Long Term Care and Disability Insurance

The Element Advantage – a practical, accessible, and affordable…

Presented by Michelle Daharsh A new long term care solution was introduced to the industry in late June of this year. Designed by Genworth, this plan was built around their flagship product – Privileged Choice Flex 3. The concept of Element is to still offer comprehensive coverage for long term care but make the process for the client easier to understand, requires minimal decisions for them to make, offers an expedited process through underwriting, and is designed to reach more of the middle market with affordable coverage. Element features four preset packages and two decisions to make: determine what level of protection your clients want, and for couples, if the optional Shared Coverage benefit is desired. The four plans available are the Element 25, 50, 75, and 100. These plans correspond with the coverage maximum dollars available of $25,000, $50,000, $75,000 and $100,000. These options allow the client to choose the level of coverage that works best with their needs and budgets. The Element plan still includes monthly reimbursement, 1st day home care, inflation protection of 2% compound, waiver of premium and return of premium up to age 65. The belief of selling smaller, easier to understand coverage packages shouldn’t require the same amount of time and effort as fully customized larger plans. With one underwriting category the new business process is expedited, along with minimal additional requirements being used, thus making the policy coverage available faster for you and your client. The Element brochure is a helpful sales tool to walk a client through the sales process. It includes the prequalification questions, description of the plan, examples of coverage, and monthly premium rates. So if you don’t have access to the internet or quoting software you can still provide your client a monthly price! Take a look at your book of business and see which of your clients decided against Long Term Care coverage because of premium cost. Maybe Element will be the right fit for them! If you would like the Element Brochure to help you along the way, contact Financial Brokerage at 800-397-9999 and we can provide you that resource!
Life Insurance

New Benefits

Per Gary Peterson A new form of life insurance has hit the market.  Not only can the family benefit through a Death Benefit, but the insured can now receive benefits through Living Benefits, Income Riders and Return of Premium (ROP).  Several carriers offer one or all of these benefits for you to give your clients options and flexibility.  Give us a call at 800-397-9999 to discuss the many ways to assist you in your insurance business.
Long Term Care and Disability Insurance

Are You Ready to Embrace the Future of Long…

Presented by Leonard Berthelsen I usually try to stay away from being company specific or naming products in my writings, but sometimes you have to do it when something new comes along. New generations of bold thinking are at the doors of LTC planning and design. It really was only a matter of time before LTC carriers used creative thinking and a new fresh approach to product design to offer new insurance products to the marketplace. John Hancock introduced Performance LTC™ to the industry in April and has already seen successes with this new approach.  “The boldest ideas of new generations are infused with creative thinking and fresh perspectives, while preserving the finest traditions of the past” is how Hancock is explaining their thinking with this new long term care solution for the agent and their clients. Hancock’s press release states “Performance LTC™ offers a breakthrough design that will provide your clients with many of the features found in a traditional policy, while offering a more predictable customer experience. This new LTC insurance solution allows your clients to make informed decisions about their coverage so it can evolve over time to meet their financial needs and goals.” Anything addressing the rising premium issue of late is welcome news. This is a good start.  While it may not be the solution to every issue affecting the buying decision consumers face in considering long term care coverage, it does address several key components. A lower “buy in” point from the beginning along with modest, controlled adjustments over the life of the contract may just reduce some of the risk of heavy rate adjustments later.  The policyholder will have a larger stake in how the plan performs over time and that should be welcome news for producers and consumers who have shied away from LTC in recent years because of the uncertainty of the product. Take a look at Hancock’s new product as I think this is a start of the creative thinking and fresh approach we’ve been looking for.