EVER been with in 25 years was so ludicrous in what they paid, versus what YOU paid.
On the Contrary, Blake! Do you understand that YOU are a captive agent?
Blake,
You are probably a very nice person (I worked with a lot of very nice people when I was at MEGA). (And I do this only because I was you three months ago so I know where you are coming from.)
Yes, some people are a bit hostile on this board, but the bottom line isn't about bashing--it's about educating. So let me help you with your education.
Do you realize that it is YOU who is biased here? The majority of the non-MEGA or ex-MEGA agents posting work INDEPENDENTLY. That means we do not work for any company. WE are NON-CAPTIVE agents.
You may not understand what that means since you were obviously hired by MEGA with zero health insurance industry experience, as was 99% of all MEGA agents. YOU are CAPTIVE, and therefore a biased agent. Despite the fact that you are an independent contractor, you are working for MEGA alone and have nothing more to offer your clients than MEGA's products.
Your statement 'no one is telling the whole story about the companies you all work for,' screams your ignorance. An independent agent does not work for a company. We work for our client. I have no loyalty to any company and focus on my client's needs and expectations. You, on the other hand, must convince every one of your clients that MEGA's products are the best out there, or you aren't going to get paid. So who is really looking out for the client's best interest? The non-captive, independent agent that offers dozens of companies, or the captive agent that works for a company claiming to make them rich with stock options, bonus programs and incentive trips.
But wait! There's more! If you took even a moment to educate yourself, you would realize that other programs have copays for things like doctor and ER visits, and you don't have to meet your deductible first. And many companies cover the self-employed 24-7, putting that clearly in writing.
Have you ever even looked at what another insurance company offers? Stop focusing so hard on qualifying for a trip to Reunion and open your eyes. What you are selling people is inferior to what your competition offers. Sorry to destroy the illusion, but that's the truth.
Incidently, I spoke with a Mid-West(sister company to MEGA) client the other day whose husband died of cancer about 6 months ago. Was she raving to me about how great it was that Mid-West was paying her premiums for a year? NOPE. She was telling me how scared she was to be on Mid-West because she is still receiving unpaid bills from her husband's treatment. Free or not, she wants off her Mid-West plan ASAP.
You are right about one thing. No insurance is perfect--it's no secret. I even tell my clients that. My job is to educate them--not convince them, not persuade them. That is the difference between you and me. Of course, this is just my biased opinion.
Reasonable Charges??
This is my 15th year with MEGA and I have had at least 20 clients suffer with claims over $100,000.
None of those people have ever paid more than $10K of the entire bill.
Since I usually sell a Critical Care plan with most of the plans I sell. at least 15 of the 20 people that had claims over $100,000 actually owed nothing or very little.
So with 15 years of experience with MEGA I can tell you that we are a very solid company and care about our clients very much.
I imagine that my 15 years of experience with MEGA is more time spent with the company than any of you former agents have spent combined.
So the bottom line is we do offer great plans but as with any company it depends on the agent. Do they care about the client and listen to their needs?
We offer plans that allow the client and agent to build programs that fit need and budget.
So lets spend less time here tearing down other companies and more time helping our clients.
You keep mentioning this $120 claim we paid $18 on...
all of our testing riders have deductibles so unless you met your deductible then we should have paid nothing.
I doubt seriously that what you say is true about that claim if we only found $18 of $120 reasonable.
I have thousands of clients and I NEVER hear any of this nonsense from them, in fact i have NEVER seen our company base anything on 'reasonable' and thats 15 years of experience.
also you mentioned that detailed bill from above... anyone can put anything they want on here.
did you know that Cream Cheese cures Cancer??
its in print so it must be true Right??? ofcourse not.
You seem to have a vendetta against our company and i sincerely hope that your life is not so bleak that this is your life mission.
I truly wish you all well but this is just a site to bash MEGA and no matter what I say, even with my 15 years of experience and thousands of clients backing up me up it wont matter because everyone here just made it mission to attack our company either out of sheer meanness or the help sell the other plans you offer as brokers.
There are no facts on here just retoric and it wont stop because you all benefit from it.
what happened to professionalism??
I done here, God Bless you all!
Submitted: 9/27/2006 2:08:05 AM
Modified: 9/27/2006 2:08:05 AMMarie
Saint Simons Island, GeorgiaU.S.A.
Mega pays what it says it will pay, nothing less, nothing more
I was with Mega Life and Health and NASE 9 years, licensed in NC, SC and GA.
I am signing a new contract with them in October to go back.
The years I was Mega, there was constant agent training on what Mega pays and what it does and also NEVER to represent the policy as major medical which is a fraudulent representation.
In every state I worked, agents were being taught to explain the policy coverage and leave an outline of coverage with each new insured. In some states like Georgia, that is the LAW! NASE is not be represented as a product that automatically comes with the insurance policy but a product that is available. Also HSA's are available.
When dealing with the self employed, the one thing that is asked for is a policy that will pay for big items, keep the premium low and the insured is willing to pay the out of pocket expenses.
I have Medicare and BC/BS as a supplement and let me tell you right now, both of them do everything they can to get out of paying claims and even after they are paid, there is still plenty of out of pocket expenses to be paid. BC/BS will 'sit' on a claim without paying it until I finally have to spend a day on the phone just to get them to do their job.
UCR (usual, customary and reasonable) is the single biggest bad guy in everyone's insurance policies. When they say they pay 100' of UCR, that usually means 50% of the bill. Medicare and BC/BS are both famous for that.
I just wish I could have Mega again. I understood what it would pay and not pay. When you have a greedy agent who just wants to make a sale, they will leave things off your policy just to keep the premium low to make the sale. Chemotherapy and radiation is something that does not cost much in premium and it is left off all the time. Accident coverage is skipped over.
What I am trying to say is, every insurance company is at the mercy of what their agents say. Consumers have a fault in this too. Invariably when I write a policy and explain what was decided on to purchase, most of the time the consumer will leave off the premium for doctor office visit coverage and then call me when Mega doesn't pay for their dr. visit. After explaining to them why they selected to not buy that coverage, they usually have a return of memory.
No, Mega's plan is not the best on the market, and it should never be presented as the best (who could be?). It should be presented for what it is. Mega does have a high end cost policy that pays for practically anything that happens but the premium is also very high end.
Nobody gets more complaints than Blue Cross/Blue Shield in the self employed market. So let's give them all a break and do our own jobs better by making sure we understand ANY product before we put out our good money.
Marie Bennett
I was a potential Mega customer
I have to say that reading this 'Rip-off' report and subsequent postings have enlightened me. I was approached by a Mega agent last week, listened to the pitch and signed on the dotted line. I am a member of NFIB and spoke to many other NFIB members about this issue. All I can say is that there must be a lot of truth to these complaints about Mega as I heard nothing favorable from any of my NFIB contacts.
I'd have never known the complexity of the task that I had taken on were it not for this forum. I have elected to have my agent not process my policy (within 2 business days of signing that dotted line) based on what I have learned here and on other forums.
I found that Mega typically rates in the top 3 companies regarding complaints made to most of the state Commissioners of Insurance offices websites that I visited.
