Changing careers can be exciting, but it can also be scary, especially when you’re trying to launch your own business. You have bills to pay and mouths to feed – what if can’t earn enough, quickly enough? It’s a serious concern, but there are ways to protect your finances without giving up on your dreams of becoming your own boss and securing a passive income. If you’ve been thinking about a career as a Medicare agent, consider starting as a side hustle and then transitioning to full-time once you’ve established yourself.
Should You Go to Work for Yourself?
A career as a Medicare agent could offer you more autonomy, flexibility and freedom. However, while going independent means that you are free from an employer’s control, it also means you won’t have an employer’s support, so there are both pros and cons to consider.
In traditional employment, no matter how hard you work, it can be hard to get ahead. Although you may succeed in earning a raise or promotion, your hard work mostly just makes your employer richer. At the same time, the job gives you some degree of stability. Sure, a layoff is always possible, but as long as you’re still employed, you know you’ll receive a regular paycheck.
When you work for yourself as an independent agent, this changes. You can earn commissions on every insurance policy you sell. The harder you work, the more you can sell, and the more you can earn. You can even earn a passive income because you’ll continue to receive commissions when your clients renew each year. On top of all of this, you can also exercise more freedom in terms of when, where and how you work. It sounds pretty great, and it can be amazing, but the downside is that you aren’t guaranteed a large income. You have to succeed in selling policies in order to earn anything.
Turn a Side Hustle into a Career
Although insurance sales can be extremely lucrative, the failure rate for new agents is high. In some cases, this may be because insurance just isn’t a good fit, but it often comes down to time. Many hopeful agents go all-in on an insurance career, and when they don’t start making money immediately, they have no choice but to quit so they can pursue a traditional job and a regular income. Establishing yourself as an agent takes time, and the initial months can be lean.
That’s why starting Medicare sales as a side hustle makes sense for a lot of people. You keep your regular job and start selling Medicare policies on the side. This gives you time to develop a client base while also making sure it’s a good fit for your personality and skills. Once you’ve developed a strong client base and a steady revenue stream, you can transition to full-time without worrying about whether you’ll make it. Or you can keep selling Medicare as a side hustle if that works for you – you’ll even earn commissions when your current clients renew, giving you a nice passive income year after year.
Medicare Sales Offer a Rewarding Opportunity
There’s another reason to consider starting a Medicare side hustle: it’s a rewarding career. If your regular job doesn’t give you the satisfaction you crave, a career in Medicare sales might be exactly what you need.
Having the right health insurance can make a significant difference in someone’s life, especially for seniors with fixed incomes and growing health concerns. Medicare enrollees have access to a wide variety of Medicare Advantage, Medicare Part D prescription drug plans, and Medicare Supplemental Insurance plans, and deciding on a plan can be overwhelming.
Medicare agents help by providing expert advice. This can be a highly rewarding career – and demand for Medicare agents is growing. According to the Population Reference Bureau, the U.S. population of seniors aged 65 and older is growing an unprecedented rate as Baby Boomers reach retirement age. In 2022, there were approximately 58 million Americans aged 65 and older. By 2050, this number will surge to 82 million. When you add in the fact that, according to KFF, more Medicare enrollees are choosing private Medicare Advantage plans over Original Medicare, it’s clear that Medicare agents play an increasingly vital role.
How to Get Started as a Medicare Agent
Before you commit to a new career as a Medicare agent, make sure a Medicare sales career is a good fit.
- Do you enjoy working with people? Medicare agents need strong people skills. If you don’t thrive in positions that require interaction with the public, you may not be well-suited to a career in insurance sales.
- Do you enjoy working with seniors? As a Medicare agent, you will help people who are 65 and older. Some of them may not be tech-savvy and others may require a lot of assistance. Agents who are patient, caring and good listeners tend to excel.
- Are you a motivated self-starter? The plus side of being a Medicare agent earning commissions is that you can earn more by selling more. The downside is that you need to sell in order to earn. If you’re not motivated to put in the work, Medicare sales may not be a good fit.
- Are you well-organized? As a Medicare agent, you’ll be managing a lot of tasks every day – from accounting and recordkeeping to marketing and sales. You will need to be comfortable with multi-tasking and operating at a fast pace.
If you’re confident that a Medicare career is right for you, the next step is to work on meeting state, federal and carrier requirements for insurance agents.
- Before you can sell insurance, you need to be licensed in your state. To do this, you typically need to complete new agent training, pass a test, and apply for a license. After earning your initial license, you may need to complete continuing education to maintain your license. See your state’s department of insurance for details; here’s the Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions.
- CMS has additional training requirements for Medicare agents, and carriers may have additional training requirements that agents must complete before they are able to sell policies. Once again, the process typically involves training plus a test. These Medicare training requirements must be met EVERY YEAR.
Finally, you need to decide on what type of Medicare coverage you want to sell. There are multiple options, and it can get confusing – that’s exactly why so many seniors need help navigating their coverage choices!
There are two common approaches:
- Offer only Medicare Supplement Plans. Also called Medigap, these plans are designed to supplement Original Medicare and help seniors cover out-of-pocket expenses. Medicare Supplement Plans are offered by various private insurance companies, but the plan types are standardized. There’s no medical underwriting during the one-time Medigap Open Enrollment Period, so most people enroll when they first become eligible and then maintain the policy throughout retirement. Starting with Medicare Supplement Plans only is a good way to ease into your Medicare career while securing nice renewal commissions.
- Offer everything – Medicare Supplement Plans, Medicare Advantage, and Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plans. The more you offer, the more sales you can make, but it may also be overwhelming when you’re just getting started. Medicare Advantage and Part D plans are offered by private insurance companies, and they can vary significantly.
Being Independent Is Easier with The Right Support
As an independent Medicare agent, you can carve out your own lucrative career. However, your journey will be much easier if you have some help. A Field Marketing Organization, or FMO, can provide the support you need to succeed. While FMO services vary, they typically help with:
- Access to carriers. To maximize your success, you’ll need to be appointed to sell Medicare plans from several carriers. An FMO can help you secure access to the Medicare plans your clients want.
- Training. You’ll need sales, marketing, product and compliance training. FMOs excel in delivering convenient and often free training to their network of agents.
- Regulatory compliance. CMS is constantly adjusting the regulations that agents must follow, and it can be difficult for agents to keep up. FMOs can provide guidance on regulatory issues, including the required training.
- Marketing. To succeed as a Medicare sales agent, you’ll need to market your services. FMOs can help by providing tips and resources.
- Tech tools. Modern tech tools can make your job as a Medicare agent much easier. For example, you may need an online quoting engine, a call recording platform, a CRM system, secure document storage. An FMO can help by providing access to tools as well as tips and guidance.
Are you ready to start a new career as a Medicare agent? WAP can help.