Healthcare costs are increasing this year. Find out how you can still acquire decent health insurance leads from the bunch.

High-deductible health plans have encompassed a considerable portion of the health insurance market. We’re talking deductibles well into the 1,000-dollar range.

This is unsettling for agents, as they find themselves on the brink of the health insurance open enrollment period.

This change in pricing has the potential to push people towards a cutback on healthcare spending. And it’s not like we can lower our price point by much. So how can we as agents combat that? Well, our first step is to understand how we can adapt to the changes.

Adjust to the Market

Because of the tight market costs, you’ll need to up your game and rally all the customers you can get. Luckily, there will be a large pool of people looking for more affordable healthcare. You just have to make sure you can captivate those considering a reasonably priced policy.

How should you go about doing this? Well, there are a few different ways.

Expand Your Reach

Expanding your territorial reach is a great way to adjust to the changing healthcare system—especially in a time where we’ve seen major cutback in health insurance leads. Branching out and adding 5 or 10 miles to your territory can increase your business exponentially. Adding territory means adding lead volume. For more information about how expanding territory can increase your business, check out our article on Finding Customers with a Larger Lead Territory.

Build Trust

You have no control over the cost increase in the health industry. Premiums are set by the insurance companies, and there’s little room for altercation. So putting aside the cost, you’ll need to find alternative methods to prove to potential leads that they should purchase your product. You can do so by building a rapport with them.

The first step to building trust is getting to know your clients. It’s hard not to be overbearing in this industry, but it’s really important to take time to understand your clients wants and needs. Understand what type of health plan they’re looking for, and how you can assist them with any questions they might have.

Maybe your potential client has questions about their deductible, copayments, or coinsurance? What if they need advice on which “metal” plan is best for them? Or maybe they just want to know how the recent healthcare changes will affect their overall plan. In any case, you’ll want to be the one to answer these questions for them.

Building this sense of authority will propel you into the hands of their trust.

Generating New Business

Of course, once you’ve been able to make appropriate changes to your business, you’ll hopefully begin to see a reboot in lead generation. But you’ll need the tools to do so. And what better way than to prove your expertise to your territory.

Become a Local Authority

It’s easy to lose potential leads to the shifting healthcare economy. So the first step in building back up your business is to make yourself and your business known. You want to make yourself a local authority, so people will come to you no matter the market price of a healthcare policy. There are a few ways to do this.

Educate Yourself

Teach yourself everything there is to know about your health product. As stated in the previous section, you want to be the go to person regarding anything healthcare related. So become an expert on the topic. Learn about all the health insurance lines you offer.

Also, make an effort to learn about other company’s policies. If you can answer the customer’s questions about how your health product compares to other providers, it will put you in the position of authority. If people trust you with their questions, they’ll be more likely to go with you rather than another company.

Market your Health Product

Promote yourself and your product through your social media channels, whether it be Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. Share posts about your product, the company you represent, and any other news on the industry. Not only promote your product, but also prove to your followers that your company is a knowledgeable and trustworthy provider that they should consider.

Bottom Line

Healthcare is one of the most unpredictable and ever-changing products in the insurance industry. Policies, plans, and costs are always changing. And while we can’t reform the price, we can still improve our business game.

The best bet for finding quality leads in the coming months is to adapt with the market. Do so by expanding your market reach, and making yourself an authoritative figure in the eyes of the consumer. From there you’ll start to generate new business and see some serious leads come in.

Unpredictable economic times doesn’t have to be a death sentence to your business, you just need to have the tools to work around it.