Health Insurance Sales Reps Outearn Specialty Products Reps

Health insurance company sales representatives who sell health insurance can still earn more than reps who sell specialty products.

Judy Canavan and other analysts at BDO USA LLP, an accounting firm, have published data supporting that conclusion in a new summary of results from a compensation survey.

The firm received responses from 27 health insurers.

The typical insurer in the sample had about 5,400 employees, about $8.7 billion in annual revenue, and about 173 employees in the sales department.

The typical sales department had about 19 managers, 72 full-time sales reps, and 63 support staff members.

At the participating insurers, sales reps who sold more products earned more, and reps who focused on health insurance earned more than reps who focused on dental insurance, vision insurance and other specialty products.

The average total compensation was about $172,000 for senior reps who sold both health insurance and specialty products, about $143,000 for reps who sold just health insurance, and about $132,000 for reps who sold just specialty products.

The Medicare plan market may look hotter than the individual major medical market, but the BDO team found senior reps who focus on individual major medical still earn more than senior reps who focus on Medicare plans.

The average total compensation for senior individual health reps was about $136,000, compared with about $119,000 for Medicare plan reps.

Senior reps in the large-group health insurance market average about $185,000.

Resources

A download form for the BDO 2018/2019 Health Insurance Sales Compensation and Plan Design Trends Report is available here.

— Read What 4 Carriers Are Saying About Agents and Agent Comp, on ThinkAdvisor.

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