The Future of Long-Term Care Planning

For years I’ve been saying, “There has never been a better time to be in the long-term care planning busines than today.”

I still believe that, even with a growing number of producers shying away from this discussion with their prospects, for the most part in response to all of the uncertainty surrounding the traditional long-term care insurance market. Making matters worse, large premium increases and carriers leaving the business have created a cloud of betrayal over the producer.

Here’s the paradox: Even as producers avoid the conversation, consumers are more eager than ever to engage in it. This has created an enormous and ever-growing gap that presents a phenomenal opportunity for advisors who decide to be proactive, create marketing strategies and, most importantly, become an expert about every solution available on the market today. It comes down to deciding whether to put more time into learning about the different solutions or strategically aligning with a specialist.

In either case, it is necessary for our clients to know about all the products that are available today to help protect their future.

Perhaps the most critical step is to pull away from the traditional long-term care insurance sale and create a simpler way to present the various product solutions. As an industry, we need to transition to a new way of thinking, with every solution and recommendation being driven by client needs.

If producers are able to present an array of potential insurance solutions, the process can become more “investment-centric” and go beyond the typical insurance product process. And by “investment,” I don’t mean a return. It’s more about presenting each product as having a different risk and reward, value proposition, cost structure and overall fit into the client’s total financial picture.