When should you talk to millennials about LTCI?

Commentary November 13, 2015 at 06:27 AM
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Many agents use Long Term Care Awareness Month (LTCAM) to revisit long-term care (LTC) planning conversations with their clients. It's a great opportunity to approach a sometimes emotional subject and discuss how solutions like long-term care insurance can help. 

If you're doing the same, don't make the mistake of overlooking a certain group of clients: millennials who are recent buyers of other lines of insurance.

Sure, millennials – or young adults in their 20s or 30s – are likely a long way from needing LTC solutions, but they may be more receptive to an LTC conversation than you think.

Here's why you should be using LTCAM as an opportunity to educate even your millennial clients:

1. They're already seeking financial advice.

Think about your clients who have purchased disability, life, or accident coverage. Many are entering life stages where they're building a career, getting married, or having kids, so they're looking at ways to protect their livelihood and family.

Common key values for millennials also include future financial security and protecting their quality of life, which extends to considerations for retirement planning and maximizing their future income. 

2. They're finding insurance information on their own.

It's no secret that millennials are doers who embrace technology to quickly get the information they need. Like most consumers, many are doing their research and finding insurance information online. However, according to LIMRA, millennial and Generation X consumers are even more likely than baby boomers to use both online sources and financial professionals to learn about insurance solutions.

3. They're familiar with long-term care challenges.

Millennials are already getting a firsthand look at long-term care and the impact it has on entire families. There are currently 9.5 millennials caring for adults, typically their parents or grandparents, according to AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving. That's almost 25 percent of the nation's estimated 40 million caregivers caring for adults. And experts predict that number will increase as more people live longer and need care. 

Both millennial caregivers and millennial non-caregivers have also witnessed the shortcomings of their parents and grandparents when it comes to LTC planning, and they don't want to make similar mistakes. These personal experiences have made this generation more aware of the challenges surrounding long-term care and the importance of having a plan in place. 

Additionally, if your millennial clients have parents who haven't yet planned for their LTC needs, educating them on LTC planning could become a more immediate opportunity for you as their advisor. They may decide to have their own LTC conversation with their parents using the knowledge and insight passed on during your discussions, eventually directing them back to you.  

4. They're concerned about the social safety net and the rising cost of care

Millennials who are seeking out financial advice are well aware of concerns about the long-term sustainability of social safety net programs. Specifically for long-term care, consider that:

  • At nearly $119 billion, long-term care accounts for about 25 percent of total Medicaid spending, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

  • Medicaid spending on long-term care will grow by an average of 6 percent annually until 2021, and even faster after as the number of Americans needing LTC services is expected to more than double to 27 million by 2050, according to a study by the Bipartisan Policy Center. 

  • The national average cost of LTC services has grown by 2 percent to 4 percent in the last five years.

These, among other factors, will place a growing strain on federal, state, and family budgets, and help prompt millennials to listen to trustworthy advice on taking control of their financial future.

Education is the first step in planning. Don't miss the opportunity to start an LTC conversation with your millennial clients. Planting the seed today by sharing LTC information and understanding their needs can help grow a long-term relationship as a trusted advisor with your next generation of clients. 

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