Long Term Care and Disability Insurance

How to Choose a Long Term Care Carrier

Presented by Michelle Daharsh When it comes to selecting an LTCi carrier today, you certainly have lots of choices. Most carriers offer a basic foundation of benefits that look fairly similar from company to company, so how do you make a choice and recommendation to your prospect? Here are three characteristics to consider when making that choice: 1. Contemporary, Innovative Products Look at carriers that offer competitive features that set them apart from the competition. Features like cash benefits, streamlined underwriting, calendar day elimination period, and waiver of elimination period for home care claims are just a few of the many and important options available. 2. Competitive Pricing Do your research and find the products that are competitively priced. Age, health and whether the prospect has a spouse or partner all become critical information in your selection for a recommendation to your prospect. Providing your prospect with the best products for the best value is critically important. Each carrier has their own “sweet spot”. Some examples of “sweet spots” can be competitive pricing at certain ages, partner allowances, multiple inflation options, and underwriting risk. 3. Financial Strength and Stability In the past it wasn’t much of a factor what the ratings of a carrier were. We have fewer carriers now in the market and the rate instability has shown that carrier strength is very important. Working and placing your prospects’ business with a financially strong carrier becomes even more important. Carriers with a history of remaining competitive, stable and secure even in tough economic times will most likely prove that they are able to meet the needs of your prospect in the future. Also, look for carriers that maintain high ratings from industry rating organizations. So whether it is the competitive pricing of a product or the financial strength of a carrier, Financial Brokerage is equipped to provide you with the resources and knowledge you need in making the best decision with your prospect and their long term care insurance coverage.
Long Term Care and Disability Insurance

Short Term Care Might Just Be The Answer You…

Presented by Michelle Daharsh Short Term Care . . . why you and your clients should consider it. If you understand the need for Long Term Care insurance but find the premiums are too expensive, your client can’t make it through underwriting or they are over the age of 79, then a conversation about Short Term Care with that client may be the answer you are looking for. Short Term Care is limited in its scope of coverage but will cover the majority of all nursing home stays at a price that is much more affordable than Long Term Care insurance. Also, the coverage, though short, does provide a degree of protection from the depletion of your client’s assets. Consider some of the benefits: Issue ages: 18-85 Daily Benefits: $20-$300 Benefit periods: 180 or 360 days with a 20 day Elimination period Restoration of Benefits Full Benefits paid for Alzheimer’s Disease and many more Short Term Care coverage is an affordable approach to providing limited coverage towards the high cost of nursing home care for your clients. For more information and pricing on this product, please contact us at Financial Brokerage at 800-397-9999.
Long Term Care and Disability Insurance

Are Your Clients Prepared For Long Term Care?

Presented by Leonard Berthelsen It has been reported in many articles and news features that Americans are just not prepared for the issue of long term care in the later cycle of their life. Are you? Are your clients? By most accounts most of us fall into the unprepared category. Baby boomers have heard for 10 + years that it is coming, and it could happen to them. Did they prepare? Well let’s look at some of the data that may surprise you. Most baby boomers have done a poor job of saving for their eventual retirement. (34% of surveyed baby boomers felt they had saved enough to comfortably retire). In another survey it was revealed that 57% of those reaching age 65 would continue to work in order to live their achieved lifestyle. Not by choice, but by necessity. The American Association for Long Term Care reports that although insurance for long term care services continues to be sold, only about 10% of older Americans have purchased the coverage. Then those same Americans reported that if long term care needs arose, 53% of them would hire a caregiver or move in with a family member. (Provider magazine, April 2016) We are probably not going to achieve critical mass with long term care insurance products without some form of government involvement or mandate. This is a high risk business for most insurance carriers and as we have seen in the past, the risk was too great for many of them, while others significantly scaled back the benefits they offer in order to manage the risk. So it really all comes back to who is going to pay for this. Personal wealth, family, government…your choice! I think most people would want the choices afforded when paying for it themselves. So let’s talk to them about some of the choices. Yes, long term care insurance is an obvious solution but many simply can’t afford the premiums, can’t medically qualify or simply have an issue with long term care specific coverage. Then why are we not talking about the alternatives available? Life Insurance with access to long term care benefits prior to death, Annuities with access to additional dollars for long term care services, Short term care plans and Recovery Care products. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing when it comes to protection for long term care needs. The next client you sit down with, ask if they are prepared for what many Americans are finding out. We are living longer, with developed health issues that make long term care needs almost inevitable. It’s time for us to make sure our clients know all the options available to them. Their financial future and your livelihood depend on it.
Long Term Care and Disability Insurance

Long Term Care vs. Short Term Care – What…

Presented by Leonard Berthelsen Most agents probably haven’t given much thought to this issue and quite frankly, I can’t blame them.  Long term care insurance has experienced slow growth over the past several years for a variety of reasons.  Lack of understanding the protection, underwriting challenges, cost of coverage which continues to increase, and then the ever-present rate increases on older blocks of business.  Long term care can still meet the needs of your clients; however, there is another consideration to think about. Let’s take all the issues above and turn them into sales opportunities for 2016.  Short term care/recovery care products may have arrived at the right time.  They are easier products to understand and explain without all the compliance restrictions of traditional long term care insurance.  With limited benefit durations (generally no more than 360 days of coverage), underwriting risks are dramatically reduced for the carrier and the pricing reflects this.  Yes, short term care plans are relatively new to the market, but certainly fill a void that long term care has left. Start 2016 off with a recommitment to address the needs of your clients regarding short nursing home stays, recovery care after an illness, accidents, or surgeries.  When pricing or underwriting challenges are dragging down your ability to place coverage, these newer shorter duration products just might be the answer. Look for our promotions for the addition of Short Term Care/Recovery Care products or call your Sales Manager at 800-397-9999 now for details.
Long Term Care and Disability Insurance

Long Term Care Concerns

Presented by Michelle Daharsh Not many people really ever want to think that they will need long term care services because it is not a pleasant thought. Having to rely on someone else because we became frail or our cognitive ability has slowed are certainly not things that we look forward to. According to the 2015 Medicare & You, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 70% of people over the age of 65 will need long term care services and support at some point in their life. Sort of an ominous fact, don’t you think? Ask your client this simple question: “What is your greatest concern when it comes to long term care?” This question will be sure to stir up answers ranging from not having to rely on their family for care, or staying in their home as long as possible, or they hear it is awfully expensive. Maybe their concern is protecting the legacy that they worked so hard to build over the years? Regardless of the answer, the end result is most likely all the same – if a long term care event occurs and they don’t have long term care insurance in place, all of these concerns can, and likely will, be exposed. Being able to uncover your clients’ concerns for long term care puts you, as the agent, in a position to educate them on what protection it does provide. Not only does long term care insurance provide care for the client, but it also protects the family, their home and their legacy. Show your clients the need for long term care insurance first – ask them questions, assess their situation, and help them understand their options. Doing this will give them the peace of mind that their biggest concerns are protected and making the purchase of long term care insurance a much easier decision.