Its Time To Start Proactively Managing LTC Claims
The long term care market is in a state of uncertainty. Poor investment results combined with low interest rates have combined to squeeze insurers profits.
In this tough environment, LTC carriers also are being hit with lower lapse rates (which impacts pricing) and the increased claims brought on by poor underwriting results.
How to approach managing those claims is the topic here. The message is, carriers can take a proactive approach and see results improve.
For some LTC insurers, the heat in the kitchen is getting too hot, and they are exiting the business.
Others that are committed to staying the course are looking at their business and taking corrective action. Besides the obvious pricing adjustments, an area many companies are beginning to focus on is the claims process.
LTC insurance claims tend to be long episodes with many chapters. They are high touch with the claimants, and services are delivered by a myriad of providers, including informal caregivers.
The LTC claims processes are not organized or codified in nearly the same fashion as are those processes at institutions that deliver acute care (such as hospitals and doctors).
Many an agent has received a nighttime call from a panicked policyholder regarding a claim. What should they do? Whom should they call? Where should they go? The policyholders and their families often just dont know.
As insurers re-examine their processes, they are discovering an important component has been missing. They are finding that a more upfront, proactive approach to claim management will yield better outcomes and higher customer satisfaction–a true win-win.