BLOG - Page 11 of 70 - Long Term Care Insurance Expert | Honey Leveen

State of the LTC insurance industry – August 2018

September 14, 2018 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

2018 Update: I’m happy to report that the LTC Insurance industry is alive and quite healthy! The reason is, quite simply, our nation’s need for long term care insurance coverage continues to escalate. Unfortunately, our senior population continues to be increasingly unprepared.

In August, I attended the annual conference of the Long Term Care Producers Group (LTCPG). This is one of the highlights of my year, as I get to reconnect with “my tribe” and also hear insights from some extremely knowledgeable professionals in the LTCi industry. These updates help me stay informed on changes and projected trends so that I can best serve you, my clients. These sessions also provide us important information on products:

What’s most popular among current policyholders
What’s most needed to best serve the future needs of our aging population
How the public’s perception of LTCi has shifted over the last year

The LTC Insurance Industry

I began my career in the LTCi industry about 30 years ago. At that time the only “arrow in our quiver” was traditional LTCi. Although we had many more traditional LTCi carriers to choose from back then, the remaining options have withstood the tests of time. They have survived the uncertainty of the financial markets, since long term projections are very dependent on fluctuations in interest rates.

There’s also the ongoing challenge of resistance. Much of the media resists taking the time to gain a complete understanding of how LTCi products work. When the public reads this misinformation, they feel justified in their decision to postpone or even ignore this important financial crossroad that almost certainly lies in their future. Let’s face it, talking about the possibility of future medical care and planning for those needs can be unpleasant. Especially when trying to look down the road, so many years into the future.

New Needs Bring New Solutions

The good news is that we now have a much broader portfolio of new LTC solutions to offer clients who are prepared to plan for their future. Not only do these products better serve the needs of policyholders, but they have resulted in more robust sales, enhancing the long term financial health of the insurance carriers.

Asset-Based Plans

The most popular new products are called asset-based LTC plans. You’ll also hear them referred to as “hybrid”, or “combo” LTC plans. They are very popular, as seen by the brisk sales of these plans. These policies are part-LTCi and part life insurance. They provide robust long-term care protection.

Here’s one of many posts I’ve shared in the past on hybrid, asset-based policies. In the post, I share a link to an article in Forbes, providing a deeper dive into these plans. Depending on the client’s needs and resources, this can be an excellent solution. Having this alternative available widens the options for long term planning.

Short-Term Care (STC)

We also have STC (Short-Term Care) policies which did not exist just a few years ago. These are very reasonable plans, generally for people who do not qualify for traditional LTC or asset-based LTC policies.

New Annuities

There are unique, new Annuities available, with unusual qualification standards. Typically, a potential policyholder in good health is the ideal purchaser of LTC coverage. Qualifying for these annuities is based on one’s poor health, not one’s good health. They are for who already need the long term care. The policies can ensure that families will never run out of money while providing the necessary medical care for loved ones.

Life Settlements

Life Settlements also provide a great alternative to families seeking access to cash flow. Many seniors already owns a life insurance policy they no longer need. Should their medical needs unexpectedly escalate, they may suddenly have an increased need for LTC. Thanks to the Life Settlements, people can get immediate cash from their life insurance policy, resulting in adequate funds to pay for their long term care needs.

Click here to receive your free, no-obligation quote for your customized LTC insurance coverage.

Affluent Retirees Won’t Spend Their Money!

August 22, 2018 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

Affluent people often tell me they don’t need long-term care insurance (LTCi). They’ll self-insure, instead. This is contrary to my experience.

Traditional retirement planning typically calls for a gradual drawing down of savings to produce retirement income. Contrary to this long-held belief, a recent study published by Employee Benefit Research Institute (ERBI) proves otherwise. In fact, affluent retirees do not want to spend their money!

As illogical as it sounds, this is a point I have been writing about for years. Retirees find great comfort in the size of their nest egg and there is too much uncertainty in their future.

ERBI’s new study shows affluent retirees (with over $500,000 in non-housing savings) had only spent down 11.8 percent of their savings within the first twenty years of retirement. This is far less than projected. In fact about one-third of sampled retirees increased their assets over that period.

Relaxing About the Future

My strong opinion, based on nearly 30 years of client observation, is this: LTC insurance ownership releases people from an ever-present gray storm cloud of a possible LTC need looming on the horizon. The gray cloud grows ever larger with each passing year. Let’s call it the LTC Storm Cloud. It’s caused by fear of an unexpected, unplanned for, possibly catastrophically expensive “Spending Shock“, caused by a chronic long term care need.

An AHIP study released in 2014 (email me at honey@honeyleveen.com for the actual study) confirms LTC insurance owners get 35% more hours of care, as well as many additional advantages, such as increased independence and dignity, decreased financial stress, higher quality family relationships, and the list goes on.

The reason LTC insurance owners obtain more care is because they’re not paying for it out of their income or savings.

I see people denying their true need for care all the time. Often, it’s because they have the money for it, but just don’t want to spend it. They’re afraid of losing their wealth. Don’t let this happen to you!

When you’re ready to get some peace of mind about your future needs, click here to receive a no-obligation quote for your personal LTCi policy.

Who Will Take Care of You When You’re Older? Probably Not Your Kids

August 8, 2018 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

In 1850, it was common for families to have anywhere from 6-9 children! A driving incentive was that, “… children were considered an economic asset: with enough kids, parents could rest assured that at least some would survive and care for them in old age.” (Quartz, Oct. 11, 2017) You can see in this chart from Quartz (from the US Census) that parents had fewer and fewer children with each passing decade.

