Time’s running out for a February 1, 2024, effective date! Open Enrollment for 2024 closes at midnight on January 15th. Everyone has that one friend or relative who waits until the last minute. Tell them to call us at (229) 596-1002 to sign up and have coverage beginning February 1st. We promise not to call them a “procrastinator.”

Over 50 of our clients have been victimized by marketing schemes to steal their health accounts. We are working hard to come up with some recourse and protect you from surprises that leave you with high deductibles or prevent you from seeing your favorite doctor.  If you suspect that you were a victim or know of anyone who was a victim, we may be able to help.  We promise to call these bad agents “Pirates.” Seriously, this is no joke. It is a national problem.

To bind your health plan, you need to make the first payment. Please don’t assume your automatic payments will continue to the next year. Give us a call or log onto your member portal to verify. Remember the old Russian proverb, “Doveryay, noh proveryay,” which translates in English to “Trust but verify.” If you haven’t made your first payment, you need to do it ASAP. Below are the extensions and payment phone numbers we have received so far:

Ambetter – Extended to January 31 Online payment link 1-877-687-1180 Aetna – Extended to January 30 Online payment link 1-844-365-7373 Alliant(SoloCare) – Extended to January 31 Website (866) 403-2785 Molina – Extended to January 31 Online payment link FL: 800-375-7421 Oscar – Please call Oscar for details Online payment instructions1-855-672-2755 Optima – (Sentara) – Extended to January 12 Online payment options 1-888-645-4306

Finally, for those of you who moved from Ambetter to Aetna for 2024, you will find things a little different. Ambetter is an “Open Access” HMO, which means you can go to any doctor without a referral so long as they are in the Ambetter network.

Aetna is a true HMO. They will randomly assign you a primary care doctor. If you want to see a doctor, you must ensure your doctor is listed as your primary care doctor. All specialist visits require a referral from your primary care doctor, or you may not be seen, and your new Aetna insurance plan may not cover your bills. The exception is that all emergencies are treated as “in-network.” To have your favorite doctor listed as your primary care doctor, call Aetna customer service. The number is on the back of your new card. Thank you again for helping us to make this Open Enrollment season a success. We couldn’t do it without you and your referrals. Whenever we hear a story about how your health insurance made a difference in your lives, we know this craziness is worth it.

We are excited to invite you to our referral program!

There are perks to referring others to our agency and we don’t want you to miss out on this opportunity. As part of our new program, we are giving away local restaurant gift cards to clients who refer their friends.

Be sure your referral identifies you as the person who referred them to us.

This is our way to thank you!

To qualify, the person you referred needs to get a quote.
No purchase is required.
The quote can be from any of these product lines: business, life, health, home, and auto insurance.

Limit: one gift card per quarter.

Don’t let these five misconceptions delay you from protecting your loved ones with life insurance.

H2: More people are preparing for the unexpected
The untimely death of a loved one once seemed like a remote possibility. But the pandemic has brought a new awareness of how vulnerable life can be. Numbers from LIMRA, a life insurance knowledgebase, tell the story:

● Nearly one-third of consumers surveyed (31%) say COVID-19 has made them more likely to purchase life insurance within the next 12 months

You only need to type “funerals” into the search field at GoFundMe to see endless tales of the heartbreaking loss of a loved one, followed by financial crisis for their family. The truth is, life can be breathtakingly uncertain. But the financial impact of a loss can be avoided with life insurance.

We’ve partnered with Ethos to help you find the right policy for your needs, with zero hassle. Get your no-obligation quote in seconds.

The bottom line: Millions of Americans lack critical life insurance. But today, getting coverage is simple with Ethos.

H2: Do these thoughts sound familiar?
Here are five of the most common reasons people put off getting life insurance—and why you should rethink them.
1. I can’t afford it. Research finds people wildly overestimate the cost of term life insurance. Millennials especially overestimate by 5–10x! In fact, a healthy 35-year-old non-smoker can buy a 10-year, $1,000,000 term life policy for about $65 per month through Ethos. That’s less than the cost of many auto and home insurance policies. And of the three—car, house or family—which is more important?
2. My life insurance coverage through work is enough. Workplace coverage is typically 1x salary. That’s not enough to help a grieving family maintain their way of life and fund long-term goals like college tuition. Also, if you leave a job, you can’t always take your life insurance with you.
3. I don’t want to think about it. An Ethos application takes most people less than 10 minutes to finish. There’s no time like the present to spend a few minutes getting the protection your family needs. In the time it takes you to finish your morning coffee, you could be approved for coverage.

