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October 23, 2003 at 08:00 PM
Middle-Income Boomers:A Good Market For LTC Insurance?
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Agents are split on how much interest there is in long term care insurance among middle-income boomers. But this may be because the concept of “middle-income” is different for different advisors.
For Dominick Mogavero, who defines middle-income as an annual income of between $45,000 and $75,000 and at least $100,000 in investable assets outside of a home, selling to this segment is mainly a matter of maneuvering funds to cover LTC premiums.
The LTC specialist with Strategic Financial Partners, Waltham, Mass., says there is interest among mid-income boomers.
“Most people are very concerned about costs and really unsure as to how to plan for it,” he says. “When we show them the liability, it logically makes sense for them to put the insurance in place and use the interest from their portfolio,” to cover the premiums.
One strategy is moving assets into an annuity contract and using the interest from that for LTC insurance premiums, Mogavero says.
He adds that interest in the product among mid-income boomers is there and its not at all difficult to sell to this segment.
This is what independent agent Thomas M. West Jr. has been reading in the trade journals. But it hasnt exactly been his experience.
The principal of West Insurance Agency, Birmingham, Ala., says middle-income boomers definitely are interested in the product. They ask for quotes and information about it but usually stop just short of buying, he says.
Amanda Chase, a State Farm agent who works out of Casselberry, Fla., agrees that the LTC insurance sale takes longer than do sales of other products.
“Initially its something (the clients) have to get comfortable with and think about,” she says. “The commitment to actually buy takes longer, I think, because they may have a couple of other major financial goals as a priority before LTC, such as finishing education funding for their kids and retirement funding.”
West suspects the reluctance to buy stems largely from being in good health.
“At that age their health is good and the health of their contemporaries is good,” he says. “Even though they know their health might deteriorate in the future, there is no sense of immediacy influencing them to make a buying decision.
