abmp vs amta

[essential harmony]

Has anyone had experience with both of these providers, I know price wise they are very competitive, but what about perks and benefits. I belong to one and was considering switching, because one of the schools I attended used the other and I remember some nice things they did for memebers.

[Rose of Sharon]

Here are some previous discussions:

http://www.bodyworkonline.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=455 (lists several threads)

http://www.bodyworkonline.com/forum/vie ... +insurance

If you read through the Resources section, you will find quite a few threads on which the merits of different associations and insurers are discussed.

[essential harmony]

Thanks I wasn't sure where to find what i was looking for!!

[oasisbt]

I had a similar question. Thanks for thereply.

[sillypup]

I received info from the abmp. they say that they cover you individually of 2 million per incident and max of 3 million per year for each individual for each 3 area of general(slip and fall), liability, and product liability totalling 9 million. they say that amta have aggregate coverage of about 10million per year with all the members and don't treat you individually. that means that if other members files claim for 9 million total before you file your claim , you can only get coverage for 1 million. the amta insurance coverage seems to have changed. they use to not have it as aggregate with members but individually. I guess this is when they change the insurance provider. guess they rather pocket the member's money than provide good coverage. it use to treat individually instead of having coverage for all the members of 10 million. another company saying they support such and such but they turn corporate just to make money and not help the field. I think abmp is better if this is the case as you don't have to worry about not being coverage because your insurance is covered individually with abmp.

also who wants to support amta when they are politically pushing to higher standards and discriminating others by forcing schooling on people even when they learn by intern or from family tradition that does great massage. they also want you to get massage credential in other bodywork that don't require massage just cuz you do touch work. more like a monopoly. they don't even fight for massage rights to start business. they make it hard to get massage business. no point getting massage permit if one can't open business. so I say amta don't support therapist but more of supporting themselves and schools. not to mention their political standpoint that one isn't qualified as a therapist if they aren't in their association. i decided to renew my insurance with a better company. I say massage don't need regulation. those that are not good will get weed out from clients not going to them.

[ALMT]

I'd like to revive this thread, since none of the other ones on this topic are recent (most are *4* years old!). I've been a member of the AMTA for two years, but my membership is up for renewal and I'm considering switching to the ABMP. I've heard grumblings about some of the policies pushed by the AMTA and am not sure I agree with enough of their agendas and legislative actions.

I'm interested in these (and possibly other) organizations for more than insurance/liability coverage. But to that end, today on the AMTA site they say, "Up to $6,000,000 in aggregate coverage annually " (NOT $10 Mil). In light of the last post, I called the AMTA and spoke to their insurance department. That $6 Mil is indeed SHARED among all members buying into the liability insurance. Not so great.

I just got off the phone with the ABMP and their coverage is $9,000,000 aggregate PER PERSON annually (per their site, "$3 million professional liability (malpractice), another $3 million general liability (slip and fall), and yet another $3 million products liability (for example, adverse reaction to a lotion). And these coverages protect you no matter where – or how many places – you work.") This is definitely better than the AMTA at present.

Both associations offer discounts on health insurance, something many of us pay for out of pocket. ABMP works with Association Health Programs 888-450-3040 http://www.associationpros.com/. AMTA goes through http://www.healthinsurance.com/. Clicking through your AMTA account to their affiliate gives the rates applicable to you. AMTA also offers discounts on:

* Accidental Death & Dismemberment
* Auto/Homeowner’s Insurance
* Cancer
* Catastrophic Major Medical
* Dental
* Disability
* Emergency Assistance Plus
* Group Term Life
* Healthcare
* Short-Term Medical
* Term Life Insurance Comparison Shopping

Anyone know if the ABMP offer similar discount services?

I'm also interested in the quality of publications (AMTA = just okay), info on the web site (AMTA = only so-so web site, info is so-so too). Provider listings at AMTA are pretty good, but don't allow for working at multiple locations, which many of us do. ABMP listings (also got this out of the phone conversation) start with a primary address, but also allows members "referral" addresses to cover all the places they work.

So far, I'm leaning towards the ABMP this time around. Anyone have anything to add? Opinions based on your experiences?

Thanks bunches,
Marlene

[palpable]

I just switched to ABMP about a month ago. Generally speaking, I switched primarily because of the "political" (for lack of a better word at the moment) agenda of AMTA. I don't agree with a lot of what they are pushing. Certainly, that is going to vary for other MTs.