● The longer you wait, the more expensive life insurance gets. Healthy, younger adults can get the most coverage: up to $2M in term life through Ethos.
● Circumstances can change and future insurability is not a given. Once you get coverage, you’ll never lose it due to health changes.

4. I don’t need it. Some people believe they’ve got sufficient assets to protect their family if the worst happened. In other words, they plan to “self-insure.” It sounds good—but it may be unrealistic. Consider:

● Forty-two percent of Americans would face financial hardship within six months if the primary wage-earner were to die unexpectedly, according to LIMRA.
● A middle-class child born in 2015 will cost nearly $300,000 to raise to adulthood. That’s not counting the cost of college; currently about $80,000 per year for an Ivy League education.
● Did you know that life insurance policies can offer benefits even while you’re living? For example, if you get a policy with a standard terminal illness rider, you could access a portion of the policy’s death benefit if you become terminally ill.

The truth is, you can choose a policy with much more coverage than you can provide on your own, for an affordable rate.

5. The process is too complicated. This used to be the case. When you wanted life insurance, you had to schedule a medical exam, then wait weeks or months for approval from a carrier. But the Ethos process is built for the way people do business in the 21st century, with no need for blood draws or other intrusive tests. Ethos’ technology enables us to approve about 95% of people aged 20–85 in as little as 10 minutes—with just a few health and lifestyle questions.

H2: Take action to protect your loved ones
If you’re ready to make a plan for life insurance, start by getting a quick quote from our friends at Ethos.

Repost from: South Georgia Technical College

The South Georgia Technical College Foundation presented Commercial Truck Driving student, Julissa Gutierrez of Oglethorpe, with a $500 Client First Insurance Solutions scholarship recently.  Jody Wade from Client First Insurance Solutions was on hand to make the presentation.

   Client First Insurance Solutions funded five Commercial Truck Driving Scholarships at South Georgia Technical College.  Gutierrez was the second scholarship recipient.  Richard T. Simpson of Talbotten, GA was the initial recipient. The scholarships are being awarded to South Georgia Technical College Commercial Truck Driving students who aspire to become owner/operators.

   “We are very appreciative of Client First Insurance Solutions for their willingness to partner with South Georgia Technical College through their sponsorship of these scholarships for this high demand career field,” said SGTC President Dr. John Watford.

   Jody Wade of Client First Solutions thanked Dr. Watford and SGTC Vice President of Institutional Advancement and SGTC Foundation Executive Director Su Ann Bird for the opportunity. “We are very pleased to partner with South Georgia Technical College for these CDL scholarships. We realize truck drivers are essential workers and they are responsible for delivering goods to our communities.  This is our way of showing appreciation to those individuals who are choosing to enter this career field,” said Wade.

   The primary focus of Client First Insurance Solutions is to meet the needs of its valued clients and prepare insurance solutions for the things that matter most.  They provide auto, home, commercial, life insurance and more.  They service clients in Georgia, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida.

   Dr. Watford shared that “statistics show there is a current shortage of truck drivers and this is predicted to increase over the next few years. Almost every job ad you see is advertising for certified drivers.  South Georgia Technical College is striving to meet that demand by expanding its Commercial Truck Driving training program and these scholarships are a tremendous help.”

   Commercial Truck Driving is one of the Governor’s High Demand Career fields that qualifies for additional funding through the Hope Career Grant program.  Qualified residents receive up to $1000 toward tuition for enrolling in the CDL program.

   The Commercial Truck Driving program at South Georgia Technical College is an eight-week program and can be completed in day or evening classes.  The curriculum includes in-class work, skills-field training, and on-the-road experience.  The median annual wage for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers was $47,130 in May 2020.

   South Georgia Technical College is currently registering students for Fall Semester.  Fall semester begins August 18^th.  To enroll in the CDL classes, contact the admissions office at 229-931-2394 in Americus or 229-271-4040 in Cordele.  For more information about the CDL program contact Robert Cook at rcook@southgatech.edu or visit the SGTC website at www.southgatech.edu.

   South Georgia Tech offers over 200 associate degree, diploma or short-term certificate of credit programs of study.  Now is a great time to get the training needed to update or start a new career!

Photo:  Shown above (l to r) are South Georgia Technical College President Dr. John Watford with SGTC CDL instructor Ken Hair,  scholarship recipient Julissa Gutierrez with Client First Insurance’s Jody Wade making the presentation.  Also shown is SGTC CDL Instructor Ken Coptsias.