Randy Hall, Mr. Nice Guy Medicare Advisor

Medicare Insurance for Middle and West Tennessee

What We Actually Do for Our Clients

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I’ve been an independent Medicare insurance broker since 2010 and have been lucky enough to have a nice book-of-business of folks I’ve helped. Some of my clients do go all the way back to when I was a rookie agent and finding my way!

One of the reasons why, according to them, is I remind them several times annually who I am and if they need my help with anything related to their Medicare plan, I’m responsive and helpful. Unfortunately, in my industry, there’s a lot of turnover (91% or more of agents specializing in Medicare don’t make it past their first 18 months in business before quitting). Not only that, those who sign up under someone may never, or rarely, hear back from the person once they enrolled them in their plan.

Early on I realized that it was far easier to keep a client than to go get new ones. So, I decided, especially for my Medicare Advantage clients, to give them a call every October to check in on them and see how their particular plan was working for them. Furthermore, if they wanted to do a complimentary Medicare review, I’d rather be the one doing it than someone else. Besides, one of the benefits of being a broker is I can offer multiple options in terms of plans and companies.
Since these Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D plans change their formularies and co-pays annually, as an independent agent, I knew that what was good when I enrolled someone, was subject to change. And if someone’s going to change, they could still keep me as an agent.

I also mail my clients a letter every September to remind them I’ll be reaching out to them. In addition we also mention they’re about to be hit with tons of telemarketing calls, have their mailboxes filled with confusing information and non-stop TV & radio ads that beckon you to call them. We caution them not to do that as they’ll likely be calling overseas and speaking to people who don’t know their local market and won’t give advice tailored to their needs.

But the most important thing I do for my clients is to actually help them if they ever run into an issue with their plan, or don’t know where to start to take advantage of a benefit, amongst other things. I pride myself on the personal touch and my clients will tell you I go above and beyond to help them. I have many 5-star reviews on Google business so you don’t have to take my word for it 😊
See for yourself at: https://g.page/MrNiceGuyMedicare

If you’re ready to take the next step forward to make an appointment you can call me 615-578-5174 or come see me at one of my YMCA locations from October 1st-December 7th from 8 a.m. through noon here:
https://i2meeting.as.me.RANDYHALL

If you want to see a Nice Guy to help with your Medicare review I’m available at the YMCA

A New Year, A New Partnership

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In my business, as an independent Medicare Broker, we have a relationship with what’s called a “Field Marketing Organization”, or an FMO. What the FMO does is act as a type of ‘Middle Man’ between individuals such as myself and the insurance companies we market. For example, I can’t be directly contracted with say Blue Cross Blue Shield of TN or Aetna, etc. We must have an FMO to contract with the majority of these companies I’m authorized to sell.

The role of the FMO is to help individual agents market themselves and assist if we need them to. The benefit for the FMO is they get an override for anyone I enroll in a particular plan, so it’s in their best interest to help us get more sales, so to speak. If you’re familiar with the concept of MLM’s or network marketing, it’s not unlike that. However, unlike most MLM’s or network marketing companies, there’s no ultimate loser in the transaction. In my case, it’s a win-win-win for the client (consumer), me and my FMO when we put folks in the right plan. The customer doesn’t pay any extra whether they use an agent like me than if they signed up directly with the company. However, if they do have an agent, we are able to be an advocate on a client’s behalf or help them navigate the tricky waters of Medicare and their Medicare plan.

Having established that, some FMO’s are more helpful to agents than others. My previous FMO was an outfit out of Clarksville, TN called MedicareHub (aka Elevate). From 2010 through 2022 I was an agent under them and, speaking fairly, they were a good fit for me for many years.

However, I made the decision to switch over to the i2 Agency here in Franklin, TN where I reside, when I met with owners, Matt Hendrix and Travis Hague, this last January. We hit it off immediately and they had the same commitment to serving the client that I’ve long had. I won’t bore you with the details of everything, but suffice it to say, with the help of my wife, we saw a better opportunity locally to get in front of more people who needed help understanding their Medicare options.

One of the main factors was the relationship between i2 has with the YMCA’s in TN. Throughout the year I’ve had the chance to get to know many of the folks at the various Middle Tennessee YMCA’s and for the first time will be able to meet folks at 3 different locations to do annual Medicare reviews throughout the upcoming Annual Election Period (October 15 through December 7th). As of October 15th, I’ll be in the following locations on the listed days from the hours of 8 a.m.-noon each day:

Monday & Thursday: Margaret Maddox YMCA. 2624 Gallatin Pike, Nashville, TN 37216

Wednesday: Northwest YMCA. 3700 Ashland City Hwy., Nashville, TN 37218

Tuesday & Friday: Christ Church YMCA. 15354 Old Hickory Blvd., Nashville, TN 37211

I will still be available to do in-home appointments, or over-the-phone, but wanted to let you know if you wanted to come check out the YMCA and meet with me at a neutral location, this would be a great option this upcoming fall. Also, if you want to meet in the afternoon at one of the above YMCA locations, we could also make arrangements to do so if need be. To schedule an appointment for this upcoming AEP give me a call at 615-578-5174 or schedule here:

https://i2meeting.as.me/RANDYHALL