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Archives for August 2016

August News

August 31, 2016 by Honey Leave a Comment

Traverse City, MI sunset
Traverse City, MI sunset

In August Jim and I got to tour some very beautiful (and cooler) parts of Michigan in advance of attending Jim’s nephew’s wedding in Grand Rapids. Jim then flew home from MI while I stayed and met a colleague, who arranged a tour for me of the home office of LifeSecure Insurance Company in Brighton, MI. LifeSecure is one of my favorite long-term care insurance carriers.

Honey Leveen and Tobe Gerard
Me and dear friend and colleague Tobe Gerard of Natick, MA

From there, my colleague and I flew on to Kansas City for the annual meeting of the elite long-term care insurance (LTCi) producers group I work with. Our meeting was extremely intense and worthwhile. The days featured back-to-back carrier and peer presentations, followed almost immediately by a hard-to-forget, fun, social event. We worked hard, we played hard, we learned a lot, we had great fun. I was away about two weeks. I would not have traded one single second of my trip but I was also very happy to be home and have Jim greet me at the airport upon my return.

Filed Under: Helpful Information About LTC Tagged With: LifeSecure Insurance Company, Long Term Care insurance, LTCi, LTCPG, Tobe Gerard

Why the Media Can’t Get LTCi Right

August 18, 2016 by Honey Leave a Comment

MediaThe lead story of the July 25, 2016 issue of New York Magazine is titled, “The Case Against the Media“. The article is a compilation of comments from noted journalists about what the media is doing right and what it does wrong.

This article really nailed what I’ve observed over the course of nearly 30 years: media rarely reports on long-term care insurance (LTCi) accurately or objectively.

Readers, please take note. Journalists themselves admit to using inflammatory headlines and lead paragraphs to hook in readers. Right now they are doing just this with the current wave of LTCi rate hikes on policies sold through the federal government. I have already examined a few federal LTCi rate hike letters. Rate hikes on federal LTCi plans can be ameliorated pretty easily while still conserving effective LTCi performance. You will never read this in the media. It does not sell copy.

The pseudonymous proprietor of a fake news site National Report says, “I just wanted to see what people were willing to believe.” He wrote articles about people using bank debit cards to buy marijuana in Colorado and President Obama funding a Muslim museum. Some of his stories went viral. He says, “There’s hints of the truth, of course, but you can make up anything you want, really. The headline needs to be very specific and kind of hard-hitting, draw in the anger, the emotion. The first couple of paragraphs of the story need to sound fairly legit, and after that you can just get into crazy town. Nobody reads past that, I mean, seriously.”

Journalists admit to general media ignorance and not knowing enough about technical subjects. This is certainly true of most articles on LTCi. When asked if the media is hard enough on its subjects, this anonymous quote expresses exactly what I’ve been saying for many years, “Fewer reporters, smaller budgets, 60-second news cycles clickbait, online garbage disguised as writing and reporting – it all leads to a lack of depth, follow-up, asking tough questions that require time and resources to dissect, consider, illuminate.”

I have been saying this for years. These truths seem pretty obvious to me.

Filed Under: Helpful Information About LTC Tagged With: Long Term Care insurance, LTCi, LTCi rate hikes, New York Magazine, rate hikes

You are Not as Financially Smart as You Think You Are

August 9, 2016 by Honey Leave a Comment

Not As SmartThe name of the New York Times article is “What You Think You Know About Money, but Don’t, Can Hurt You”. I prefer to be more blunt: You are not as financially smart as you think you are.

The Finra Investment Foundation does a long-term, ongoing study on the public’s financial literacy. The 2016 study has just been released.

People are far more financially vulnerable than they believe they are. Fewer people got the answers the same five questions correct this year; this is a continued trend. Conversely, 76% of subjects gave themselves a “very high” rating on financial knowledge. This percentage continues to increase.

I have no idea whether these trends correlate to increasing income inequality, decreasing educational levels or overall hard times.

This behavior correlates well with the denial I’ve faced for over 25 years. When I ask people with good jobs and lots to lose, who know me, who like me, who recognize my competence, ethics and sincerity, whether they’ll have a conversation with me about long-term care planning odds and options, my invitation is usually declined.

The Finra study proves to me that we are going to have millions upon millions of people who need long-term care and are woefully unprepared for it. Because of this, many people will suffer unnecessary loss of dignity, family discord and sacrifice, and financial ruin.

Filed Under: Denial, Elephant in the Room, Helpful Information About LTC, I'll Just Self-Insure, Information About LTC Tagged With: FINRA, Long Term Care insurance, long-term care, ltc planning, LTCi

LTCi Rate Hikes in the News

August 1, 2016 by Honey Leave a Comment

Rate HikesInflammatory comments about rate hikes on the Federal long-term care insurance plan are in the news.

I have written extensively about rate hikes. I encourage people to read what I’ve written. Even after reading about what causes rate hikes, many people still don’t understand them well, or they are reacting to them emotionally rather than rationally. That is when you should call me.

The long-term care insurance (LTCi) industry does not like or want rate hikes. It never has, it never will.

LTCi rate hikes are bad for business.

The LTCi industry did not deliberately sell low-priced policies in order to raise rates later, causing people to drop their policies so they can weasel out of paying claims.

People have many more misconceptions about LTCi rate hikes.

In the case of people who own the Federal LTCi plan, I feel especially bad. They have group coverage. They do not have an accountable salesperson to call. Many are elderly. There is no one to explain what their options are.

Many Federal LTCi policyholders have coverage with extremely robust benefits – benefits that have continuously increased over the years. Sometimes we can pare back these LTCi policies, lower premiums, and retain extremely high performing coverage. Sometimes I show people that even with the rate hike, they still have under-priced coverage.

If you, or someone you know, own a Federal LTCi policy and need further understanding of your LTCi rate hike, please call me.

Filed Under: Helpful Information About LTC, I'll Just Self-Insure, Information About LTC Tagged With: Federal John Hancock LTCi, Long Term Care insurance, LTCi

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Phone: 713-988-4671
Fax: 281-829-7177

Email: honey@honeyleveen.com

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Open Quotation Mark"Honey - Whenever I need a clarification regarding our “LTC” you are “Johnny on the spot” responding in a very prompt manner, reassuring me, informing me in a concise way, patient with me as I massage the understanding in my own words. Your knowledge is current and expressed with confidence, offered in your conscientious and upbeat personality. Quotation Mark ClosedIt is a pleasure to work with you. Thank you for your expertise." ~ Nancy Damon, Houston, TX
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Honey Leveen, LUTCF, CLTC, LTCP
“The Queen, by Self-Proclamation, of Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCi)”
404 Royal Bonnet
Ft. Myers, FL 33908

Phone: 713-988-4671
Fax: 281-829-7177

Email: honey@honeyleveen.com

Email: honey@honeyleveen.com

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