How to sell health insurance to millennials.pdf

AGENCY
GUIDE
#SILO #SALESFULLY
PREPARED BY
Gathoni Njenga
How to sell health insurance to
millennials: Let's talk about life
changes and unique benefits

ABOUT THIS GUIDE:
Change is in the air. It is inevitable. Whether as
a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, a changing
of the generational guard, or a global
community that is becoming more and more
tech-savvy as the days go by.
The reality is that no facet of the way we live or
do business will remain untouched. The digital
revolution has begun to change the way the
insurance sales ecosystem functions as well.
Companies like Ethos Life and Bright Health
are typical examples of the insurance
companies of the future.
Ones that are built to not just embrace the
digital revolution and the new kind of
customer, but to address the needs of a
younger, more dynamic audience.
Millennials ( born 1981–1996) and Gen-Z (born
1997 – 2012), by most estimates, have grown
to become the largest consumer group in the
individual insurance marketplace.
This guide is an attempt to share with you, the
independent insurance sales professional,
some ideas to help you connect with the
aforementioned consumer segments.
Sponsored by Salesfully.com 01

SHIFTING SANDS
02.
Table of Contents
WHY IS MY SQUAT SO WEEK?
08.
ALL ABOUT MESSAGING
03.
MENTAL HEALTH
AWARENESS MONTH
10.
COME ON DOWN!
04.
FINAL THOUGHTS
11.
GERBER BABIES
05.
CONTENTS

SHIFTING
SANDS
01
If you have taken the time out of
what I am sure is a busy day to read
this guide, then I can assume that
you are probably the owner and
principal agent at an independent
insurance agency - One that mostly
offers life and health products,
correct? Or at the very least, you are
trying to navigate your new role as
an agent at one of the big insurance
outfits out there.
Either way, you are probably
noticing a change in the way our
industry operates, right? Heck, that
is all folks talk about these days:
The changing faces and ages of our
typical clients, the newer ways in
which we find ourselves having to
connect with a more tech-savvy,
younger audience. You know? The
Tiktok and Snapchat crowd.
Snapchat is still a thing, right?
Well, it's happening. And all any of
us is trying to do is to figure out
how to - at the very least-(partially)
transition to a more digital, youth-
friendly way of doing business.

Telemarketing
TV & Radio Advertisements
Digital ads ( Pre-roll Ads, Popup Ads, etc.)
Print Media Advertisements
Direct mail
As an insurance sales professional, It is truly vital
that your messaging- in all your marketing
campaigns- comes across in ways that jive with what
your prospective clients will find enjoyable and
beneficial- as they see it.
The old adage is that you sell your products based
on the aspects that uniquely benefit your customers
as opposed to just the various (great) features of
your products.
Keeping in mind that if you choose to reach your
prospects via social media and other youth-friendly
channels, you will be mostly engaged in what the
experts call interruption marketing - Trying to grab
the attention of folks who were not generally looking
for what you have to offer but will take the actions
prescribed to hear more of what you have to say.
Examples of Interruption marketing:
ALL ABOUT
MESSAGING
02

Turning 26 and losing coverage through a parent’s
plan
Having a baby or adopting a child
A student moving to or from the place they attend
school
Moving to a different ZIP code or county
Losing existing health coverage, including job-
based, individual, and student plans
Other life changes
Like hearing your raffle ticket number called at the
State fair, folks – younger folks- will get excited about
what you are selling if they feel you are talking to them
directly.
So, who knows what features associated with the Life
and health plans you offer that folks will find
beneficial? I believe that factors such as life changes,
income, level of education, gender, and so on, all play
major roles on the benefits side of the equation.
Common life changes associated with the reasons
younger folks look into new health insurance plans:
COME ON
DOWN!
03

However, let's run through a few of the
factors we have come across as far as
connecting with younger audiences and
the reasons/ways you can speak
directly to your audience via your
marketing initiatives that rely heavily on
the "selling based on benefits" mindset.

One of the strangest things about getting
older - believe it or not - is seeing others
grow as well. For real! The idea that my
baby sister, the one I pushed around in a
stroller for years, is now a mother of two, is
infinitely wild to me.
The crazy thing is, although she is in her 30s
now, I still think of her as that baby who
would want to go with me everywhere I went
- when we were both kids.
But she is a mom now and acts like a mom
now. Some of the folks you come across in
your business will be making similar
transitional moves.
GERBER
BABIES
04
The "I am having a baby and want to know my
options for health coverage" or "I am planning
to have a child and want to know which health
coverage option works best for me" situations
are the ones we get most from our millennial
customers and their friends and family. You
will be placing yourself and your agency at the
intersection of tremendous need if you choose
to market based on the needs of new or
expectant parents.

According to the U.S Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC), about 76% percent of
women reported having some type
of health insurance coverage a
month before getting pregnant.
In a post-pregnancy survey,
however, 97% of mothers reported
having health coverage and stating
the need to cover costs associated
with having a child as the main
reason for seeking out health
coverage in the months leading up
to delivery.
Expectant parents are among some
of the top types of prospective
clients your agency will come
across. It is no secret the
prohibitive costs associated with
carrying and delivering a child. Not
to mention raising said child.
Younger folks, for the first time in
this nation's history, have access to
affordable comprehensive
healthcare to help ease some of the
financial burden associated with
childbirth.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA)
ensures that expectant mothers
can enroll in healthcare plans
without the pregnancy being
considered a Pre-Existing condition.
Not to mention all the other free
essential health benefits the mother
can avail herself of to ensure
optimal health of the baby and
herself.
Health insurance sales
professionals today must become
very familiar with all the associated
benefits of the various plans out
there to help connect with young,
soon-to-be parents.