I have decided that a matter of this importance needs to be fully investigated before signing up for a policy. Reading the banter back and forth on this topic has me concerned whether or not I have the background necessary to make a good educated decision. Can I really trust what any Insurance agent tells me? Can someone lead me to a information resource that is reliable?
So, off I go to continue my education in the land of health insurance. I only hope that I can find a suitable program. Thank you to ALL of the contributors. You may have saved my butt!!
major medical sold by a non captive agent
Ken, I'm happy you did your due dilligence, and avoided this company. I truely hope others benefit from this as well. In answering your question look for an independent insurance broker...explain to him the kind of coverage you want and tell him you would like him to give you a detailed presentation on his top three recommendations. Make certain you are looking at 'major medical' policies only, and read the brochures fully before you make the final decision. If you do not understand the language in the brochure call the company to get clarification, don't ask the agent(he will often say what he thinks you want to hear). Many are very honest, but this method eliminates the chance they may not be telling you the whole truth.
Understand there is no perfect policy, but also understand there are many scams and pretenders. Make sure you see in writing the words 'major medical' that alone will eliminate most of the crap because limited hospital-surgical policies (like Mega) cannot legally use 'Major Medical' terminology in their description of the plan so it won't be there in writing. Choose the one that fits your needs and budget best. Good shopping, and remember what you read (in a company brochure) is what is fact,not necessarily what the agent says.
Major Medical Out of Network?
Ken,
Agents are going to tell you what you want to hear as Dallas just said. Dallas, you independent agents do the same thing if not worse. I talk to plenty of people who are NEVER told what would happen if their child had to have cancer, burn, or other high dollar specialized treatment.
Most people want to have complete freedom to choose any doctor, hospital etc anywhere. These kinds of specialized treatments are almost NEVER in main networks. A major medical policy is not the answer in and of itself.
Adding special riders to our plans can give the same coverage as a major medical plan. The base plan is not major medical and THAT ALONE is why they can't be called major medical plans. Our newest plans have equal or better chemo benefits in network with any company. Our out of network coverage KILLS our big competition.
Clients beware of the misinformation from agents including Mega's. But also be aware of misinformation about our products describing some previous plans, and isolated incidents that can be shown with any company.
I have a woman who has been with one of the most well known companies for years picking up Mega's insurance when she retires. Why, because she deals with the headaches, cussing out etc of irate clients who find themselves outside their network and have huge bills that would be a small portion with us in the same scenario. I am extremely thorough and compliant in my presentations, and yet I still have people accuse me of not telling them something. Understand one thing, the beauty of the options and choices Mega offers is turned into a curse by clients not understanding what they are buying.
But I have never seen a more in depth teaching on how insurance works, the dangers, gaps etc and how to close them. After this, if a client feels misrepresented, I have to say at least we try. If someone has had a different experience it is either because the agent was not typical or the client made the agent skip stuff. I will leave a home if I can't go over all I feel is essential.
I know of no other company that spends as much time educating clients. The main issue as to complaints is almost always that the agent is told 'we can only afford this much' and some benefit is declined by the client even though THOROUGHLY explained by the agent. Not having this thorough presentation is the exception and not the rule. I hear clients say 'you never told me about that' etc and I do so in all my presentations.
Find some happy clients of Mega who have been traveling, found themselves out of network and were blown away by how little they paid out their pockets. Then (in all fairness) talk with some people who have had out of network experiences with every major company and listen to their spewing. They have found their way to several boards on the net.
Every company has their issues. 75% of people who filed medical bancruptcy HAD HEALTH INSURANCE. 75% of the insurance market is not held by Mega. Think about that for a while and look hard at any other company as well. Ask the wonderful independent agents of this world to explain the gaps in their policies. Good luck, because you will look high and low to find one that will. They love to hammer ours though.
Pat - you still don't get it
Pat, a client can easily go BK just on the $1,500 drug cap alone. Aside from that they get get slammed with ER charges with that $1,000 cap.
Pat, I was one of Mega's top producers in the country for years. That was until my clients started calling with horrible stories which forced me to take a look at what I was selling - most of which was Premier PPO.
Premier PPO - as you well know, has a horrible penality for being out of network since the OOP changes to $9,000 and the coinsurance is 50% - that's PLUS the deductible PER OCCURANCE!
You also misread the Harvard article. Yes, 75% went BK and had health insurance for two reasons:
1) They lost coverage due to an inability to pay their premiums and the policy lapsed.
2) Their average bill was $12,000. $10,000 in the US triggers a BK for a lot of people.
So how does an out of network Mega PPO claim with a $2,500 deductible solve that Pat? That client would owe $2,500 PLUS $9,000 = $11,500 and that's per-occurance. Hope they don't need another confinement during that same year.
I've been independent for many years and let me explain something to you:
1) If you're in network most insurance companies don't allow balance billing and that's in writing. That means there's no 'UCR' in network.
2) Most insurance companies only allow a MAXIMUM penality for being out of network. That varies but the policies I sell are $1,000 penality. That's it.
3) Every single policy I sell bills clients the in-network rate if they're out of network and it's an emergency.
4) Any client that has a scheduled major procedure will be sent to an in-network facility - like a transplant or major surgery. There's never a time when the client has a scheduled surgery and ends up at an out-of-network facility since the company will only authorize an in-netork facility.
The only time a client will ever be nailed with balanced billing is if they CHOOSE to go out of network and it's not a medical emergecy.
You don't know a single thing about insurance and it's crystal clear you've had no formal training outside of Mega. Your posts and lack of knowledge are actually embarrassing and reminds me of back when I was chugging the Kool Aid.
The problem Pat is you're on the board arguing with former Mega Life managers - like myself - who know in graphic details exactly what's going on. Save your arguments for newbies - not people who's produced millions in premiums for Mega and know the full story.
Pat, stop misinforming your clients...
Pat, are you kidding me? You are the shining example of the MEGA agent--misinforming clients in the guise of educating them. Spewing the garbage your leaders spew at you so you can pretend to make an honest living. Shame on you for continuing to defend MEGA's products without educating yourself.
Let me quote some of your misguided information. 'Adding special riders to our plans can give the same coverage as a major medical plan...Our newest plans have equal or better chemo benefits in network...Our out of network coverage KILLS our big competition.'
You are clueless, buddy! MEGA has caps on their chemo coverage and just about everything else--even on that glorious Premier PPO that MEGA agents like to brag about. What's so 'special' about a thousand bucks a day for chemo? That's how much MEGA's PPO covers in-network in the state of Florida, it's half that out of network. That is not major medical coverage and it doesn't come close to killing your competition.
And then to say, 'I know of no other company that spends as much time educating clients.' How can you educate your clients about something you obviously know nothing about?
The truth is, you simply don't know anything about any other companies.
The truth is, you don't know what a major medical plan is.
The truth is, you don't know how to educate your clients, you were only taught to deceive them.
The truth is, you hope what we're saying here isn't true.
The truth is, there is trickle of doubt in the back of your mind about MEGA, but you are in too far to admit it.
Why else would you be here?
P.S.--Thank you, John from Des Moines! You are a wealth of knowledge and I appreciate your entries.
Interesting that......
