Long Term Care and Disability Insurance

Pie Choices

Presented by Donna Ries When talking long term care to your clients, are you offering Apple or Chocolate Silk Pie? When talking about funding your clients’ potential extended care needs, they may be faced with a variety of options.  Think of it like offering your clients a variety of pies.  They may have choices such as apple, cherry or French silk.  One pie is not necessarily better than the other, they are just different.  Of course, they have different prices. Just like the pie choices, long term care options for your clients can be offered with different features.  Fitting the product and features to your clients’ needs is what’s really important.  There are hybrid or linked products with a life insurance base and a long term or chronic illness rider.  Maybe it’s an annuity with a long term care component.  Some clients may choose to fund their long term care expenses with an accelerated death benefit.  Again, not necessarily better, but certainly different. There is also the traditional stand-alone long term care policy.  Think of this as the basic apple pie.  Depending on the clients’ needs, enhanced benefits can be added to the plan to satisfy the “appetite” of your client.  Just like the apple pie can have a slice of cheese, ice cream or whipped cream (tailoring to the individual’s taste) purchasing pure insurance coverage without a large infusion of premium on the front end, is again, just choices. The important issue here is not “pitting” a life insurance plan against an annuity or traditional long term care insurance – it’s getting your client to purchase something.  Which pie is best for your client in determining their long term care needs?  Find out what features or ingredients are most important to your client, what is affordable and what will be sustainable.  Contact your Financial Brokerage sales manager today at 800-397-9999 to help you with your next long term care sales solution for your client.
Long Term Care and Disability Insurance

Managing the Long Term Care Risk from a Different…

Presented by Leonard Berthelsen Traditional long term care insurance has been a staple in the insurance agents toolbox for twenty-five plus years.  With some consumers though, it just doesn’t make sense to them to buy something that they may never use.  (I think further education needs to be given for this mindset.) Sometimes it seems we kind of bang our heads against the wall trying to convince people to do something that they believe is not right for them. Managing the risk for our clients is part of a sound financial strategy that we bring to the table.  Helping preserve our clients’ assets that they have accumulated as well as providing a legacy to be left behind for their loved ones is part of that strategy.  That’s a difference maker!  Linked products, hybrid products and products that provide asset protection against a long term care crisis while at the same time providing life insurance dollars to fund that legacy are key attributes in managing that risk. Yes, there is an ever increasing risk that long term care issues will affect our clients sooner or later – we are living longer.  This can be a win-win for our clients. Traditional long term care coverage will certainly mitigate the risk.  But what happens if long term care issues don’t come into the equation for our client?  With these new products, the value of the life insurance is there and is able to be used just like traditional life insurance.  The key to this type of product is that a benefit is going to be paid one way or the other. So the next time you run into resistance about traditional long term care coverage, think from a different viewpoint and you just might find your client receptive. Contact your sales manager at Financial Brokerage at 800-397-9999 to learn more about how these products work.  Learn how to position this with your clients and they just might be open to a discussion that they previously had no interest in.
Long Term Care and Disability Insurance

Does long term care insurance really matter?

Presented by Leonard Berthelsen A lot of agents and producers over the years may have asked that question of themselves as rates have gone up, underwriting has gotten stricter and consumer reluctance has increased. Regardless of what rates the carriers have settled on, it’s still pennies on the dollar of what care actually costs.  There has to be a value proposition that the producer brings to the table for that client and that is educating the client.
  • Are they aware of the exposure that their estate is currently in, to the devastation that a lengthy long term care event might cause?
  • Will family and/or friends be able or willing to provide on-going and lengthy assistance?
  • Government assistance in long term care is getting more difficult to qualify for with any thought of being able to retain assets.
  • Is it their desire to remain independent as long as possible in their own home?
If your prospect or client plans to pass onto their heirs or leave an estate for children or loved ones, then the long term care conversation needs to occur. Two things to remember, “You can’t sell it if you don’t talk about it”, and “if you don’t talk about it with your prospect or client, someone else will.”
Long Term Care and Disability Insurance

Are your clients assets protected if they need long…

Presented by Donna Ries When talking to your clients about extended long term care planning, it is important to emphasize that income pays for care, not assets. Health insurance covers virtually none of the long term care costs of nursing homes, assisted living facilities or in-home care. The care many people may require late in life is paid out of pocket. Even substantial savings can quickly be spent for extended care. The Long Term Care Partnership Program may be an answer to help protect your client’s assets. The 2005 Deficit Reduction Act combines public and private insurance resources to help clients prepare for potential long term care needs. Because state and Medicaid eligibility requirements may vary, you should consult an attorney or tax advisor for information related to a specific situation. Long term care insurance under these programs may create an opportunity to enjoy the benefits of both long term care insurance coverage and asset protection in the event that Medicaid benefits are required. With a Partnership-qualified long term care policy, your client may be able to qualify for Medicaid while retaining more assets than otherwise permitted. To qualify for the benefits of a Partnership Program, the policy must be a federally tax-qualified plan and must meet inflation protection requirements based on the client’s age as of the date of the application. Individual state requirements may vary. Certain states may require specific levels of inflation protection to qualify. If the client is younger than 61, the plan must include compound inflation. For ages 61 to 75, the plan must include some form of inflation protection. As an example, suppose your client purchased Partnership-qualified long term care insurance and received $300,000 in benefits. Usually, your client would be able to keep an additional $300,000 in savings or investments, in addition to the assets your state already allows your client to keep and still meet your state’s asset test for qualifying for Medicaid. Without the Partnership Program, your state may require that your client spend their $300,000 in savings or investments for long term care services prior to becoming eligible for Medicaid. Remember, generally both income and assets are included in determining eligibility for Medicaid, and that the Partnership Program protection relates to your client’s assets only. It is important to note that, in most states, you are not required to use all the benefits of your long term care insurance prior to receiving dollar-for-dollar asset protection. Every benefit dollar counts. It’s critical that you discuss how the cost of extended care will be covered. Call us to discuss how long term care planning can help protect your client’s assets.
Annuities

HYBRID

Presented by Richard Mangiameli If you look up the definition of “hybrid”, one of the results is “anything derived from heterogeneous sources, or composed of elements of different or incongruous kinds”. We can find Hybrid Power, Hybrid Literature, Hybrid Games and of course Hybrid Vehicles. In the insurance industry, we have hybrid insurance products where insurance companies have created products that are composed of different elements; annuity or life insurance products with elements of long term care insurance. LIMRA studies show that in 2013, 67% of people were worried about having sufficient money for a comfortable retirement and 58% were concerned about paying for long-term care services, while 39% express concern about financial impacts of premature death. It’s possible to address all three concerns with many of the new hybrid products available today. Call me to learn more!