This steady decline of US birthrates has continued. There’s been lots of news on this recently. The New York Times recently had professional survey firm, Morning Consult, conduct a new poll of young adults to determine why they are having fewer children. They surveyed over 1,800 men and women, ages 20-45. What they found was that in 2017, the number of births in the US birth was at its lowest number in 30 years. And down a full 2% from 2016.

Why Are We Having Fewer Children?

As in decades past, it’s still a financially-based decision. While our ancestors saw children as an economic asset, they are now more of an economic burden. The rising cost of childcare was the top-rated explanation for scaling back on family size, as reported in this Fortune article (July 6, 2018).

Other reasons included the desire to spend more time with their existing children. Many others had fears about the country’s economic instability. It’s hard to plan for the future needs of their children over the next 20 years when their current finances no longer feel secure.

Fewer Children Means Fewer Caregivers

If we were still living in large families, there would be plenty of hands available to take care of everyone. From the babies through the great-grandparents. In 2018, however, our family size has shrunk considerably. There are fewer family members available to provide the daily care.

Who is going to take care of you when you need more help? The numbers tell us that it is unrealistic to depend on our kids.

If you’re ready to get some peace of mind over your future long term care needs, click here for your free, no-obligation quote for long term care insurance.

Assisted Living is Better Than Staying Home

July 28, 2018 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

For about 25 years, I’ve been telling people assisted living is a better solution if there’s a late in life, chronic need for long-term care.

As you can imagine, I’ve met with a lot of resistance about this over the years. This feels like a very emotional decision to leave the “independence” of living in your own home and opting to live in an assisted living facility. However, if you take the time to look at the facts, you’ll understand my position. To fully understand the decision requires the ability to fearlessly envision a time when they are no longer strong, active and independent. And that time is coming for most of us.

A new study backs me up on this. Vindication is a lovely feeling!

The Preference for Assisted Living

A new poll conducted by Key Private Bank was reported on by McKnight’s Senior Living. Of those polled, the conclusion is that if older adults are independent and able to remain at home, that is their natural preference. At the point where this is no longer safe or feasible, their first choice, by a landslide, is assisted living. The public is finally catching on to this.

Some of you, eager to stay in your home at any cost might be considering the option for home healthcare. Where 93% of respondents would choose assisted living once they could no longer care for themselves, only 11% preferred home healthcare. They understand the unnecessary burden that home care places on family and friends. Plus, the standard of care in assisted living is higher and more consistent.

By the way, some policyholders choose long term care insurance coverage that doesn’t cover home care, which significantly reduces their monthly premiums. Why pay for something you won’t want to use?

Imagine…

Imagine a scenario where you’re living alone. Maybe you’re married but you’re both at an advanced age. You no longer have the balance, strength or stamina from your younger years. You reach a point where you are at risk for falls stepping in or out of the shower. Perhaps you also need a tiny bit of help to avoid falls. Or some help getting up from chairs or getting your pants on. You might be at the point where you have dementia and are starting to make faulty decisions, placing you or your loved ones in danger. Maybe you decide to take an ill-advised walk and you can’t remember how to get back home.

In a reputable assisted living facility, you are

safer
less likely to experience abuse or fraud
at decreased risk for falls
able to live with less fear about your well-being
more socially stimulated and carefree

If you own LTC insurance (LTCi) and are at the point where you need assistance in basic, daily tasks, your LTCi will be gushing money, waiting to give you the support. Your LTCi is your passport, with readily-accessible funds to access high quality care when needed. Hopefully, you’ll use your policy. If you’re like many of my policyholders, prompt, easy access to care, when it’s needed, will give you more dignity, safety, security, and options.

If you don’t own a LTCi policy, click here to receive your personal quote.

It’s How You Say It

July 9, 2018 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

“It’s not what you say but how you say it.” This quote (or some version of it) is one of the many gems of Mae West. We love it because it’s true! We may have the most important, critical information to share. But if you can’t communicate, what’s the use? It’s like yelling down a well.

Margie Barrie, a long-time friend and colleague, writes on a variety of topics concerning long term care insurance (LTCi). Her latest article in ThinkAdvisor (June 2018) highlights the importance of the language we use when addressing topics that are hard to hear.

She has a gift for finding the right words to get our attention.

This is How You Say It

Margie lists some pointed questions and terms that truly draw peoples’ attention to the urgent need for long term care planning.

Here are some of my favorites, excerpted from her article:

What’s your plan for when you get a little older and a little sicker and you need help to put on your shoes and pants and get breakfast? (The imagery makes it very real.)
One day you are not going to be as healthy and good looking as you are today. (Suggested by Gene Cutler).
70-70-70: 70 million people are turning 70, and 70% will need long-term care.
What have you allocated in your retirement portfolio for long term care? (Until you have planned for long term care expenses, you have allocated everything for long term care expenses.)
If one of you has an extended health care need, which of your assets would you liquidate first?
This plan is not designed to make you rich. It is designed to keep you from being poor.
Put a wall of protection around your portfolio.
Wealth protection tool.
Having a plan in place gives you a map to follow.
Say when your health changes, instead of if. (Suggested by Linda Jobin).
Failing to plan is planning to fail.

Dr. Wade Pfau likes to used the term “Spending Shock” to describe the devastating emotional and financial effect from an unforeseen, expensive long term care event. He often writes how it “… can wreak unnecessary, avoidable financial, mental and physical havoc on families and estates.”

Do any of these points speak to you? Do they get you thinking about your plans? If so, take the first step: Click here to receive your no-obligation quote for your personal LTCi policy.

Request a Free, No-Obligation LTCi Quote