Right before I left the DOI in my state had apparantely received a lot of complaints. All the mangers, including me, got a communication directly from UGA that basically said this (I'll paraphrase since it was years ago):
1) Remind the agents that this is not major medical coverage and it is not to be presented as such.
2) Under no circumstances is the coverage to be presented as 'better than' or 'equal to' major medical coverage.
3) Agents should not be out to replace major medical policies.
4) Our coverage is not for everyone. Clients who have stated that they want 'major medical' or 'comprehensive' should not be lead to believe that the Mega Life policies are major medical or comprehensive.
5) Agents cannot represent to the client that other carriers will either cancel their plan or raise their rates based on claims history.
This communication was backed up by a phone meeting we all had behind closed doors which basically said this: 'These are limited plans and should be sold as such. The target market is people who currently don't have coverage due to price. Under no circumstances are we to replace coverage when clients have made it clear they want the 'same' coverage they currently have indicating they want major medical or a comprehensive plan.'
So this is just all BS and smoke. Even at the top of UGA they know the truth which is this:
If the plans were sold strictly by the benefits agents would be lucky to get one sale a month. Instead, the plans are protrayed to be 'better' then major medical plans and scare tactics are used to make clients believe that other plans will leave them in financial ruin.
This is why the plan details are not available online and a heavy-handed in-person presentation is needed to 'close' the deal quickly before the client has a chance to think about it or research.
This guy Pat is the definition of the problems Mega Life faces - agents representing to clients that limited benefit plans are 'better' then major medical plans.
Pat, in my old division you'd be fired for telling clients in a presentation that the plans are better or equal to major medical. I'm surprised you still have a job. You must be in an extremely unethical division with no training or monitoring.
Thank you, thank you John
I was never a manager for UGA/MEGA. I got out pretty quickly. However, the memo John received and the phone conversation that followed it up fills in some of the gaps that I noticed during my short stay. I seriously doubt that memo ever made it to my managers. They talked all day about HOPE, and how something is better than nothing, but then I would get grilled when I couldn't flip a customer from a major med to the ppo ('This plan is accounting for nearly 65% of all policy sales in the US. People LOVE this plan.' From my manager).
I was told to tell people the plan was better, and use all the heavy handed garbage we all know about. When I asked questions that I was being asked (how much will it cost me if I get burned and have to go to Boston {I was selling in RI, a few blocks from the Station night club fire that killed 100 people}) , my manager wanted to know why I was allowing the presentation to go in that direction.
Pat, I'll call your bluff. You don't leave a house if you are not allowed to explain everything to a customer. Thats BS. It is certainly not how you were trained, and it is not following in the character of this company. And as far as MEGA having the best training and most product knowledge, when I wanted to know about the HSA, I was told by my manager it covered everything, even though the brochure said differently. So I called the IC in TX, and they read verbatim what the brochure said. When I asked for clarification, they said to ask my manager. It is a smoke and mirrors sham, as we have shown. Thankfully there are people changing their minds about transfering insurance to or working for MEGA.
Step Up John
John all the examples you use with numbers are about the plans you know of. Our newest plans don't work that way. Number two, I have worked for other companies as well. Name the companies that only have a $1,000 penalty for out of network care.
All the companies I have looked at (on my own not with my manager) have no maximum that you pay out of network. If fact, they all say something to the effect of client is responsible for any amount above reasonable. You never address that. There are too many people who have written about this on other boards. I can't name names or they won't print my rebuttle.
Again, give me names of the companies who have a true $1,000 out of network charge. The policies I have replaced clearly have major flaws out of network and I have been appointed with some of them. You are not dealing with a neophyte here either.
You're kidding, right?
Pat, I've seen the new plans. They are identical to the old plans except slightly enhanced benefits such as wellness and drugs. Beyond that they are simply re-named.
Let's address some things:
*Per period of confinement deductibles leave the client with unimagionable exposure. How do you successfully explain to a client that the deductible resets after release from the hospital? (note: you don't - you hope the client doesn't read that part)
*On the indeminty 'go to any hospital' plan the surgical caps are simply far too low to give hit a reasonable rate for the client. Go ahead and work up $1,000 R&B and max the surgical benefits. Can't do it and sell it. That plan also doesn't have a DME benefit. What about one visit per day in confinement? How is in-patient therapy treated? What if you're in the burn unit? What's the ICU cap? You only get the ambulance paid if you're confined?
*On the PPO product the OOP doubles to $9,000 for being out of network. Add that to the deductible and remember it's per period of confinement and it's the worst liability a client can assume in the market place.
Pat, almost every company I sell has a $1,000 penality for being out of network. A client is only 'balance billed' if they CHOOSE to go out of network and it's not an emergency.
Let me teach you about health insurance Pat. If you're on vacation in another state and you get ill/have an accident you can be in or out of network and it doesn't matter as long as you needed immediate treatment.
If you don't need immediate treatment - say you have a scheduled back surgery and it's one week away - then NO health insurance company is going to authorize an out-of-network facility.
You are talking about the .01% of people choose to go to an out of network doctor/facility for treatment and know it's out of network for a non-emergency procedure. Yes, then they're balance billed.
Basically, you're using extremely rare cases and painting them as the norm in an attempt to justify what you do and scare clients into purchasing your products.
Listen Pat, save the BS. I ran one of the largest districts in the region for years. There's reasons UGA only targets non-licened reps on boards like Monster and Hotjobs.
And if you want to know whether or not UGA is a deceptive company then search 'UGA' on Monster and tell me if you see a single sentence about selling health insurance. Not there is it? Wow...what an honest company, huh?
Pat, you are arguing with one of the former top 20 UGA reps on the country, a former UGA manager and now one of the top independent agents in the country. Again, go blow smoke somewhere else.
So you used to be independent and went to UGA?
1) You no longer own your book of business - UGA does. I own my book of clients.
2) If you take an advance you're paying 12% in interest. I pay nothing and get a full year advance.
3) I get as high at 10% renewals to 7% renewals. Pat, I have 3 million currently on the books as we speak on my renewals are $180,000 a year. That's $15,000 a month in renewal.
4) I actually get renewals - you get policy lapses. As your clients get rate-increased into oblivion, cancel due to premiums or simply want another plan you lose a client. I keep everyone since I can sell all plans in my state. 5 years from I'll have an 8 million dollar book of business and $400,000 in renewals. 5 years from now you'll be in the field trying to sell $10,000 that week to get a check.
5) I never lose a deal. I can sell plans with immediate maternity benefits, no exclusions for pre-ex conditions and plans with no deductibles. You have to fit the square peg in the round hole to get a deal then pray your client doesn't catch it.
6) I send my clients monthly newletters. You do that? No - you hope they lose your number after the sale. You sent you clients Birthday and Christmas cards? Thought not.
You're certainly not the sharpest tack in the box. You're gonna run around for the next 10 years so your division, distric and regional manager can get rich? I work for myself and my clients.
Mega Agents in it For the Money? Ask John the $15,000 per Month Man
John, you have continually ripped on me. But you let all of us know about what is important to you. All I hear from you is how great you were with Mega and now are one of the top agents in the country. By the way, I have a friend who is also one of the top agents in the country BUT: he doesn't tell anyone he is. You are makiing tons more money than any OR most of your clients probably make.
