Health insurance agents, welcome to the life insurancemarket.

With the Supreme Court upholding the Patient Protection andAffordable Care Act, it would seem many of the estimated 100,000health insurance producers will either diversify their business orleave the health insurance market altogether. Many of you alreadyhave seen your commissions slashed up to 50 percent by carrierstrying to comply with the medical loss ratio component of PPACA,making your commission-based business model unsustainable. Many ofthose hoping to adapt to the post-PPACA world will find that thenew health care exchanges will lead to a huge migration from thetraditional health insurance agent channel, which is predicted tosubstantially reduce the volume of business underwritten byagents.

While prospects look bleak in the health insurance market, Ihope you realize the life insurance market—in desperate need ofmore producers—provides a great opportunity to rebuild yourinsurance practice. What you might not know is that the average ageof an independent life insurance producer is 56, and producers areretiring faster than they're being replaced. And thesenewcomers—usually with little to no experience in the insuranceindustry—wash out to the tune of about 85 percent within the firstfour years.

Don't get me wrong: I think the independent life insurancedistribution channel needs any and all new blood it can get. Butthe new blood it needs most is that of people with some experiencein the insurance business who have a much better shot of making itover the long haul. Health insurance agents, this means you.

In an article I wrote for the July issue of Life InsuranceSelling about the challenges presented by the independentdistribution channel's graying work force, Daniel Mulheran,president of retail life distribution at ING U.S. Insurance, saidflat out that an opportunity to grow the ranks of agents sellinglife insurance is by looking to health insurance agencies.

“The Affordable Care Act has greatly reduced commissions tohealth insurance agents. These agents are making much less thanthey did in the past and can consider life insurance as a naturalcompanion product,” Mulheran said.

In a press release put out the day of the Supreme Courtannouncement about PPACA, Garth Garlock, senior vice president andchief marketing officer at North American Co. for Life and HealthInsurance, encouraged health insurance producers to try presentingcash value life insurance to their existing client base as a way toreplace a portion of the income lost in the health insurance marketdue to PPACA.

“Rather than focusing on how the PPACA negatively impactscommissions, health insurance agents and brokers must embrace thisnew opportunity to help clients, while keeping their careers on aforward track,” Garlock said in the release.

So go ahead, frustrated health insurance agents—explore thisopportunity. My bet is you'll be welcomed by the life insuranceindustry with open arms. 

Brian Anderson is the editor-in-chief of Life InsuranceSelling magazine, and is a former editor of Senior MarketAdvisor. He can be reached at 720-895-1529. This articleoriginally appeared on LifeHealthPro.com.