Broker Support

2020 Broker Appreciaton Event Schedule

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Broker Networking Reception

Dear Agents,

Due to the growing concerns over the coronavirus, GarityAdvantage has decided to postpone our annual Broker Appreciation and Networking Reception scheduled for Thursday, March 12 at the Stony Creek Brewery in Branford, CT.

This decision is being made out of an abundance of caution to ensure that we are doing all we can to keep our friends and colleagues safe and healthy.

While the risk of contracting COVID-19 in Connecticut remains low at the present time, this situation is changing very rapidly. Public health official are increasingly pointing to large gatherings as a high risk activity for potential spread of the disease and, as a result, more and more public and private events are being cancelled or postponed across the state and around the globe.

With upwards of 200 people expected to attend our reception, we feel a postponement is the appropriate decision—as even the smallest chance that our reception could result in the spread of the disease is simply not worth the risk to the health of our brokers, carrier partners and Garity staff.

Stay tuned for details of our rescheduled date later this spring.

Thank you,

The GarityAdvantage Team
800-234-9488

Are you currently selling Medicare insurance or interested in learning more about the opportunity? We’d love to meet you!
GarityAdvantage Insurance Marketing Agencies invites you to join us for a special evening of networking and fun focused on Medicare and senior market selling. Whether you’re currently selling Medicare plans or interested in learning what it takes to get into the business, we welcome you to check out what GarityAdvantage has to offer in a casual, conversational environment.
Meet members of our team, current Garity brokers, local carrier reps, and your industry peers while enjoying complimentary Food, Drinks, Fun and Raffles!
We look forward to seeing you and enjoying a fun and relaxing evening.

You must be a licensed insurance broker to attend.

Bring a friend! Do you have friends or colleagues interested in selling in the Medicare insurance market? Bring them along! Just include the name of your guest(s) when you RSVP.

 

Please Choose the Event Most Convenient to You:

Maine

Date And Time
Wednesday, February 5, 2020
4:00 PM – 7:00 PM EST

Location
Davinci’s Eatery
150 Mill Street
Lewiston, ME 04240

davincis2
RSVP Today

New Hampshire

Date And Time
Thursday, February 6, 2020
4:00 PM – 7:00 PM EST

Location
Riverside Room
250 Commercial Street
Suite 1004A
Manchester, NH 03101

RiverRoom1
RSVP Today

Rhode Island

Date And Time
Wednesday, February 26, 2020
4:00 PM – 7:00 PM EST

Location
Bravo Bistro
123 Empire Street
Providence, RI 02903

bravobisto-1
RSVP Today

Massachusetts

Date And Time
Tuesday, February 25, 2020
4:00 PM – 7:00 PM EST

Location
Joe’s American Bar and Grill
985 Providence Highway
Dedham, MA 02026

JoesAmericanDedham
RSVP Today

Virginia

Date And Time
Thursday, March 5, 2020
4:00 PM – 7:00 PM EST

Location
Tarrant’s West
11129 Three Chopt Road
Richmond, VA 23233

SONY DSC
RSVP Today

Connecticut

Date And Time
Thursday, March 12, 2020
4:00 PM – 7:00 PM EST

Location
Stony Creek Brewery
5 Indian Neck Avenue
Branford, CT 06405

stony creek1
POSTPONED

We hope to see you there! If you have any questions please contact Broker Support.

OEP: Do’s and Don’ts

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Are you ready for the Open Enrollment Period (OEP)?
OEP Cheat Sheet

When is OEP?      January 1 through March 31 each year.

Who is Eligible?

Individuals enrolled in an MA-Only or MAPD plan CAN:
  • use the OEP to switch to or get a different MAPD plan, an MA-only plan, or Original Medicare (with or without a PDP).

Individuals enrolled in Original Medicare CANNOT:
  • use the OEP to join an MA or MAPD plan, add a PDP, or change their PDP.
In addition, the OEP is not available to those enrolled in Medicare Savings
Accounts or other Medicare health plan types (such as cost plans or PACE).

Broker Do’s and Don’ts

Producers May NOT:
    • Send unsolicited materials advertising the ability/opportunity to make an additional enrollment change or referencing the OEP
    • Specifically target beneficiaries who are in the OEP because they made a choice during AEP, by purchase of mailing lists or other means of identification
    • Engage in or promote agent/broker activities that intend to target the OEP as an opportunity to make further sales
    • Call or otherwise contact former enrollees who have selected a new plan during the AEP
    • Use marketing pieces that highlight the OEP or the opportunity to change plans during the OEP
    • Make assumptions on which election period to use.
red x
green check

Producers May:
    • Educate consumers about the OEP if you are enrolling them into a plan, or they have reached out to you about their dissatisfaction with their current plan
    • At a beneficiary’s proactive request, send marketing materials, have one-on-one meetings, and provide information on the OEP
    • Market to age-ins (who have not yet made an enrollment decision)
    • Market to dual-eligible and low-income subsidy (LIS) beneficiaries who, in general, may make changes once per calendar quarter during the first nine months of the year

PRODUCERS MUST:

Determine if the consumer has a valid election period and which election
period is best for the consumer’s circumstances.