As for the health insurance, the company AMTA contracts for that does not offer coverage in my state, so it was a mute point for staying with AMTA.

Publications: I prefer abmp magazine "Massage and Bodywork" over amta's "Massage Therapy Journal." There are a variety of reasons for this, and I would think that would really come down to personal opinion over what you are looking for in a publication. For me, there are more articles that suit my taste in M&B. In any case, both are available at many bookstores, so that is not a huge issue, though it did have a small bearing on my decision to switch.

Provider listings: I don't find either site to be especially user friendly in this aspect. With abmp you can opt for the higher level of membership and get a prime listing, but I didn't go for that when I switched. Even if I had gone with the higher level of membership, it still was a little less expensive that amta. Not that $30 or $40 should influence your decision, just mentioning it.

I don't have much to add for any of the other things you mention. I always experienced good customer service with amta, and so far it has been fine with abmp, too, though I haven't had much reason to interact with them other than my initial call to get some more info regarding membership.

I'd be curious to hear what others have to say, and what you end up deciding on and why.

[familymassage]

i've been with ABMP since my student coverage in school. I was starting to ponder AMTA simply because they seem to have active 'local' chapters where ABMP doesn't seem to--but it might just be that i haven't looked hard enough. hehehe.

i can't add anything to the benefits that may be available. my health, etc is covered by DH's job (and he even selected an aflac plan that would cover injuries to my hands!). i appreciate their bi-annual client publication BodySense that you can order additional copies of for $1ea (you receive one free copy with your m&b magazine when released). m&b is available digitally now. i HATED their free website builder, but others have been very happy with it. their therapist finder is easier for me to recommend to people as it is massagetherapy.com. though because professional organization doesn't indicate a good therapist (just as national certification doesn't as discussed in another thread) i still notify folks that they can go to AMTAmassage.org and in the top menu there's 'find a therapist' and....

i believe AMBP's online forum is about two years old now? i haven't been on for a LONG time though. i've found BWOL to be of greater benefit to me; not that the ABMP forums aren't beneficial.... they also have client education brochures available that we can print ourselves (or have printed). on my computer/printer it doesn't print properly aligned though.

does AMTA do the Every Body Deserves a Massage week? or is that specifically an ABMP thing? it should be coming up in July.

[JasonE]

I've been with the AMTA since school, and have no complaints. ABMP seems fine, but I don't see any advantages to switching, and I personally support many of the things the AMTA is doing to advance massage therapy.

The AMTA-MN chapter is very involved with helping its members, constantly working to generate positive press regarding massage therapy, increasing networking and marketing opportunities, and recently paid for a day of ethics CEs for all AMTA members that wished to attend (over 100 of us)! Twice a year we have additional CE opportunities that are largely subsidized by AMTA-MN and usually of very high quality. We have the MN AMTA Sports Massage Team, which members can join to participate in a variety of high-profile athletic events and promote ourselves while networking and having loads of fun... and team members usually receive stipends for each event they worked each year.

The AMTA has also been working hard to level the field for MTs throughout Minnesota. In many MN communities, MTs are forced to work illegally or not at all due to local ordinances that make it nearly impossible to maintain a legitimate practice. Because of the haphazard nature of local laws, this also negatively impacts other types of bodywork that are NOT massage. The licensure effort supported by AMTA-MN is also supported by the ABMP, the League of Minnesota Cites, and many other institutions besides massage schools. Many legit MTs and non-massage bodyworkers would also like to see it pass, as it would supercede the local laws that currently restrict the practice of legitimate massage and bodywork in so many areas of the state while permitting disguised prostitution to flourish. If the AMTA was not leading the charge, we would be stuck with the current disastrous patchwork of laws forever. As a business owner and proud massage practitioner, our state's record of misregulation is intolerable and unconscionable, and I feel a duty to support the only ongoing credible effort to change it for the better.

As an employer, I am very happy with the coverage provided to my MTs by both AMTA and ABMP. They both seem to provide adequate or better customer service and a reasonable response time to requests. I see no point in considering their respective magazines when making a choice between the two unless that is the only thing that makes you feel strongly one way or the other.

[mkat321]

Thank you for bumping this thread. I am preparing my packet to turn in to the state of Indiana in the morning for licensure {grandfathering as December 07 graduate} and have been planning to go with AMTA because of the state association as well as the fact our well respected school director heavily promoted them as the superior association. I don't know why I decided to look at ABMP tonight but I did, and then I opened new posts here and this thread popped up. Fate?