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Following our articles with the Premium & Lives results, Business Performance, Underwriting, and Claims Management results, here is an overview with highlights of the Distribution results from the Gen Re Medicare Supplement Market Survey. The survey looked at insurer’s 2025 results, with 46 questionnaires completed, representing 96 companies with Med Supp business.
Independent agents remain the primary distribution channel for Med Supp products, with 90% of participating companies utilizing this channel, compared with 40% that employ captive agents. More than half of respondents also distribute Med Supp products through direct-to-consumer (D2C) channels or call centers, while one company reported using senior private exchanges as an additional distribution method.
Among companies that utilize these channels, independent agents averaged 79% of Med Supp sales premium in 2025, while captive agents represented a smaller share, averaging 29% of sales.
Companies reported a collective total of 15,805 captive agents, with an average of 66% writing at least one policy in 2025. Comparatively, companies reported a total of 333,189 independent agents, with 51% writing at least one policy during the year.
|
|
Average |
Median |
Range |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Captive agents |
66% |
70% |
6%‒100% |
|
Independent agents |
51% |
49% |
3%‒100% |
A small number of companies (five) reported that 100% of their agents wrote at least one policy – two companies with captive agents and three with independent agents.
In addition to Med Supp, companies offer a broad range of products targeted to the senior market. Standalone dental coverage is the most widely offered product, reported by 60% of the respondents. Half of the companies also sell Cancer insurance, Medicare Advantage, and Prescription Drug Plans (Part D). Slightly fewer (45%) offer Critical Illness, Final Expense, Hospital Indemnity, Life Insurance, and standalone vision products. Overall, the findings suggest that companies focus primarily on products that complement Medicare coverage and help address common healthcare and financial protection needs among the senior population.
Of the 20 responding companies, 15 (75%) include one or more value-added services as part of their Med Supp offering. A health and fitness program is the most popular, with 93% of the companies offering this benefit.
Other services offered include discount programs for vision, hearing, and/or prescription drugs; Amplifon; EyeMed; surgery decision resources; health savings programs; and Poplin, a personal laundry service.
Independent agents remain the backbone of Medicare Supplement sales, with nearly all surveyed companies relying on the channel and more than three-quarters of premium flowing through independent agents. Although companies are leveraging a mix of distribution channels, the survey reinforces that consumers continue to value the expertise and personalized guidance agents provide when selecting Medicare Supplement coverage.
If you have any questions about any of our summary report sections, please reach out – or let us know if you’d like to participate in next year’s industry survey.
Read the other articles released in this series.