Sounds to me like a VERY REAL disrepancy with the people that say Mega agents are in it for the money. John, you are still not addressing the newest plan. You pull out something other than what I sell. Because none of the scenarios you present apply with the main plan I sell. Now here is the bombshell and I want anyone listening to him to read and hear this loud and clear.
I know about someone who recently had to go through a hellish nightmare with their child and it was a specialized treatment center involved. There was not (contrary to what John said) a willful decision to go out of network for a non emergency.
The reality is that our new policy would have meant probably less than $10,000 out of pocket for them. They had a major insurance companies' group plan from the spouses work. The treatment was given 'out of network' wasn't an emergency and fit into a category where sometimes you do 'willfully go out of network' and it is not covered.
If fact, not even close to being covered. They are out a ton of money now because reasonable and customary billing and 'balanced billing' did apply. If anyone really thinks John the know it all (one of the top agents in USA) is not (as he accused me) blowing smoke: go to Google and type in the words reasonable and customary push the spacebar once and then add a + sign and no space.
After the plus sign type in out of network. So what you will have is: reasonable and customary +out of network. Read for yourself. You will have to look at a lot of pages. Look for ones that are from a university for example. They detail pretty strong how it works out of network.
Don't take my or Mr. best of show's word for it. It always says 'won't pay any more than what is determined to be reasonable' or 'allowable.' It doesn't mention emergencies etc. Go to a cancer, burn unit etc, or as one of our competitor's clients did: get a procedure done for cancer and pay 95% of the bill because they were out of network.
The challenge still remains John: put in writing for all of us what companies have a GUARANTEED $1,000 maximum out of network. FYI: You can also go to the American Medical Association website and their is an article on lawsuits against insurance companies who don't allow enough for many procedures.
It is TOTALLY dealing with out of network billing gaps. Nothing more. My research and info I use has not come from my managers like John and others have accused me of. I have done my own research and continue to.
GOOGLE MEGA LIFE + SCAM
Pat, you like Google searches then Google 'mega life' + 'scam' and enjoy yourself. Google the PBS special about Mega they did recently.
I'll never convince you, but it's neither here nor there. The attorney general's office in MA just filed a suit against Mega on the 24th for deceptive business practives. Google that. Hey, didn't Mega clean up their act? Yet ANOTHER lawsuit for deception 2 days ago??? I wonder how Blackstone will react to that?
I also see that Blackstone sold the student division to United Healthcare - wasn't profitable enough. Wow....so what if Mega's not profitable enough for Blackstone?
My best guess is you have about 2 to 3 more years and if Mega can't show greatly increased numbers to Blackstone you'll be out of business. My guess is also that Blackstone isn't gonna put up with the incessant lawsuits Mega has incurred in the past - and the lawsuits just keep coming.
Too bad about that student division. I'm sure they tried. All the insurance companies I work for aren't owned by a private company - so I'm pretty safe. How safe do you feel after 4 years of stagnate sales that were so bad that UICI went from a public to a private company? Better not throw away your resume.
And if Mega is so incredibally fantastic why don't they advertise for agents in the broker community? I don't sell over the internet - I meet with every one of my clients. So why is it that I can't represent Mega along with my other companies? You and I both know why.
In fact Pat when I went to quit I still wanted to represent Mega Life. I just also wanted to represent other companies so I had a variety of underwriting guidelines and other benefits like maternity. My division manager said if I wanted to represent other companies I'd have to quit. I said 'why would I have to quit just because I want to give someone a solid maternity benefit?'
What good was Mega to me when they declined for anxiety? Put riders on darned near every pre-ex condition? They same time Mega's underwriting is tearing my clients to shreds they're bashing other companies? And if my client is declined or gets a rider they don't want to sign I just have to walk way from the deal? Why can't I try them through another carrier and be of service to my client?
Why can my clients research rates and plan details before I meet with them? Why can my clients apply with no money down and a $20 app fee? All these things make you want to go hmmmmmmmmmmm.
Keep pushing the square peg through the round hole Pat. No single insurance companiy fits everyone's needs - which is why I'm appointed with six.
And the bottom line is this: Your clients was a comprehensive major medical plan. It's your job to talk them out of that. That's how you want to make a living?
Money or not, I'm gone because I want to represent my client - not an insurance company. That means I search for the product and underwriting decision that best fits their needs. You'll never be able to do that with Mega.
Do your homework
I am an independent agent and one of the tougher parts of the business is trying to help someone who has a major health problem that thought would be covered. I have dealt with a person that had cancer and was told that it was not covered (yes they had the cancer rider), a person who's son had fallen into an emptied pool and was told that if he had required more stitches on his head the emergency room visit would have been deemed as medically necessary, and yet another that had an anneurism and bills of approximatly $180,000 of which the insurance company paid roughly $3,000-$4,000. These people all had UICI products and are just a few examples.
I have not experienced this with any other company. A little further up the responses someone mentioned 75% of people who filed BK had health insurance, I believe the true stastistic on this is 75% of all BKs are the result of health related bills. Big difference. The primary reason for this is that these people do not have any form of dissability coverage, something that I heavily urge all of my clients to have a plan for.
Using so many names...
I was just contacted by a representative from UGA (actually they left a v/m). I did a quick search out on the Internet and quickly found that they are a division of Mega Life & Health, they also UICI Marketing when they are contacting candidates that post resumes on various sites. I also found that the Attorney General of MA is suing them for deceptive marketing practices and improperly denied claims.
Beware!!!
Submitted: 10/31/2006 9:51:48 PM
Modified: 10/31/2006 9:51:48 PMBob
Laguna Hills, CaliforniaU.S.A.
California customer - first impressions
I'm in California and my family recently signed up for Maga Life via NASE.
I did not see this thread prior to signing up, but it was good timing because I had not yet reviewed my paperwork in detail until AFTER I read the thread. And thus I was able to be more critical of what I was seeing!
Note that I have wondered while reading this thread whether California has better coverage with Mega due to the many mandates of the State.
[I noticed that there was only one mention of California in this thread (as I recall) and I believe no specific problems were listed.]
So here are some hopefully objective comments about what I have received:
The short story is that I was quite pleased, after having read this thread, that I received two sets of information, both of which seemed fairly detailed and complete.
One package was the 'Premire PPO Plan for California' which very nicely laid out the options available. A generic booklet that I could could review to see what all the options are, and mark off which I have chosen.
This booklet also included definitions, exclusions and limitations,and additional questions.
Having worked for a large national company previously I found the booklet to be on par with my previous company and was pleased with what it presented.
The second packet was the actual insurance certificate. This lists a summary of all of the coverage I have chosen and detailed pages for all of the riders. It too included Definitions, termination information, etc.
I was then able to go through the coverage listed on the certificate one piece at a time and mark it in the generic booklet. Everything matched up fine.
Thus, in my own experience with the paperwork and communication of coverage, I feel that a good job was done and I feel that I should be able to know what my coverage will be as the need arises.
With that said, I will be fair and point out that I am not vouching for how 'good' the coverage is for the price I am paying.
