Long Term Care and Disability Insurance

Overcoming objections in a LTC sale

Presented by Tim Dreher In my many years of working with Long Term Care insurance, I’m pretty confident that I’ve heard just about every objection there is to hear. Over the next several blog posts, I will focus on what I believe are the three most common objections. The first objection: “I don’t need Long Term Care insurance. My family will take care of me.” I’m sure that most people assume that their family will help take care of them should they find themselves in a long term care situation. In most cases their assumptions are probably correct, at least for a short time. However, I’m also fairly sure that most people haven’t given much thought as to how a long term care situation can, and in most cases, does negatively affect the spouse, children, or other family members providing the care. You, as their advisor, need to discuss the potential physical, financial, and emotional toll that many caregivers suffer. Over half of all caregivers today are the adult children of the care recipient with families, careers, and responsibilities of their own. I have seen caregivers put their careers on hold by taking time off from their job or even quit their job in order to take care of a spouse or parent. Studies have shown that the typical caregiver misses an average of 7 hours of work per week caring for a family member and last year, 77% of all working caregivers missed at least some work time. Many caregivers themselves become sick due to the stress and exhaustion that can come with being a caregiver. Of caregivers surveyed, 43% felt that caring for a family member had negatively affected their emotional and physical health and well-being. Additionally, 55% said that they felt that they were not qualified to provide the necessary level of care needed. They also felt guilty about taking time away from their own spouse and children to be a caregiver to a parent or other family member. Many caregivers also suffer financially when they find it necessary to dip into their own savings and or retirement funds to help pay for care, not to mention the lost wages for taking time away from work to provide care to a loved one. Of course most people hope that their spouse, children, or other family member will help take care of them if they should find themselves in a long term care situation. It is your job, as their advisor, to show them that a Long Term Care insurance policy will help the family to take care of them better and longer, and without the extremely high levels of emotional, physical, and financial stress that many times go hand-in-hand when a family member needs care.
Long Term Care and Disability Insurance

Insuring a Spouse For Free with LTCi, (well almost)

Presented by Tim Dreher Nearly every day while working with insurance producers, I get a request to run an LTCi illustration for an individual quote for a person whom is either married or has a domestic partner. In these situations, I always ask why we are not quoting the other spouse/partner. The answers that I normally hear are either the spouse/partner is uninsurable or that the other spouse/partner is just not interested in purchasing LTCi. I have noticed that the majority of these situations is a wife wanting LTC protection and a husband that either does not see the need or doesn’t want it because “I’ll never need it, I’ll drop dead first”. Let’s face it, most caregivers in a long term care situation are women whom have seen it happen to a friend or maybe have even been a caregiver themselves and understand the value and need for LTC insurance. Many of the LTC carriers we work with at Financial Brokerage offer a substantial discount for couples or domestic partners when both apply for coverage. In those cases where the spouse/partner is insurable, I will suggest adding the spouse/partner to the quote at the minimum benefits available in order to take advantage of the spousal/partner discount. It has been my experience that adding the spouse/partner at the minimum benefits results in a premium that is less for both spouses/partners than the cost for a policy where only one is applying. For example, let’s look at a couple, female and male, both age 55, looking at a plan with a $5,000 per month benefit for her, 5 year benefit duration, and a 90 day elimination period with 3% compound inflation protection where the female wants coverage but the husband does not. I ran the illustrations with 3 of our most competitive carriers. By adding the husband at minimum benefits ($1,500 per month for 2 years, with a 90 day elimination period and no inflation) the resulting savings were between 13% up to a whopping 37% savings over the price of quoting the female only. That is giving the benefit quoted above for the female spouse and the male (at minimum protection) for under the premium of what it would have been for her plan only. The savings for a 3 year benefit (everything else the same) resulted in premium savings of between 21% on the low end to 30% savings on the high end. LTC insurance carriers like couples and their premiums reflect it. So the next time you’re in a situation similar to the one above, show your clients a great idea on how you can save them money on their LTCi premium while at the same time giving a reluctant spouse some coverage too.
Long Term Care and Disability Insurance

It’s time to break the ice on the topic…

Presented by Donna Ries Even a short time spent talking today with your clients can help them avoid years of dealing with the consequences of hasty, sporadic decisions later on. We all age and most people end up needing help in some shape or form. Discussing possible scenarios with your clients won’t make them happen. Actually helping your clients prepare for their extended care planning will mean less work, stress, worry and regret later on for them and their family. Addressing tough topics now will allow your clients to enjoy their time ahead. One way to start the conversation is by stating that most people expect to live a long life, right? Ask your clients if they have thought about the impact this may have on their spouse, children, family or friends and if they are concerned about being a burden to them. The care many people may require later in life are costs often paid out of pocket. Even substantial savings can quickly be spent for extended care. Some questions to consider are where your clients would like to live and who can they rely on for help. The people they consider for help may be caregivers that live miles away. The extra burden for the caregivers could result in consequences for them such as missed work, lost wages, and exhaustion that will ultimately not allow them to care for the family member in need. Is it realistic to expect a spouse to care for their loved one? It’s time to make a plan now for your client’s long term care needs. Ask your LTC marketer about how to discuss with your clients a plan for the possibility of needing extended care. Discuss such topics as: – Helping your clients pay for care in the setting they prefer. – Thinking of LTC as anti-nursing home insurance. – Avoiding the risk of depleting a lifetime of savings with Partnership protected LTC policies. – Gaining peace of mind when extended care decisions need to be made. – Continuing to benefit from the life your clients have planned.