TIPS ON SELLING LTC INSURANCE

• Focus on clients that have had PERSONAL EXPERIENCE with or close personal involvement in caring for an elderly relative or close friend.  These people a twice as likely to purchase long-term care for themselves and recommend it to others.  End a regular meeting with your client with the question, “Has your family or a close friend ever had to take care of an elderly relative or person?” or something like that.  If the answer is “Yes”, ask “What was that like?”, and then just listen.  You’ll know what to do after hearing about the experience.
• Don’t waste time with PEOPLE THAT DON’T GET IT.  If your path of questioning with a client that you think needs long-term care insurance doesn’t go anywhere, drop it.  But, do document the discussion, date it, and drop it into your client file.  That could be helpful if an irate adult child comes after you when the parent needs care but did nothing when they could have about preparing financially for it .
• Avoid insurance-speak.  When talking about long-term care insurance, center on the POOL OF MONEY.  Don’t talk about the “years” of care on the illustration (that’s just a parameter that means if one were to use the maximum daily benefit from the very beginning, the pool would last X number of years at a minimum – it could last longer).   Refer to the “maximum daily or monthly benefit” (MDB or MMD) as ACCESS TO THE POOL.  That makes explaining the benefit increase riders (or lack thereof) much more easy to understand.  And, it helps the client visualize what they are buying, the value of the benefit, and the flexibility in using it.
• Emphasize that long-term care insurance is about the CAREGIVER, not the insured person.  The whole point to having a pool of money to pay for care provides the primary caregiver a break and the ability to support his/her efforts on behalf of the insured.
• Pay particular attention to UNCAPPED BENEFITS AND RIDERS, namely, lifetime benefit period, 5% compound and 5% simple benefit increase riders.  Where else in the insurance world do you see uncapped benefits?  Even “Cadillac” health insurance has a $2MM or $3MM cap (OK, HMO’s may be an exception, but they are hardly “Cadillac”.)  These uncapped benefits are currently the major cause of inforce policy premium increases.  Recommend them with care.  Compare the cost of not having them at all with a coverage design that shows the carrier’s maximum-dollar daily or monthly benefit (usually $400-$500/day).  Or, consider the low cost of a guaranteed purchase option (GPO) which allows your client the option of increasing coverage at an attained-age premium without the need to medically qualify every two to three years.  (Read GPO contract language carefully to fully understand how it works.)

Above all, REMEMBER TO ASK THE QUESTION:  “What would happen if…..?”  This is long-term care AWARENESS month.  Let’s make people aware of the estimate that 70% of retirees are likely to need some form of long-term care before they die (National Clearinghouse for Long-term Care Information:  http://www.longtermcare.gov/LTC/Main_Site/Planning/Index.aspx).  Many are not aware of that.

Call me to discuss further.