Are you a senior market agent interested in creating a formal name for your insurance business?
Once you form your LLC, purchase your website's domain name, establish an email, and get contracted with carriers, it's really hard to redo all of that if you want to switch your name.
Plus, with tightening compliance rules, choosing the right name is even more important. Here's how to create a compliant Medicare agency business name.
The 2024 CMS Final Rule specifically prohibits the misleading use of the Medicare name. If you decide to use the word "Medicare" in your business name, be sure to include a prominent tagline on your logo that says, "A non-government agency."
Here's what CMS specifically said about using a disclaimer or tagline if the word Medicare is used in your logo or website:
Disclaimers or taglines that are prominently placed, in a font size and color to be readily noticed, and that clearly explain that an entity or website is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or otherwise somehow related to the federal government, CMS, HHS, and/or Medicare are essential.
And here's why CMS decided to create this rule:
Through beneficiary complaints and CMS surveillance activities over the years, we have seen the word “Medicare” in names of store fronts, on notices or postcards where “Medicare” is in large font while disclaimers are miniscule, and in television advertisements where a beneficiary could assume that the advertising is coming from CMS or the Medicare program in general.
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One specific example, provided by a Medicare beneficiary, is a postcard with the beneficiary-named address with “Medicare Notice” in large, bold letters at the top along with “Personal & Confidential” and “Important Medicare Information.” This postcard also had a “Medicare Information” box listing a “Customer ID,” formatted to look like an official Medicare beneficiary number. This misleading postcard appeared to be an official document disseminated by the Federal Government.
Compliance experts in our industry are concerned that this rule could tighten over time, causing big headaches for agents with the word "Medicare" in their business name or website URL.
In addition, carriers are being held accountable for ensuring their downstream adheres to this rule, and they're the ones that approve communication and marketing materials. It's highly unlikely that carriers will approve any marketing pieces with Medicare in the name or the Medicare red, white, and blue card on the piece.
On top of that, some states, like Florida, are already putting out their own statutes that ban the use of Medicare in your name.
To avoid all of the hassles we see coming, we advise against using the word “Medicare” in an agency business name or in your title.
If you do use the word Medicare in your name or website URL, understand that you're taking on a risk that could involve rebranding and redoing all of your paperwork down the road.
So, it's time to brainstorm a business name.
Here's a list of questions to ask yourself. It may even be helpful to write down your answers. As you go, you may think up ideas or words you want to include.
After you go through those questions and have taken some notes, it's time to make a massive list of potential names.
Don't be critical of ideas that pop into your head – just jot them down. You can cross out the bad ones later.
If there were any words you wrote down when going through the questions in the previous section, try incorporating them into a conventional naming template.
Here are some examples of templates you can work from:
Note: while your business name can include words like expert, advisor, or professional, please note that your official title and any reference to you as an agent must be Licensed Insurance Agent or Licensed Sales Agent. As an example, you cannot put on your business card that you are a Medicare Expert or a Licensed Medicare Advisor. It must be either Licensed Insurance Agent or Licensed Sales Agent.
Put ChatGPT to work and let it help you brainstorm a long list of potential business names. The more detailed your input is, the better the name suggestions will be.
Here's a made-up example of what I'd enter to get a list of potential business names:
Brainstorm a list of 50 potential insurance agency business names. To help you come up with high-quality name ideas, I'll tell you a few things about me. My last name is Parr, and I plan on only serving seniors in Central Florida.
I'm really focused on education and ensuring my clients fully understand their coverage before making any decisions.
I will be helping my clients with a variety of products, including Medicare health plans, life insurance, ancillary products, long-term care, and annuities – basically a suite of health, life, and wealth solutions. I tend to like names that are more straightforward so that when someone reads it, they immediately have an idea of what I do and how they could benefit from my services.
The name cannot include the word Medicare.
Here are some naming conventions you can use to come up with high-quality business name ideas:
- [Word] Agency
- [Word] Insurance Agency
- [Word] Insurance Services
- [Word] Insurance Professionals
- [Word] Insurance Solutions
- [Word] Insurance Group
- [Word] Insurance [City Name]
- [Word] and Associates Insurance
- [Word] Solutions of [City Name]
- [Word] Solutions of [County Name]
- [Word] Insurance Advisors
- [City Name] Financial & Insurance Solutions
- [Word] Senior Care Insurance Services
- [Name] Wealth & Health Insurance Agency
- [Name] Health & Wealth
- [City Name] Retirement Planning Insurance Services
- [Word] Life & Legacy Insurance Group
- [City Name] Independent Insurance Professionals
- [Word] Insurance Brokers
- [City Name] Risk Management Group
- [City Name] Insurance Consultants
- [Name] Assurance Services
- [Name] Risk Solutions
Here's the brainstormed list of business names the AI came up with:
If I switch up my prompt a little bit, it can completely change my results, so you can also try tweaking your input if you don't like the ideas it comes up with first.
Here's an example of another made-up prompt:
Brainstorm a list of 5 business names for my new Medicare insurance agency. It can't include the word Medicare. My last name is Parr, and I want the name to be a pun related to making a par in golf.
Here's what the AI came up with:
😁
Once you have a few business names that you really like, you can start narrowing it down.
Once you've narrowed down your business name ideas, run them by your family and friends.
Sometimes, people can bring in different perspectives and think of things you never would've thought of on your own...
And when you finally feel good about a name, you can go about making things official.
Related: Do I Need an LLC as an Independent Insurance Agent?
Your business name will be with you for a long time, so make sure you choose one that fits you and also avoids any potential compliance issues in the future.
If you have any tips to add, drop them in the comments section below!