What I need to do is to do a detailed comparison of coverage with other companies.
I will say as a very subjective gut feeling from what I see, that this policy, and probably the objective of Mega Life, is to provide basic coverage for 'standard' medical needs.
In fact, the first page of the booklet shows a graph showing 'annual frequency of claim size for insureds with inpatient stays' with the findings that the large majority are for 'relatively smaller amounts'. So I take this as support of my idea that they are trying to take care of the majority of people which are people who have smaller claims. [Or something like that!]
The proof will be when we have our first medical need and then I can report back on what happens!
The kicker to all this, and which also adds to another point of this thread is that it was also mentioned to me that I may want to consider selling insurance with Mega Life.
I will point out that having been in Real Estate, that some of what has been mentioned about working for Mega reminds me of that business. The main item would be that you apparently pay a fee to start up. In Real Estate this fee is understandable because you are an independent contractor (as with Mega I believe) and it covers your training, etc. So though it may sound like a big deal that you 'have to pay to work for them', it seems to be a standard practice in Real Estate and thus may be understandable with Mega too.
Summary:
1) Information/Documents received: Detailed and professional.
2) Coverage: Looks decent, but need to do comparisons before passing judgment.
3) Working for them: An initial fee as an Independent contractor is not unusual as long as what it pays for makes sense.
4) This is all based on the specific policy I signed up for and being based in California. This may not be comparable to other states.
Submitted: 11/10/2006 12:25:46 AM
Modified: 11/10/2006 7:18:32 AMPhilip
Bensalem, PennsylvaniaU.S.A.
Clearing the air
I hope I can clear the air here. I have health problems, have two science degrees, have worked in health care, and currently work for a major P&C company.
The biggest problem with the MEGA/NASE insurance plans is that providers are not bound to accept what MEGA pays. With most major insurance companies the providers in the network are bound to accept what the insurance company pays. This is called a hold harmless agreement.
Since MEGA doesn't have hold harmless agreements the patient will pay the difference between what MEGA pays and what the gross billing is. This can be substantial. Usual and customary charges are typically paid at 40% of the gross billing (by any health insurer.) The term usual and customary itself is a sham since no provider actually charges the UCR to customers off the street. So MEGA may claim to pay 100% after deductible but it is only 100% of the UCR charges and then the patient pays the rest.
The key with traditional PPO and HMO plans are that the patient must stay in network. In network the patient pays the co-pay and deductible and nothing else. However outside of the network the patient will be billed for the difference between what the insurance company pays and the gross charges. This is called balance billing. I have a feeling this is where MEGA is getting its horror case examples from.
So where MEGA has an advantage is if the customer wants maximum choice in who to choose for care and is willing to spend the money for what MEGA doesn't pay. However, I think most people cannot afford the out of pocket costs of health care and are therefore better off with a PPO or HMO plan with a major carrier that has a hold harmless agreement with its providers.
Good Info, may have saved me
I had a meeting this morning with a rep from Mega. He was very nice but did not seem very informed and was using a sales pitch that smacked of Amweigh, almost as if he was going to ask if I too would like to be an 'IBO'. The Insurance does not sound effective and seems to reflect as a 'discounter'. The whole plan sounds wish-washy. I a friend who is a physician and he says that MD's only get what was negotiated by the insurer. We are absolutely not responsible for any difference that BC/BS didn't pay. That's why MD's see 4-5 people per hour and you wait forever. This does not even seem like real insurance, but like those 'discount affiliate program cards' you see on late night commercials that seem to prey on the poor and immagrants. For the record I am a former Union phoneman, I have always had awsome insurance, 15 bucks at the doc and 10 for rx. I wish I had my old insurance because this is scary stuff.
WHAT SHOULD I DO?
Currently, I am a self-employed Tile Installer. I was uninsured for about 3 years, and Thank God did not have any accidents. I recently got married, and decided that we needed health coverage.
I recently purchased coverage from mid-west national life insurance company of tenessee; which has the same relationship to the alliance for affordable services
as MEGA has to the National assosiacion for the self-employed. But they are all UICI affiliates.
I believe strongly in the quality of my insurance company. However, it could lead to bancrupcy if im wronge. My agent (who is also the DM) is a very nice ,knowledgeable, and sincere person. His family is covered by mid-west, but he cant be by the (affordable)rates, because he is a diabetic. His blue cross rates went so high he is eventually going to a state-guaranteed coverage...
My questions are these:
1. Is there any other coverage besides these associacions that:
a) offer no individual rate increases(ex.get rerated and rased premiums due to high claims).
b) have no right to terminate coverage once accepted.
c) offer return of premuim benefit.
and my second question is..
2. How can mid-west be a-rated by a.m. best ratings if they are so horrible?
I know, it sounds like I got brainwashed by my agent that i have the most secure coverage, but i
have done research and talked to agents from other companies, and it seems to me that mid-west isnt too bad. I mean, there are no perfect insurance policies.
The reason im writing this is because I want the truth. everyone that I ask seems to have a different opinion, and my familys health certainly isnt a matter of who gives the best sales pitch...
anyone with some real info and advice i would appreciate it....thanks.
Careful Roman
Roman, not everything you were told is correct (as seems to often be the case with UICI).
1. Your rates - will go up, sometimes more than once per year, and often times there will be large jumps in premium per month ($50+). Just because UICI says you cannot be singled out for rate increases due to a medical condition that arises after you are covered does not mean that other companies do. I know plenty of people on BCBS who have had heart bypass surgery and cancer (same person), and while the rates have gone up, they have not been astronomical. Meanwhile, some of my former clients are asking me why the MEGA coverage I sold them earlier in the year is getting sooo expensive. I have nothing I can tell them.
2. Weigh the pros and cons of your policy not being cancelled. In MA and RI (where I am licensed), MEGA plans changed 8 times in the 6 months I was with them. The clients were still covered according to their old plans, but the pressure was on the agents to change those plans to a new plan. When that would happen, many of my apps were rejected.
3. ROP is so stupidly expensive (approx $10 per month per year of age. ie 40 year old is approx $40/month just for ROP.) Also, you have to have the plan until you are 65 to get the money back. The stats passed around the office - under 10% of all plans sold have ROP rider, and the average amount of time a policy stays on the books is under 4 years. You would pay approx 48 months worth of premiums that would guarantee you nothing when you need a new plan.
4. Your final question, about AM Best - read the whole report. AM Best only gives opinions on financial stability of the company, not ethical dealings. The end of that report (which is so conveniently left off all brochures) is the company has a negative future, meaning they expect business to decline for the company. Call your state insurance commissioner, and ask for information about Mid-West or MEGA. They should tell you whether there are any complaints filed against the company, and then give you the AM Best report. Or, just go to the AM website and check it for yourself.
hope this helps
Call a independent broker...
Roman,
I sold MEGA for 3 months and you are victim of the MEGA/Mid-West scare tactics.
