5 Facts About The Senior Health Insurance Market You Can t Afford to Ignore And How You Can Establish Your Leadership Position In This Incredible Market
Executive Summary: Ignore The Senior Health Insurance Market At Your Peril There was a time when health insurance agents and brokers could succeed without any products geared for the Senior market. But that time is steadily disappearing. Just like online marketing, serving the Senior market is no longer just an option for health insurance professionals. It s an absolute necessity! What has changed? The answer can be wrapped up in two earth-shaking words: Baby Boomers. The Baby Boom generation has transformed every decade of American life since the end of World War II. As adolescents, teens and young adults, they defined the youthful energy and pop culture of the 1960s and 1970s. They drove America s technological, cultural and economic growth in the 1980s and 1990s. But one second after midnight, on January 1, 2011, Kathleen Casey-Kirschling, the first official Baby Boomer will turn 65 and qualify for Medicare. Then, over the next two decades, more than 72 million Baby Boomers will follow her. This special ProspectZone report explores five important facts about the Senior health insurance market. They re facts you can t ignore. More importantly, they re five facts that can help you establish your position and success in this important, fast-growing market. 2
1: It s BIG and Getting BIGGER! There are currently more than 53 million American Seniors age 65 or older, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. In 2004, just five years ago, there were only about 36.3 million Seniors age 65+ nearly 12% of the U.S. population. By 2010, the Census Bureau expects the Senior population to top 56 million, or about 18% of the U.S. population. By 2050, projections call for the Senior population to top out at about 109 million or more than 25% of the population. Over the next forty years, the total U.S. population is expected to expand by about 49%. During that same period the Senior 65+ population will expand by about 147%. In other words, nearly 1 out of every 5 Americans today is a Senior. At its peak around 2050, the Senior population will account for 1 out of every 4 Americans. When the biggest group of Baby Boomers enters Medicare around 2025, they ll do so at a pace of about 4 million per year. That means that a Baby Boomer will become Medicare-eligible every eight seconds! 3
2: More Seniors Are Better Prepared But Not All After three to five decades of hard work during some of America s most prosperous periods, today s Seniors and Baby Boomers are better off than their predecessors. In fact, more than 70% of the privately held wealth in the U.S. belongs to Seniors and Baby Boomers age 50+. This group also generates yearly income of more than 2 trillion. Although income figures do drop for Americans age 65 and older, the Census Bureau reports that these Seniors are still better equipped than their predecessors and other age groups: Median net worth. As of 2002, Seniors age 65 and older had a median household net worth of 130,500. By comparison, households where the head was age 34 or less had a median net worth of only 5,438. Poverty rate. As of 2004, the poverty rate for Seniors age 65+ was 9.8%. By comparison, the national poverty rate that same year was 12.5%. 4
3: Seniors Are Online, Active And Googling Medicare and Health Insurance The Internet is no longer the domain of the young. Seniors are now joining the online community en masse. Along with the Baby Boomers who originally helped to create the Internet, Seniors have become the fastestgrowing segment of the Internet: Rapid rise. In 2004, the Pew Research Center reported that only one out of every five Seniors age 65+ were wired. Today, more than half of all Seniors in the 65 to 75 range are online, while more than 1 out of 4 Seniors age 76+ are using the Internet. Commerce. Adults age 33+ are more like to research, shop and buy online than teens and younger adults. By comparison, younger Internet users are more apt to socialize and play games online than make financial decisions. Health information. After email and search engine research, the most popular activity among Seniors age 65+ is obtaining health information online. When broken down further, search-engine queries for Medicare, Medicaid and health insurance are among the most popular searches for Seniors age 65+. Baby Boomers, in particular, are intent on breaking the old stereotypes about Seniors. Today s Seniors are more active and are more likely to go online to research their health insurance options and to get their health insurance coverage. 12-17 18-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65-69 70-75 76+ 5
