Prudential Insurance Company Archives - Long Term Care Insurance Expert | Honey Leveen

Majority are concerned about needing care

April 27, 2012 by Honey Leave a Comment

A 2011 Prudential survey (Long-Term Care Insurance: A Piece of the Retirement and Estate Planning Puzzle. ©2011, The Prudential Insurance Company of America. 751 Broad Street, Newark, NJ) indicates that 71% of us are concerned about possibly needing long-term care.

63% of us are not confident we can pay for long-term care, yet only 17% of us own long-term care insurance (LTCi).

The survey states that most people do not understand how long-term care is paid for. People also overestimate LTCi’s cost and underestimate the probability they might need care.

If you are a consumer over the age of 40, and still don’t own LTCi, the report and my own personal experience indicate that you will be well served by taking the time to learn about long-term care and purchase LTCi now, while you can qualify and find affordable premiums!

UK on Collision Course with Long-term Care (LTC) Costs

July 7, 2011 by Honey Leave a Comment

A newly released report by the Alzheimer’s Society (The Dementia Tax Report 2011. Alzheimer’s Society, Devon House, 58 St Katharine’s Way, London E1W 1LB) minces no words describing the collision course between the UK economy and its growing long-term care needs.

Although the report studied the British, the many similarities between our two countries and cultures make the study relevant here.

The study found that only 3% of those with dementia own long-term care insurance (LTCi). The LTCi industry has existed in Britain for quite some time, but it is not as fully evolved as the LTCi industry in the US, where about 10% of us own LTCi, as my blog on the new Urban Institute study confirms.

The Alzheimer’s Society study (p. 3) states that “Despite the hard work of many care staff and care providers there are many thousands of people who cannot access the quality care and support that they need to have a good quality of life. Latest reports from the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Age UK and others show that the system is not simply in need of repair but is fundamentally broken.

There are currently 750,000 people living with dementia in the UK and this number will grow to over 1 million by 2021. Two thirds of people living in care homes and one quarter of people in hospitals are people with dementia.”

Yow!

Interestingly, but not really surprising, the survey asked British respondents why they did not own LTCi. They gave the same excuses we Americans do: they didn’t know about it, they didn’t expect to need care, and LTCi is too expensive. In my March 28, 2011 blog I reported similar results of Prudential’s recent study.

Of course, LTCi is not too expensive. “LTCi is too expensive” is simply an excuse people give to avoid having a conversation about responsible long-term care planning. Here’s the simple math. Say your premiums are $2,000/year. Say you need to collect from your LTCi in 20 years (pick any number and the math. is the same). From your $40,000 investment, you will collect over $60,000 (in today’s dollars) from your LTCi policy when you need care for ONLY ONE YEAR. According the US Department of Health and Human Services, the odds of needing some type of long-term care at age 65 are at least 70%.

If you don’t yet own LTCi, please take heed of these warnings and act responsibly – NOW!

False LTCi Coverage Harms the Public

April 1, 2011 by Honey Leave a Comment

Main Stream Media (MSM) almost always casts Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCi) in a negative light. I seldom read an MSM article about LTCi that dispels myths.

The recent Prudential survey I blogged about on March 28, 2011 found that most people lack much factual information about LTCi. My experience with clients strongly supports the survey findings.

Knowledge is power. Lack of knowledge leads to fear and LTCi bashing. What a disservice this is to the public.

Lately, for example, the media seem to enjoy harping on the withdrawal of Met Life and others from the LTCi marketplace. They fail to mention that companies like LifeSecure and Humana are entering the LTCi marketplace. We’re obviously in a harsh economy, and many companies across all industries are withdrawing from markets or closing down. But today’s economy has not caused a single LTCi carrier to go belly up and default on its obligation to policyholders. MSM doesn’t mention this. Rarely have I seen MSM articles describe how beautifully LTCi pays even though such stories are abundant.

Another common thing MSM does to cast LTCi in a bad light is to refer to LTCi as expensive. Simple math that anyone can do on a calculator shows that if or when long-term care is needed, policyholders typically re-coup every dollar paid in premium within a few months. LTCi premiums are far more stable than those of other insurance policies. Contemporary LTCi may have rate hikes but they are uncommon and limited by the regulatory authorities. So which is preferable? Paying affordable LTCi premiums regularly and being able to access the long-term care of your choice, or hemorrhaging savings to pay for care?

Why does MSM like to diss the LTCi industry so much? I believe it’s mostly due to lack of knowledge, which in turn leads to fear.

I encourage you to visit www.honeyleveen.com and go to the References page. You will find links to several reputable sites that provide accurate statistics and information about LTCi.

Prudential Releases New Survey

March 28, 2011 by Honey Leave a Comment

A new consumer survey from Prudential called Long-Term Care Insurance: A Piece of the Retirement and Estate Planning Puzzle” was released in March 2011. This survey may be more useful to financial and other professional advisors than to the general public. Such advisors need to be aware that they are often as guilty of wanting to avoid a conversation about responsible LTC planning as the general public. Avoidance of this discussion can prove to be quite harmful to the people they strive to serve with excellence.

This survey shows that the public is concerned about the possible need for long-term care (LTC) but they still want to put off discussing LTC planning until retirement. In other words, the survey illustrates people’s denial of their possible need for LTC and their desire to avoid discussing it.

The survey also shows that misinformation about LTC insurance and LTC planning abounds.

I see and hear misinformation about LTC insurance all the time.

This survey echoes the observations I make on this blog. For me, it’s a constant source of sadness and frustration that people’s denial of their need for care makes them avoid conversing about responsible LTC planning.

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Majority are concerned about needing care

UK on Collision Course with Long-term Care (LTC) Costs

False LTCi Coverage Harms the Public

Prudential Releases New Survey

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