MEGA & MW trains their agents to tell people that their 'association' gives them the protection of a large group through NASE & AFS's combined membership of over 400,000 members and they are all in one group. Therefore, you cannot be singled out for rate increase or cancellation if you file a large claim or MEGA/Mid-West would put themselves out of business by cancelling their group of over 400K. This is deceptive for several reasons:
1) NO company can single you out for rate increase or cancellation due to large claims--that is FEDERAL LAW. Yes, all insurance companies have rate increases, including Mid-West, but they increase them for all of their clients across the board. You are not going to get increased for filing a claim. Rates go up because the cost of health care goes up. Simple as that. MEGA & MW is no different.
2) If it were true that Mid-West lumps everyone in one enormous group, why does every Mid-West and MEGA client I convert to Major Medical plans have a different group number on their ID cards? Because, just like other companies, MW places their clients in smaller groups based on the product they are sold and geographic factors. You are not lumped into one enormous group of 400K with MEGA or Mid-West. You have no more 'protection' with MW than any other insurance company.
3) Other companies also offer benefits through an association that offer similar discounts and benefits as AFS or NASE. The difference is, these other companies don't instruct their agents to sell the association as if it is the be-all, end-all, super-power of protection and primary reason to buy the insurance.
A from RI is right about the Return of Premium rider. They sell that because no one stays on the plans long enough to even take advantage of it, but they sure do take the extra cash out of your pocket. Besides, if you ever file a large claim due to a catastrophic incident, you will wish you had that extra money back to pay the bills from the gaps in coverage you have with MW.
Take a good look at the policy you were sold. I don't know what the coverage is like in Idaho, but here's what to look for:
1) Do you have a per occurance or annual deductible? Reputable companies have annual deductibles.
2) What is your annual out of pocket maximum? Don't just look at your deductible. How much coinsurance do you have to pay? In Florida, on MEGA's PPO plan, the OOP max is $4500 on top of the deductible and that is PER ILLNESS OR INJURY!!! Reputable companies have much lower options for you to choose from and their plans cost much less than MW.
3) What caps do you have on services like Room & Board, chemotherapy, presciptions, outpatient testing, emergency room visits, etc. If you have a daily max of $1000 for chemo or $500 for R&B you are in big trouble. I just met with a lady that had Mid-West who was capped at $400 for R&B. An average room night in an Orlando hospital is $800 per night. That means if she ever went to the hospital, she'd be footing half of her R&B bill in addition to her deductible and co-insurance.
MEGA & Mid-West do not sell Major Medical plans. The caps are how they prevent their own loss--not that of their clients. A reputable company offering Major Medical plans caps the client's loss, not their own. Yes, there is a lifetime max on any policy, usually $2-5 million, but with MEGA, their a la carte approach to insurance leaves too much room for clients to underinsure themselves.
Most people don't have the experience to know that $500 per day of coverage for outpatient testing isn't enough to cover the $4000 MRI. In Florida, the most MEGA will cover for OP testing is $2000 per day. That still doesn't cover an MRI or CAT scan. And most MEGA & MW agents aren't going to point that out to you because if they max out everything on your plan and give you coverage closer to that of a reputable company, you would never be able to afford MW insurance, and they would never make the sale. So they give you the 'choice' to pick what you think you need, and that usually results in extreme gaps in the policy.
The Mid-West lady (she's 60) was paying over $450 a month for her sub-standard plan and all of its gaps & caps, and I was able to get her a name-brand product with an annual max OOP of $3K including her deductible(no caps on chemo, R&B, Rx, etc.) and dental coverage for $384.
Open your yellow-pages and start calling independent agencies. Tell them you want to see comparisons for no less than three companies, and then make your decision. Don't take your MEGA agent's word for it. He may be a nice guy, but he is extremely un-educated about real insurance and has no other options to give you. He has to convince you and all his clients that you bought the best plan or he would never get paid.
Good luck and keep us posted.
I SWITCHED
YUP, you guys were right... i went with
(( competators company name redacted by ROR)).
heres why
MW OOP max-100,000 ! xxxx- 4,500.
MW maximum benefit-1 mil xxxx-6mil
mw deductable-per occurance xxxx-per year.
mw chemo-1000 per day xxxx-no limit up to 6mil
Furthermore, with mid-west ccn network, st. Alphonsus was not in ppo, and i would rather go there than st. lukes hospital. So with my xxxx ppo i got st.als.
Anb my mid west price per month for my wife and I was 260. with xxxxx......160.
thanks guys.
Stop being ripped off
I have read this entire blog and I am really amazed. People are actually surprised that an insurance company has paid less than expected or not at all for particular claims. I have been self employed for over five years and have been with three different insurance companies, including MEGA. Sometimes the insurance company paid just like I expected and sometimes they did not. Its what they do, its how they do business. Each company always paid according to the policy and all the fine print. I just had a discussion with a friend that has group insurance at a very large corporation and believe it or not they are doing all they can to avoid paying a very large claim. They even pre-authorized the service and still don't want to pay the claim.
Here's the bottom line. Your policy is only as good as the agent presenting the information. If he/she is either dishonest or uninformed you will probably feel like the insurance company is not paying its claims. You also have to consider that the average person has no clue about how health insurance works in the private/self-employed market. Only after a few unpaid claims do they learn.
Lets face it, there is a problem with the healthcare industry as a whole. I have seen accounts on here of ridiculous claims. For instance one person said they had a well child visit for over $450. That in and of itself is ridiculous considering the average pediatrician might receive only $150 - $200 reimbursement for that visit. Who is ripping off who here? The average hospital charge increased 24% from $13,900 in 1997 to $17,300 2002. However the average cost for a hospital stay remained the same, approximately $7500. This is according to statistics from the American Hospital Association. With this kind of highway robbery, who can blame the insurance companies for not wanting to pay.
If you want to avoid being ripped off then get educated on how the system works and find an agent who is five times as knowlegable as you and use that agent to help work your way through the maze of charges and reimbursements. Only then will you be satisfied with your health insurance situation.
Oh, by the way...
The point that the insurance is only as good as the agent selling it is a good reason to stay away from Mega. Mega agents are not 5x smarter than the person looking to purchase insurance, when it comes to insurance. Most agents are getting into Mega without any training other than the quick class mandated by the state. Also, agents are trained to gloss over parts and emphasize what will happen if you get hurt or sick without this insurance. Want to not get ripped off? Simple. Your fist step is to stay away from Mega.
Thats Security!
As posted earlier, it states that Mega plans have $2000/ day of testing- thats it?!? That sure beats my $2000 a YEAR my BCBS plan had. Oh wait, I didnt find out I had only $2000 a year of OUTPATIENT TREATMENT until BCBS authorized my $3600 of treatment, then decided that $2000 was all they would pay! That's security!
For any of the EX reps posting on here, there is no need to keep bashing Mega. Just because you could not handle being either independent with no time clock or work in the insurance industry doesnt justisfy blaming it on Mega or your leaders. Look in the mirror! If you are slinging insurance now as a broker, I would recommend that any potential clients beware! Brokers will have you apply for one plan and then 6-12 months later have a different plan be 'better for you'- oh wait, better for their pocket book since they will get paid again from another company. Who's best interest are they looking out for?!? That's security!
