Caregiving Costs Employers Up To $34 Billion A Year: MetLife

There also can be an opportunity for producers to help individual employees think about their own aging.

For producers, it’s too late to sell long term care insurance to a person who needs care, but it can be a wakeup call for boomer caregivers to think about their own future, Timmerman says.

“There’s nothing like a caregiving experience to make you more aware of the need personally,” she says. “It opens the door to help caregivers think about own future.”

While LTC can be presented as a way to protect assets, it also could open up a discussion in the workplace of what an employee’s retirement portfolio should look like and how it would generate income through annuities, for example, she points out.

“It’s really important for producers to look at the whole person when planning their retirement,” Timmerman says.

They can also provide extra value to clients by making connections with community resources that can aid caregivers.

“It may not impact sales directly, but we’re all in the relationship business, and anything the producer can do to show he understands clients needs can help build the relationship,” she says.

The producer who knows community resources, such as home care agencies, assisted living facilities, or nursing homes can be a valuable resource to caregivers, she adds.

“Another thing the producer can do is to make alliances with other professionals such as elder law attorneys and geriatric care managers, who help caregivers assess their parent’s situation,” she says. “Anything a producer can do to make life easier for a client during a stressful time is helpful. It establishes a good relationship, even if it may not result in sales immediately.”

Agents and brokers can also make themselves more useful to small business clients by showing them how to cut costs by providing valuable services to employees providing care, even child care, Timmerman notes. She points out employers can offer flexible schedules and telecommuting options at low cost, along with referral services available from benefits vendors that can help employees search out living facilities or find other help.

The study findings show there’s an impact on employers’ bottom lines when employees must provide care for family members, Timmerman notes.

“The flip side is that simple interventions can really avoid some of costs of lost productivity,” she adds.