CSI Makes GI Change

CSI (also known as CSI LIFE) announced today that on Guarantee Issue cases, they will require agents submitting them to send in paper applications with "wet" signatures. So, no more E-app if you are submitting a GI case to CSI or CSI Life. This is the latest in the trend of insurance companies doing their level best to dissuade agents from sending THEIR company the cases that they HAVE TO take. Already, CSI has followed the trend of only paying a flat, $25.00 one-time commission on these Plan F cases that they're forced to take when, for example, someone is losing their group coverage at work, has already been on Part B (not new for Open Enrollment) and must be offered a guaranteed issue plan. Until 2020, Plan F is still the only Guaranteed Issue plan that can be offered, so the carriers have slashed commission to nill, and are now - in the case of CSI - even making it harder to get the case to them. Remember, that in certain states, these companies MUST pay full commissions because the states have determined that the payment of lower commissions for this type of business provides a negative incentive to agents to write the business at all. Which, of course, it does. States like Tennessee and South Carolina require full compensation on G.I. business. See the Tennessee ruling on this here - you may need this in the future. See the South Carolina ruling here. Some companies have looked the other way with this provision, like Manhattan Life (MLIC), who has only been paying this full commission when the FMO's have gotten involved and sent them the legal notices from the state mandating such payment. In at least three cases that I'm aware of, the agent was initially paid just $25 until it was brought to their attention and the situation was manually rectified. During the last week of August, 2016, Medico announced that they're only going to pay 8% commission in TN, again, contrary to the legal verdict by the State of Tennessee (see below). This possible clash with the law there has been brought to their attention, too. Companies like Aetna and Mutual of Omaha will, in most cases, pay approximately half of the full commission for GI business in states that do not mandate full commission payments. Keep this in mind when writing cases that mandate Plan F because of guarantee issue. There is no sense, really, in working for free, taking the liability of the case, for no compensation, in this writer's opinion, anyway! In other news, CSI has released rate increase information for the following states this week: TX: 9.5% on Plan F AND 9.5% on Plan G (ouch) MS: 9.5% on Plan F and 5.0% on Plan G PA: 9.0% on Plan F and 5.0% on Plan G See also: Guarantee Issue Considerations and Scenarios

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