John in Iowa- pay attention: we dont mention health insurance agents in some of the job posting to keep insurance slingers away like yourself. You obviously have not seen a new Mega product because you keep reverting back to the older ones- the plans we dont offer anymore! Oh yeah, birthday cards and christmas cards, of course, but you need to be a little more creative now a days. People see right through those. They just know that after that birthday card you are going to call them and say 'Hey, your 34 now, lets switch you to another company because they will have better coverage and rates for you' Cha Ching!
M in Irvine, CA. We all know that your claim about the $180,000 bill and Mega paid $3-4,000 is BS. It wouldn't happen with any new or recent insurance plan. Stop telling lies- you probably tell enought to your clients!
Amy in Orlando- wow! How long have you been in the insurance industry for? Yeah, its been less than a year. I dont think that makes you an expert, so you might want to get a little more knowledge under your belt before you start advising people in other states (especially where you arent licensed) what to do. That is illegal, and I would be careful. I have seen people get in trouble for that.
To the rest of you readers, I hope your neck isnt hurt too bad by now after reading all these. It really is a waste of time. Disgruntled former employees never have a good word to say. Truth of the matter is they couldn't make an HONEST living helping out people with health insurance and dont want to take the blame. Its okay- we are all human!
Just signed up
I just signed up with Mega earlier today. Thought I would check them out on here, but I'm pretty confused. First of all, the association I bought was Alliance for Affordable Services (never heard of NASE before)... and it was an optional membership. But the strange thing is that I haven't seen ANY of the limitations yall are talking about. In fact I had a choice between 2 major medical (i.e. 5,000,000 max) PPO policies and 2 major medical policies that allowed me to search through thousands of drs, hospitals, and facilities on the internet so I could price compare BEFORE going!
The best part was that all of my dr visits, well exams, chiropractor visits, and upcoming colonoscopy are all covered at 100% with no copays or deductibles!!! AND, it's covered at 100% whether I go in or out of network. I am incredibly happy with Mega, and I really don't understand what everyone is bickering over with plan maxes, usual and customary nonsense, etc. None of that even seems relevant to any of the plans I saw.
P.S. I've owned a small business for over 20 years now and have gone through A LOT of insurance carriers and coverage types. The major medical plan I just signed up with seems to be the best plan I've ever had. So I say give 'em a shot!
Submitted: 1/20/2007 10:54:21 PM
Modified: 1/21/2007 1:55:08 AMPhilip
Bensalem, PennsylvaniaU.S.A.
To D in Georgia
The question is 100% of what. As I posted above MEGA doesn't pay 100% of the gross bill. MEGA pays 100% of the bill up to the maximum allowable charge, or usual and customary charge. So the gross charge for your colonoscopy may be $2,000 but the usual and customary allowable charge amount may be $800 (actual experience). You are then responsible for the difference. This is why MEGA has no network. The company does not have agreements with medical providers in which the provider is bound to accept what the insurance company pays(Called a hold harmless agreement).
That doesn't mean the provider won't accept what MEGA pays. Find out how much MEGA is going to pay for your colonoscopy and then find a provider who is willing to accept what MEGA pays. A little leg work will go a long way with your MEGA plan.
This is why MEGA gives you shopping tools with your plan so you can get an idea of how expensive the provider is before you make an appointment.
In the Blue Cross indemnity days I would call BC first to see what the allowable charge amount was and then I would call providers until I found one who would take what BC was going to pay. I recommend doing the same thing with your MEGA plan.
Is your plan a consumer driven health plan?
Nice choice Georgia!
D. in Atlanta. Nice choice. The Mega plan you applied for is one of their new plans I believe and it is great! I am licensed in Georgia and have seen that plan. In regards to the Usual and Customary- that number isnt deemed by the insurance company. It is determined by an outside source.
Mr. PA is correct to tell you to do your research to make sure a doctor isnt going to charge you $2000 when the average in Atlanta is $800 (I dont know what the average really is). Some doctors charge a ridiculous amount because they want to get the most out of an insurance company... make sure you go to a doctor who is working to help you as a patient, not to only make money off you.
If you dont have a doctor, try to find one in the network. It will keep costs down for the insurance company because they already have contracted rates, which in the long run will keep your rates down.
If you ever have any questions, make sure you contact your agent. He/she knows the exact plan and riders you have so they can make sure you get the correct answer. Have a great day!
Submitted: 1/31/2007 4:27:49 PM
Modified: 1/31/2007 5:00:08 PMLee
Wilmington, North CarolinaU.S.A.
Does anyone know anything about World Health Ins?
Have been reading your feedback, would like to know about other health insurance that you would recommend.
Thanks,
new plans marketed by MEGA
All of the negatives listed here are referring to the old limited scdeduled benefit plans offered through NASE. I am a represantitive through the Alliance for Affordable Services and we just contracted with Mega's new major medical plans. These plans took a 180 degree turn from the old plans which did not pay out very well, as you can clearly read.
New plans are major medical plans that offer everything from your typical PPO style plan to the new consumer driven health plans that provide price transparency BEFORE you go in for medical care. Instead of maxes on how much Mega will pay, there is a deductible and co-insurance max of 4000, before the plan picks up at 100%.
Even better is the new coverage for dr visits, well exams, chiropractor, allergy injections, immunization shots, and diagnostic services. These services are now covered at 100% with no copay or deductible requirements.
All I'm saying is that Mega may not have the BEST track record (what insurance company does?), but NOW they certainly have some of the most competitive insurance plans available in the market to individuals.
Walking away
I would like to thank everyone that has posted their comments about MEGA LIFE & HEALTH. I work for a small company that does not offer health insurance. I was planning on possibly switching from my current BC/BS to MEGA.
I have read each and every entry in this long list and have learned a lot.
I will stay with BC/BS and educate everyone I work with about MEGA so that they don't make mistakes either.
I have printed out all the important entries and will hand them out.
Thanks for saving me from a disaster.
--- No longer a future customer of MEGA,
Bob
About Those NEW PLANS.....
First off, Congratulation Bob. Very wise decision!
I want to discuss those 'new plans' that David write about in the above posting.
He is talking about the newly touted CareONe and CarePlus Plan and as hard as Mega is trying to get it right, they are still missing the boat in comparision to thier competition.
Here are the flaws:
1) Mega- Per Occurance Deductibles and Co-ins up to 3 per 365 days. VS Assurant - Annual Deductilbe and co-insurane stop loss - One per year no matter how much you use your insurance.
2) Mega- $1 million lifetime max per individual accident or illness with $5 million for everything- VS Assurant- $8 million lifetime max all encompassing.
3) Mega- Assisted Surgen- Ded +Co-ins up to 20% of surgens covered expenses. VS Assurant - just ded +co-ins. no max.
4) Mega- Anesthesiologist- Ded+co-ins up to 50% of sergeons covered expenses VS Assurant-ded+co-ins. no max.
5) Mega- Ground Ambulance - Ded+Co UP TO $500 per trip. VS Assurant - Ded+co-ins no max.
6) Inpatient Doc visit - 100% 1 per day. VS Assurant- 100% unlimited.
NOW - here's the interested stuff:
7) Chemotherpy - Ded +co-ins WITH APPROVED COURSE OF TREATMENT: WITHOUT IT - Up to $1,500/day. Hummmmmm...VS Assurant- Ded+Co-ins no approval necessary (other than PPO network)
8) Same thing with Radiation Therpy only limited to $1,250 without approved course of treatment.
