Insurance producers are fighting the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s (PPACA) element that excludes commissions from the calculations of the minimum medical loss ratio. The PPACA states that health insurance companies in the large group market must spend a minimum of 85 percent of premiums on healthcare services, and those in the small group and individual markets much spend at least 80 percent on healthcare services. Broker and agent groups are battling on Capitol Hill to remove their commissions from the requirement. They had hoped that the cause would…
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Experts announce 4 important actions for agents to prevent E&O claims
Experts in the insurance industry have released a list of 4 important actions for agents to take in order to help them avoid errors and omissions (E&O) claims. E&O claims are one of the banes of the existence of insurers. They are time consuming and costly. Most commonly, they result from times when an insurance agent becomes drawn into a dispute going on between the insured and the policy holder. Should a lawsuit ensue, the agents are often named among those who are at fault. For this reason, experts in…
Read MoreNew legislation seeks to protect agency role in health coverage
With states making moves toward establishing health insurance exchanges, the role of agents has been a subject of debate – specifically whether they will still be necessary. In New York, new legislation has been introduced that will protect the role of insurance agents and brokers. The state is one of the leaders in pioneering insurance exchanges, but has not forgotten the importance of independent insurance agents. The bill guarantees that agents will continue to play their part parallel to the state’s exchange program. The bill was introduced by Senators James…
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