Shawn Britt, director of advanced sales at Nationwide Financial Services and a veteran supporter of long-term care (LTC) planning, is observing this year’s Long-Term Care Awareness Month by trying to drum up publicity for LTC planning.
Discoveries about how much consumers actually use long-term care insurance (LTCI) coverage in the real world have rocked issuers of stand-alone LTCI coverage in recent years.
Low interest rates have hammered issuers of all kinds of products that consumers could use to prepare for LTC costs, including LTCI policies and annuity-based hybrids.
But the need is still there, and growing.
Britt gave us a wide-ranging interview this week in which she talked about what she thinks is going right in the world of LTC planning, what’s moving in the right direction, and what needs changing
1. Financial professionals seem to be getting the message.
Britt said she sees a rapid growth in interest in LTC planning.
Five years ago, she said, she would address a room full of advisors, ask whether they talked to clients about LTC needs, and see two hands go up.
Today, she said, she typically sees 25 percent to 50 percent of the advisors raise their hands and sometimes sees as many as two-thirds raise their hands.
If advisors don’t talk about LTC needs with their clients, another advisor will, Britt said.
“America’s aging,” Britt said. “Talking to baby boomer clients about their LTC needs is a way to poach their business.”