We hope you take advantage of this additional enrollment period happening in Q1 2020. Below are links to carrier information sheets to further clarify the do’s and don’ts you need to follow to ensure you remain compliant. Happy New Year!
What is OEP
Educational Flyer
OEP Job Aid
Listen to UHC's Podcast for more in depth information!

Contact Broker Support if you have any questions!
800-234-9488
GarityAdvantage Agencies

Meet Your Broker Support Liaison Team!

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Caryn Contois
Director of Broker Relations

Christina Comerford

Broker Support Liaison

Maggie Pollard

Broker Support Liaison

Cassandra Lamb

Broker Support Liaison

We are taking broker service to a whole new level!
 
GarityAdvantage is pleased to introduce our Broker Relations team, led by our support expert Caryn Contois. The goal of this newly formed team is to ensure we provide you with timely and consistent support at each and every point of contact while also freeing up our territory managers to focus on providing you with more training and tools to help you grow your business.
 
Now, when you call our office, you will be greeted by a dedicated service professional (a.k.a. ‘Broker Liaison’) who will work directly with you to answer your questions and/or resolve your issues quickly and, when possible, at this first point of contact. 
 
This approach has already shown great results by giving brokers immediate answers rather than waiting for a specific person or department to respond. Conversely, this new team has helped to take the pressure off our other departments so they too can get more done for you. 

Our Broker Liaisons Are Ready to Help YOU with:

  • Enrollment Questions
  • Commission Issues
  • Contracting/Certifications
  • Supply Ordering
  • Event Scheduling
  • Product and Market Questions
  • and Much, Much More…

Caryn Contois, Director of Broker Relations

Caryn Contois has over 15 years at GarityAdvantage under her belt, over half of those as the New Business Manager. She is excited to move into this new role and has many innovative ideas to implement that will streamline the service they bring to you. Expect a lot of fantastic improvements to come your way!
 
Caryn would argue that there’s no downtime during AEP, but when she does catch a break, she spends much of her free time with her close knit family including 6 nieces and nephews and her beloved American Bulldog, Ginger.
 
Something you may not know about Caryn:
She’s a trained pastry chef and once worked for Steven Tyler of Aerosmith!
 
Caryn’s Words to Live By: “Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things”
 
Caryn’s Secret Weapon: Problem Solving

Christina Comerford, Broker Support Liaison

Christina Comerford joined GarityAdvantage at our MA office in September, 2011. She began as a temp in the enrollment department, but we quickly realized we needed her exemplary service skills full-time! Originally from Holbrook, MA, Christina says it’s the type of small town where, “you can’t go to any convenient store, pizza shop, or gas station without seeing someone you grew up with.”
 
You Are the Most Rewarding Part of Her Job: “The most rewarding part about my job is the relationships and trust I have built with the agents I work with. I have been lucky enough to work with a diverse and pleasant group, and the positive feedback I receive from them is what makes my days a little bit brighter!”
 
Christina’s “free-time” is very busy raising young children with her husband. They love the beach and ocean in the summer and hunkering down with good books in the winter.
 
How Christina Defines Success: Success is achieving self set goals. This can take days, months, or years, but as long as you’re striving to be better than yesterday, every day can be a success in its own.

Maggie Pollard, Broker Support Liaison

Maggie Pollard joined GarityAdvantage at our CT Office in October, 2016. Any broker that has stepped through our CT doors has likely interacted with her positive attitude and upbeat way of tackling brokers’ day-to-day requests.
 
It’s no wonder that her definition of success is, “knowing that what you are doing is helping you and others lead a better, happier, healthier life.”
 
She also stays healthy in her free time by hiking and is looking forward to someday taking a road trip across the U.S.A.
 
Maggie’s Secret Weapon: Attention to Detail
 
Maggie’s Words to Live By: “Until you change your thinking, you will always recycle your experiences.”

Cassandra Lamb, Broker Support Liaison

Cassandra Lamb joined the GarityAdvantage at our CT Office in May, 2018, and originally hails from Bronx, NY.
 
Although Cassandra is relatively new to our team, she fit in immediately and has shown herself to be reliable and steady as a rock when we hit our busy seasons. She says she stays so even keeled because she “rarely takes work home” with her. Cassandra also says the most rewarding part of her job is, “being able to assist the agents with any and all needs.”
 
Most Interesting Job She’s Ever Had: “Most interesting was running a day care. You don’t know what you are made of until you have 30 screaming toddlers following you around!”
 
Cassandra’s Words to Live By: I woke up this morning, my kids are healthy and we have food. Anything outside of that doesn’t matter much. Be thankful.
Contact Broker Support via Our Website

or Call: 800-234-9488