Loyal Christian Benefit Association Withdrawal of Medicare Supplement Business

Loyal Christian Benefit Association Withdrawal of Medicare Supplement Business

There are several reasons why people shopping for a Medicare supplement policy should stay away from small companies and companies new to the Medicare market.  Many companies new to Medicare fail.  This is especially true with Medicare Advantage plans, but also happens with insurance organizations who offer Medicare supplement plans. It appears this is the case with Loyal Christian Benefit Association’s Medicare supplement plans.

I have seen this often enough that have a strict corporate policy for Medigap Seminars Insurance Agency; no-one here can write a policy with an insurance company that does not have at least a five-year history with Medicare.  There are too many things that can go wrong in the first five years, none of them good for those who jumped on the new company bandwagon too soon.

Equitable Medicare Supplement Plans Fade Away – Read more about Medicare Companies fading away

The reason for our corporate policy was proven once again today as Loyal Christian Benefit Association announced that as of May 01, 2019 they will no longer accept applications for Medicare supplement plans.  They are out!….Sort of

This announcement results in the worst of both worlds for the existing Medicare supplement policy holders.  You see, they are not canceling the existing plans.  They are keeping them.

Per the announcement: 

“Loyal Christian Benefit Association Withdrawal of Medicare Supplement Business Loyal Christian Benefit Association (LCBA) is withdrawing from the Medicare Supplement business effective May 1, 2019. There will be no impact to the in-force block of business. All in-force policies will continue to receive the same coverage, benefits, and service.”

If Loyal Christian benefit Association had canceled their Medicare supplements, existing policy holders would have a guarantee issue right to replace their Medicare supplement plan with one from another company.  As it stands now, they don’t.

When a company announces that it will continue servicing the existing plans it translated into “We want the ongoing revenue”.   Unfortunately, those existing policy holders are now in a closed pool and have no right to switch companies.  No new young 65-year old’s, or anyone new can purchase the Loyal Christian Benefit Medicare supplement. That means everyone with a Loyal Christian Benefit Medicare supplement will be getting older and, on average, needing more medical care.  The cost to the LCBA policy can be expected to rise at a faster than average rate and may trap those that are not healthy enough to leave for another company. 

Current policy holders can move to a more stable company, but they must qualify medically to do so.  In other words, no recent history of critical or chronic illness.  To find out if you qualify, call us at 800-847-9680.

This isn’t the first time we have seen this happen, and it certainly won’t be the last.  For the consumer it is very easy to avoid this risk, stay with insurance companies that have national coverage and a strong presence in the Medicare supplement market.  Avoid small companies and those that rely on a social affiliation or association to market their plans.  Even if the plan seems low cost today, it’s not likely to be your lowest cost over your lifetime and comes with risks not associated with larger companies.

If you have an LCBA Medicare supplement or know someone that does (they never did that much business) Please let them know that now is a good time to shop policies and protect themselves from future price increases. 1-800-847-9680 or https://medigapseminars.org/contact-us/

Medigap Seminars Can Help

We can help.  If you would like us to shop around for and find a more competitively priced policy from a respectable company, either call us at 800-847-9680 or complete this quote request: Medicare supplement quote request

Below is a copy of the announcement made on April 17, 2019:

 Loyal Christian Benefit Association Withdrawal of Medicare Supplement Business

Loyal Christian Benefit Association (LCBA) is withdrawing from the Medicare Supplement business effective May 1, 2019. There will be no impact to the in-force block of business. All in-force policies will continue to receive the same coverage, benefits, and service.

Critical Dates:

• All new agent contracting ceases as of the date of this communication
• April 17, 2019 – Medicare Supplement applications will no longer be accepted after this date
• May 1, 2019 – Policies will no longer be issued after this date
• May 15, 2019 – Producer appointments and contracts will be terminated on this date

o Agents will continue to receive commissions as provided under their agent agreement

LCBA apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause. If you have any questions, please call Sales Support at 888-352-5108

Please note:

• Agents will not need to remain actively contracted or appointed to continue to receive commissions for previously sold policies.
• Claims, Commissions, and Customer service will all be handled by calling Sales Support at 888-352-5108

Matthew Claassen

Matthew Claassen, CMT and CEO of Medigap Seminars Insurance Agency. Medigap Seminars is an award winning premier national Medicare Insurance Brokerage, ranked among the top in the U.S.A. Matthew is considered a leading national expert on Medicare and Social Security. Mr. Claassen is a distinguished member of the Forbes Business council, an invitation only organization of business leaders and entrepreneurs. He and his team have received awards from many of the countries largest insurance companies including Mutual of Omaha, Aetna, Humana, Cigna, United American, United Healthcare and others. His videos have become the most popular Medicare educational videos on YouTube with millions of views. As a financial analyst Matthew lead a team of researchers to win the 2009 Best Equity Research & Strategy Award from The Technical analysis magazine.