Archives for August 2013

Great Piece on Responsible Long-Term Care Planning

August 21, 2013 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

The back story:

My husband Jim and I were planning a trip to the 40,000 population hamlet of Parkersburg, WV to visit cousins. My cousin Doug mentioned we’d be in Parkersburg when his Rotary meets. Being a Rotarian, I replied we’d be glad to attend Doug’s Rotary meeting. In fact, I could be a speaker. That’s how I got booked to be the speaker at the August 5, 2013 meeting of the Parkersburg Rotary Club. Brett Dunlap, a reporter from the local newspaper, was at my talk and reported on it.

The next day, the Parkersburg News and Sentinel, ran a story about the need for responsible long-term care planning. Mr. Dunlap took the time to research what he heard.

This story is a good example of what journalism is supposed to be, which is well-researched, non-biased, and without the negative “spin” we so often see in larger publications. It is refreshing to see a reporter who’s allowed to be a journalist.

I’m grateful for this story, which does its readers a true service.

Truthful Info on LTCi Claim Payments

August 20, 2013 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

These statistics from Genworth, a leading long-term care insurance (LTCi) carrier, provide insights into the nature and complexion of LTCi claims:

If you missed Genworth’s webinar on their claims history over the past 38 years, here are some interesting facts:

Youngest claimant: 27 years old
Oldest claimant: 103 years old
Longest claim: 19.6 years
Most expensive claim (still ongoing): $1,300,000
71% of all claimants are females 29% of all claimants are male
51% went on claim due to dementia & cognitive issues
15% of all claims lasted more than 5 years
Average length of claims, if on claim more than 1 year: 3.9 years
71% of claims started with home care 13% of claims started with assisted living facilities 16% of claims started with nursing homes
50% of claims lasted less than 1 year (conversely, 50% lasted more than 1 year)
The reason claims closed: 61% death 28% Recovery 11% exhausted benefits
Average age of claimant: 79
Who goes on claim? 38% Single women 28% Married Women 10% Single men 24% Married men
Most expensive claims: Dementia & Parkinson’s

Pseudo Journalism Schlock, the Sequel

August 18, 2013 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

As I promised in my prior blog, Pseudo Journalism Schlock, Part 1, here are a few corrections to Clark Howards error-riddled piece masquerading as journalism. You will find the following comments, and more, posted at the bottom of Mr. Howard’s piece. The very best commenter is last.

Jesse Slome Executive Director American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance comments:

“Some good info some outdated info (including companies that no longer offer this product). May I suggest starting with 4 consumer guides that are a quick read and offer current facts and suggestions on ways to make this most affordable. You can find them at http://www.aaltci.org/long-term-care-insurance-costs and NO sign-in info is required to access them. Today, because of the many changes, it really pays to work with a long term care insurance specialist. That is someone who has helped 100 (or more) people get this protection.”

From Phillip Sullivan President – SellingLTC.com www.sellingltc.com:

“An insurance company’s financial rating does not guarantee there will never be a premium increase. Premium increases are caused by product pricing and current interest rates (which have been historically low for some time). Case in point, State Farm (Rated A++) increased its rates in 2012 on their LTCi policies sold from 1997-2001 in 15 states, (including Georgia with a 12% average increase) and other states increased as high as 40%. You further recommend using an independent broker who can shop the market. This is good advice, except independent brokers cannot sell State Farm, USAA, Northwestern Mutual or New York Life.”

From D.O Long Term Care Specialist. PO Box 1654 Snellville Ga 30078:

“As stated by Mr. Slome, some good info while some outdated info also. States Farm does not work with independent brokers and the plans they tend to recommend do not include the compounded inflation protection options which is highly recommended for younger folks as well as required for the Georgia Partnership Program. In addition, I disagree with the idea of not buying ltc if you are rich. Rich folks do not self insure their homes or health insurance. Why would anyone want to self insurance a potential risk that can result in financial ruins. They are various options from traditional ltc policies to hybrids plans. Best time to look into ltc is while you are in good health. The younger the better for obvious reasons.”

And here’s my very favorite comment, from “Signed, A concerned life and securities professional”:

“Hey Clark, if you want to provide your opinion, then state that it is an OPINION. You are not licensed by the State of Georgia as an insurance agent, nor are you federally licensed to provide financial advice on stocks, mutual funds, and any other investment platform. Stop providing ADVICE of every kind, as although I am sure you have good intentions, you ARE NOT LICENSED TO PROVIDE ADVICE, and many of your readers/listeners will accept your words as gospel. Your comment where you say “you should not buy LTC insurance if you are very wealthy or don’t have a lot of assets” is not necessarily wrong, however it is not wholeheartedly accurate. Blanket statements are unacceptable in our profession, and only by an individual/family working with a duly licensed professional can proper and case specific information and advice be provided. I am licensed in many states as a life agent AND as a securities professional. MY opinion is that by providing incomplete information, you are causing more harm than good. Even if ONE PERSON makes a poor decision based on your incomplete information, you are doing a disservice to my profession. As I work for a national firm with a large compliance department, I cannot sign my name because I did not get preapproval to write this note. This is because many large firms want to make sure that all written communication with clients meets both the firm’s and various regulatory requirements. Even if I had preapproval, I could not write an article such as yours, because it was incomplete and somewhat misleading.”

Pseudo Journalism Schlock, Part 1

August 17, 2013 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

Beware of newspaper or online columns by “consumer advocates” who are not legitimate journalists.

The following column hit Internet searches set for “long-term care insurance” last week: “Clark Howard: Do your homework before buying long-term care”. What’s not to like about Mr. Howard’s down-home, sincere looking headshot? I’m sure Mr. Howard is a nice guy, but he is not qualified to write about long-term care insurance. Yet, he does.

I’ve already busted Scott Burns, another financial advisor with a newspaper column, who doesn’t need to research his columns in depth before having them published. This is because Mr. Burns, like Mr. Howard, is a financial advisor, not a journalist.

Mr. Howard does not derive much, if any, of his income from his pseudo-journalism. I clicked through to his website. His livelihood appears to come from being some sort of financial advisor. Yet his column gets published online and possibly in the hard-copy Atlanta Journal-Constitution. I’m sure many readers accept what he says without questioning because it looks and seems credible.

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. My colleagues and I are exhausted from having to combat the amount of misinformation about long-term care insurance (LTCi) that manages to get published. Mainstream media publishes a lot more misinformation than it does properly researched, accurate information on LTCi.

It is obvious to me and my colleauges that Mr. Howard is speaking out of his a** on the subject of LTCi. A lot of what he’s written does not make sense or is not possible. I guess Mr. Howard had a deadline to meet and was in a time crunch. Clearly, minimal research has been done.

Beware of Mr. Howard, Mr. Burns, and others like him. They are not a journalists. Lack of adequate editorial oversight enables them to give un-researched, false information and have it published, appearing as fact.

In my sequel to this blog, “Pseudo Journalism Schlock, Part II”, I will give the falsehoods in Mr. Howard’s piece and correct them.

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Archives for August 2013

Great Piece on Responsible Long-Term Care Planning

Truthful Info on LTCi Claim Payments

Pseudo Journalism Schlock, the Sequel

Pseudo Journalism Schlock, Part 1

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