Sometimes, it seems as if we could populate this blog exclusively with stories of the dumb things insurance companies do. Of course, we�d have to change its name, but still.
Our latest installment in this �series� comes from Anthem Blue Cross/Shield, which has notified those of us who sell their group plans of their newest requirement: when submitting a Request for Proposal, we must now include the Federal ID number (EIN) of the group in question. This is idiotic.
Why, you may ask?
Well for a number of reasons:
First, employers are no less subject to identity theft than indiviuals, but Anthem�s not requiring us to submit those when getting a quote [ed: Hush! Don�t give �em any ideas!]. (And, yes, most of us do quote individual products on our own PC�s, but not all agents have this ability)
Second, and IMHO, more egregious, is that this effectively shuts out competition. How so? Simple: if one is not the incumbent agent, how likely is it that a prospect (who may be a referral, or a cold call, or a friend of a friend) will be likely to part with that information simply to obtain a quote? More likely, they�ll just call their existing agent and avoid the bother.
Third, what possible reason would a carrier have to require this information simply to provide a quote? It�s just one more example of heavy handed tactics that occur when a carrier dominates a given market.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
(There, I feel better already!)
UPDATE: It gets dumber [ed: this is possible?]. Since there's no way for Anthem to verify the abovementioned EIN, why wouldn't agents simply make one up for quoting purposes? What's the worst that could happen? "Here's a new, sold case. Oh, I accidentally included an incorrect EIN with the quote request? Gee, I'm sorry."
Our latest installment in this �series� comes from Anthem Blue Cross/Shield, which has notified those of us who sell their group plans of their newest requirement: when submitting a Request for Proposal, we must now include the Federal ID number (EIN) of the group in question. This is idiotic.
Why, you may ask?
Well for a number of reasons:
First, employers are no less subject to identity theft than indiviuals, but Anthem�s not requiring us to submit those when getting a quote [ed: Hush! Don�t give �em any ideas!]. (And, yes, most of us do quote individual products on our own PC�s, but not all agents have this ability)
Second, and IMHO, more egregious, is that this effectively shuts out competition. How so? Simple: if one is not the incumbent agent, how likely is it that a prospect (who may be a referral, or a cold call, or a friend of a friend) will be likely to part with that information simply to obtain a quote? More likely, they�ll just call their existing agent and avoid the bother.
Third, what possible reason would a carrier have to require this information simply to provide a quote? It�s just one more example of heavy handed tactics that occur when a carrier dominates a given market.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
(There, I feel better already!)
UPDATE: It gets dumber [ed: this is possible?]. Since there's no way for Anthem to verify the abovementioned EIN, why wouldn't agents simply make one up for quoting purposes? What's the worst that could happen? "Here's a new, sold case. Oh, I accidentally included an incorrect EIN with the quote request? Gee, I'm sorry."
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