Spend any amount of time on the various social media platforms out there - and I
suggest that you don't, for your own inner peace and mental health and wellness.
But if you are like me and you (have to) do a ton of social media marketing, then I
am sure you have noticed how important "health and fitness" is to younger folks.
To Millennials and Gen-Z, it is all about the rock-hard abs and the booty.
I am not telling you anything you didn't already know, am I? There are whole new
categories of fashion today made to show off folks' "assets"-Leaving an old lady
like myself with very few options. But that is a totally different topic of discussion
for another day.
I mean, sure, we all care about being in "good shape" and even better health. But
millennials and Gen-Z? They take that stuff to the next level. On Instagram? You
cannot avoid the millions of videos and photos out there of folks working out -
doing squats or some other intense workout routine.
WHY IS MY SQUAT
SO WEEK?
05

There is a whole industry out there of
folks selling various fitness and
nutrition programs. I should know, I
have signed up for a few in the past
myself. And let's not even talk about
the thousands of "What I eat in a day"
videos out there on various social
media platforms. If you don't know,
these are types of content that look to
show folks what their favorite
influencer eats to get so hot? I guess?
Anyway, my point is, young folks love to work out and look good. Even more so
than their forbearers. What most insurance agents I meet often neglect to
capitalize on is the fact that most mainstream health plans now offer some type
of wellness and nutrition benefit as free or discounted parts of the plan.
Bright Health and Blue Cross plans, for example, under preventative care, cover
nutrition counseling as well as gym member benefits in some cases. This is a
benefit that we, as an agency, started using as a selling and marketing point as a
result of conversations we would have with our clients.
Various health insurance organizations, as a result of rising demand and the long-
term health benefits of staying active - have made significant investments in
multiple resources to help encourage their younger clients to stay active.
I say all this to say that, selling/offering health plans to younger prospects using
the aforementioned benefits as a conversation starter will help deliver desired
results.
https://www.zocdoc.com

Unlike folks of my generation and
older, younger families today,
across all racial, educational, and
socioeconomic backgrounds are
more open to discussing and
addressing issues relevant to
mental health.
Today, boosted by open social
discourse and investments in
technology, the topic of mental
health is undergoing a complete
metamorphosis. One infused with
destigmatization and digitization - A
phenomenon clearly evident in the
share number of mental health apps
and online resources available.
MENTAL HEALTH
AWARENESS MONTH
06
Let's see... there is Calm, Headspace,
and others that focus on meditation
and sleep health.
Headspace: Be kind to your mind.
https://www.headspace.com/

Then, there are other apps, communities,
and various podcasts dedicated to the
mental health and wellness of younger
audiences. This is a booming market
right now. Why? Millennials and Gen-Z
take their mental health very seriously.
Today's young guy or gal has way more
to worry about than I did when I was in
my 20s.
Clinton was president, the economy was
great, my one-bedroom apartment with a
walk-in closet was $300 a month, you
know? The good times. Now younger
folks have to deal with various social
issues, rising, no, impossible cost of
living, and so forth.
I didn't know who was on the Supreme
court when I was in my 20s. And I didn't
care. I just wanted to go to my classes,
get to me part-time job at Applebees
that paid all my bills and hang out with
my friends. That's it. These were my
biggest worries at that age.
According to the National Institute for
Health Care Management (NIHCM), The
rates of mental illnesses are rising faster
among 18- to 25-year-olds than the rest
of the adult population, which is largely
driving the overall increase in rates of
mental illness in the U.S.
A recent poll by the American
Psychiatric Association showed that
one-quarter of Americans made a
new year’s resolution to improve their
mental health in 2022. I say all this to
say that as broad and dynamic as is
the topic of mental health, your
younger prospective clients will be
open to talking about it.
I cannot tell you how many times our
younger, typically female clients have
called to ask for an explanation of
mental health benefits and asked for
guidance finding providers that are
compatible with their health plan.
The openness to talking about mental
health among millennials and Gen-Z
presents an opportunity to set
yourself apart from other agencies
and to drive growth. We sometimes
build engagement with our existing
clients - via email marketing and
phone conversations - around mental
health awareness month. This gives
us an opportunity to spark
conversations that often lead to more
business.

FINAL
THOUGHTS
www.salesfully.com
I wholeheartedly believe that an effective sales and marketing infrastructure is
the foundation of any robust, profitable organization. In addition to quality
products and/or services, of course.
As insurance sales professionals, the latter part of this equation -for the most
part - rests in the hands of well-established companies that we often partner
with. Our only job then is to find and connect with folks that can benefit from
the products we sell.
It is then our duty to continue to evolve and embrace every opportunity
available to us to help as many families as possible. The thoughts and views
laid forth in this article are but a sampling of where our industry is and the
various cost-effective channels available to us to connect with younger
audiences. Those that are certainly the future of the industry and whose
wants, needs, and ways of accessing our offerings will inevitably become the
standard.

CONTACT
www.salesfully.com.com
support@salesfully.com.com
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How to sell health insurance to millennials.pdf

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How to sell health insurance to millennials.pdf