4: Areas with High Concentrations of Seniors It s no surprise that the fastest-growing states are projected to have the most Seniors age 65+ in the coming decades. According to U.S. Census projections, the following states will lead the nation in Senior population in 2030: California 8.2 million Texas 7.7 million Florida 5.1 million New York 3.9 million Pennsylvania 2.8 million Illinois 2.4 million Arizona 2.3 million Rest of U.S. 38.6 million However, in terms of Seniors percentage of the population, only Florida will remain on top. The U.S. Census Bureau projects that by 2030, the ten oldest states (in terms of percentage of their Senior 65+ population) are as follows: Florida 27.1% Wyoming 26.5% Maine 26.5% New Mexico 26.5% Montana 25.8% North Dakota 25.1% West Virginia 24.8% Vermont 24.5% Delaware 23.5% South Dakota 23.1% And the youngest states? Look to Utah, Alaska, Texas, Georgia and Colorado. 6
5: Top Producers Are Focusing On Medicare Supplement Plans Many brokers and agents do, in fact, know what s coming. They know that the Baby Boom generation will radically expand the Senior population in the U.S. and around the world. Their challenge is figuring out how they can serve this market. Top producers have already found the answer, and it s with Medicare Supplement plans: Needed coverage. Med Supp plans cover most of the expenses that standard Medicare or Medicare plans do not effectively lowering the out-of-pocket expenses many Seniors may face. Private. Med Supp plans are provided by private carriers, so agents and brokers won t have to worry nearly as much about government cutbacks and interference. Easier underwriting. Because of its guaranteed acceptance, Medicare Supplement underwriting is faster so you ll get your commission checks faster. And because Medicare Supplement plans are so similar, the choice for prospects really comes down to choice of carrier brands. This makes it easy for top producers to market Med Supp plans. Since carriers advertise to build up their own brand names, these plans basically sell themselves. 7
Don t Get Left Behind A Start Now Checklist Ask any top producer or industry thought-leader, and they ll tell you the same thing. If you re serious about achieving long-term success in the health insurance industry or becoming (and remaining) a top producer, you have to establish your position in the fast-growing Senior market. Here s a five-point checklist to get you started: 1. Bolster your Senior offering Make sure you have the products and plans that Seniors are looking for, especially Medicare Supplement programs. 2. Target the right Senior markets If you re licensed in Florida, Texas, California and the other top states in terms of Senior population, you re already in good shape. If you re not licensed in the leading states, it s time to consider getting licensed in one or more of those states. 3. Study the Senior insurance industry When Baby Boomers flex their political muscle, laws change. We can expect the Senior health insurance industry to undergo many changes as Baby Boomers take ownership of this important issue. So stay on top of current and coming changes through your carriers, regional associations and industry-leading newsletters. 4. Equip your website Make sure your website gives Seniors the information they need when they visit. You should also consider adding a multi-carrier quote engine with Senior plans, so wired Seniors can shop and apply directly from your site. 5. Connect with Senior leads Top producers understand that a website will never deliver the leads you need on its own. To really establish your leadership in the Senior marketplace, you need highquality Senior health insurance leads to immediately connect with current shoppers. As the data clearly shows, this period offers tremendous opportunities for those health insurance agents willing and ready to serve this important market. Will you be one of them? 8
ProspectZone Senior Health Leads As this 72-million-strong Baby Boomer Senior tide transforms the health insurance market, you have to ask yourself an important question: are you ready to ride the waves or will you be crushed by the surf? Start claiming your share of the Senior market and get connected with genuine shoppers today with ProspectZone Senior Health Insurance Leads! Filtered Our Senior health leads are automatically filtered for age 63+ and checked against our validation database. Genuine Shoppers Each prospect specifically asked to speak with an agent and receive a quote. Real Time We immediately deliver prospect data seconds after the lead enters our system so you can call them while they re still thinking insurance. ProspectZone Senior Health Leads are the best way to connect with the top market for Senior products, including Medicare Supplement plans. For more information, speak to a ProspectZone lead consultant today by visiting www.prospectzone.com or calling 1-877-561-9663 ext. 1. 9
About ProspectZone Since 2004, ProspectZone high-quality leads have been used by the nation s leading health insurance carriers to power their broker force and internal sales efforts. The country s top producers trust ProspectZone s rigorous lead quality process to power their aggressive sales goals. ProspectZone connects genuine insurance shoppers with agents who provide them competitive quotes on insurance products. ProspectZone is the creator of Smart Leads real data from interested prospects in real-time, plus innovative tools to help improve ROI. Report Contributors Rey Villar, research Sarah Grimmer, design 10