9) Mega -OUTPATIENT DIAGONOSTIC SERVICES: Ded+co-Ins PLUS $50 co-pay with $2,000 Max per 24 hour period. VS Assurant- Ded+Coins no copays No Max.
10)Mega- TRANSPLANT PROCEDURES -Ded+coins covered up to $250,000 Max. VS Assurant-Ded+coins NO MAX
11) Mega- RX- CAPPED A $1,500/year. VS Assurant- NO CAPS -just co-pays each time.
12) The doc vist preventive care rider is kinda messed up. Agents present it all wrong. It escalades into building up to a specific amount into fund- but its over a years time. Each quarter the funds add a little higher. VS Assurant - unlimited Doc sick visits from day one with a Co-pay of $35 - $750 per person/yr Wellness coverage.
13) Price - Mega is the same, if not higher than Assurant.
SOOO - David. Now you know. Its sad that your competition has to educate you on how your programs work.
Good agents care far too much about thier clients to sell that type of plan when the competition is so much better. So why do they? Because they can't sell anything else. They are CAPTIVE. Forced to sell only Mega Insurnace. They are NOT true consultants. They are leading people into the insurance that THEY want them to buy, not what thier cleints want to buy.
Beware of agents like Dave who don't give you the full truth.
MEGA does NOT sell MAJOR MEDICAL!!!
David, you have had the wool pulled over your eyes! These 'new' plans are NOT major medical. When they were unveiled last fall, when I was still with MEGA, we were told by our district manager that these are not major medical plans! Do your customers a favor and stop lying to them. You already sell garbage, so please don't compound the issue by telling them they're getting something they're not!
Mark Zayti
Anyone know of a Divisional Sales Manager in the state of Michigan known as Mark Zayti?
Mark Zayti is nothing but a SHYSTER! He is a liar, misleading, and very good at twisting words and situations. In all actuality, he can be thought of as the 'salesman from hell' in every way imaginable. Stay clear of him, the NASE, the MEGA Life and Health Insurance Company, and any inclination of 'so called' benefits offered by this Association.
It's all crap and when claim time arises, you are guaranteed to have MANY, MANY problems.
As an ex- agent with the company, I was employed by the NASE for approximately 8 years.
After I left, I became an independent and lead a much more happier, prosperous life...and best of all, I can actually sleep much better at night. I moved ALL of my NASE clients to better policies and in turn, saved them much grief and aggravation.
BUYER BEWARE!
Generalizations = Ignorance
I'm disgusted. The comments made toward Mega agents here are no better than lumping any other ethnic, social, or religious group together and demoralizing the whole. Criticize the plans, or the way claims were paid out, fine. Once you cross the line to say that all the agents are crooks, uneducated, heavy-handed, off-the-street, forced, duped, etc., then you've missed the mark. Furthermore, you've exposed your ignorance and lack of respect for human beings. There are plenty of Mega agents who are proud of what they do, how they represent the company, and are secure with what the plans are. PLEASE STOP THE PERSONAL ATTACKS. (Brian I would expect more from you.)
There are dishonest Mega agents, there are dishonest brokers. There are people who have loved or hated their Mega policy, same as with any company. No one can deny this.
Lastly, an idea. Since it appeares that all of the indepented agents and brokers out there know so much, maybe each state's Department of Insurance should replace their employees with a panel of brokers. Evidently the DOI's accross the nation are not as educated as the typical ex-mega broker, nor are they as concerned for their citizens. Otherwise, Mega wouldn't have been authorized to do business in nearly every state. What do ya'll think?
Somehow I think that if there was an insurance product that was truly harmful to the policy holder, those with no incentive to do otherwise would stop it before it started. That's what DOI's do.
Mark Zayti Trained My Managers!!!
R from Rochester,
I find it interesting that Mark Zayti also trained my MEGA managers in Orlando who came from Michigan and they couldn't say enough great things about about what a great 'salesman' he was. The word 'shyster' applies to them as well so evidently he Mr. Zayti is an excellent mentor. If you check out my entries from July, you may find an interesting parallel to how you were trained. Small world isn't it?
Bashing MEGA agents
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!
Former Agent who has a conscience
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??
Submitted: 3/19/2007 5:22:20 PM
Modified: 3/19/2007 7:01:21 PMThomas
Anderson, South CarolinaU.S.A.
'Mother's claim' from Blain - Fort Smith, Arkansas
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?
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
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...
Submitted: 4/5/2007 9:41:17 AM
Modified: 4/5/2007 12:51:28 PMJim
Center Valley, PennsylvaniaU.S.A.
This is humorous, yet scary
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.
You're right!
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.
Hmmm... John you left out the Company you Broker for
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.
Jim - Center Valley
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!
Heidi......
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!
Submitted: 4/15/2007 10:10:25 PM
Modified: 4/15/2007 10:13:18 PMRobert
Arlington Heights, IllinoisU.S.A.
Thanks
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
There are too many ex-agents complaining -there must be truth here
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.
Submitted: 4/20/2007 9:59:35 PM
Modified: 4/20/2007 10:18:40 PM
Bob
Charlotte, North CarolinaU.S.A.
need advice
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 Dick 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.
3 days of training and Stop with the pole signs
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.
Thanks Rip Off Report
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
THANK YOU, THANK YOU
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!!!!
JOHN = Bxxx Shxx!!!
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...
MEGA LIFE WARNING FOR ALL POTENTIAL REPS
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!
how long to get my money back?
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?
Len in Scranton
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.
BEWARE OF THE PAY!
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!
This company is deceitful
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.
To John in Iowa
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?
Blackstone Group Acq UICI Press Release
'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.
Jim -your issue. EX-AGENT CLASS ACTION SUIT
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.
Everyone take a chill pill.
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!
If Mega's so fantastic...
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.
The Vicious Cycle of Mega Agents....
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.
Outrageous Mega/NASE premiums
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?
To John - Tulsa, OK
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!
Their new 'awsome care one plan'
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.
Advice?
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 damn 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!).
Jeremy ... get out as soon as you can!
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.]).
Almost.....
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.
Not even close!
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 agree with Marie 09/27/2006 02:08:05 am
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.
UGA Training
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.
please let the ink dry on your insurance license before you proceed to educate the masses about how health insurance works
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.
let the ink dry on your insurance license
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, deductible‘s; 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.
let the ink dry on your insurance license
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 slut 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
You can Contact Me.....
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?
Contact
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.
Brian, you're UGA's worst nightmare
....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?
E&O
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.
What's the source?
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?
Get off the fence-
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.
garbage company
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.
Figure this out for myself...
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.
Huh?
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!
Tell your brother...
....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.
Return of Premium Benefit
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.
Fluff....
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........
ROP is a sales gimmick
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.
Return of Premium
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 bitch!). 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. :)
Any Advice?
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!!!
Paybacks for HelpMe
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.
would like independent agent advice
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
ALL MEGA AGENTS ON YOUR WAY OUT....
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!!!
Jayne - your ROP Rider.....
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