The LTC insurance conundrum: Slumping sales, but no shortage of demand

It’s the best of times and the worst of times for Christine McCullugh, president of LTC Solutions, a group long-term care insurance specialist agency in Redmond, Wash. On the one hand, she says business is booming. On the other, “It’s difficult to find product,” she laments.

Her predicament stems from the dwindling number of carriers that still offer stand-alone long-term care insurance on a voluntary group platform. More carriers still sell individual LTCI, but overall sales have been on a downward slope for several years, according to LIMRA data.

Sales, meanwhile, of combo products—permanent life policies that give policyholders the option to drawn down their death benefit for long-term care expenses—have been going up. In 2016, LTCI contracts generated $228 million in premiums, versus $2.6 billion for combo products. Combos have now outsold individual LTCI policies for the past decade, according to LIMRA.

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Webinar – Accelerated Life Underwriting

Join Tom Merrion and Assurity Life for a webinar on March 13th

Topics to be Presented: Jet Issue up to $10M face amount E-application underwriting can result in instant underwriting decisions Paper/Tele application underwriting decisions in 7 days (on average) ROP rider availability (includes base premium and ROP rider premium) What is Jet Issue (Accelerated U/W)? Difference between Jet Issue and Simplified Issue Tuesday, March 13, 2018     10:00am to 11:00am

 

5 Things Genworth Executives Told Wall Street

By Allison Bell

Executives at Genworth Financial Inc. say that the company still needs to come up with $600 million in cash to handle debt obligations coming due in May, but that the company did well in 2017.

Thomas McInerney, who has been the Richmond, Virginia-based insurer’s president since 2013, told securities analysts Wednesday that he believes the company has been moving in the right direction..

“We returned to profitability,” McInerney said. “We generated solid operating results, particularly at our global mortgage insurance platform, and we made significant progress on our multi-year long-term care insurance premium rate action plan.”

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Long-Term Care Insurance And The Importance Of Developing A Plan

Joel Johnson  

Long-term care insurance provides care for those who need long-term assistance in a nursing home, care at home or adult daycare. What it also provides, though, is peace of mind that yourself or loved ones will be able to afford the help that might have been provided by family or friends in years past. Although long-term care insurance has been around since the late 1970’s, the popularity emerged during the 80’s and 90’s.  With more and more Americans needing this service, it is important to be informed of your options. While Medicare covers only short stays in a nursing facility, Medicaid can fill in the gap but only after you have depleted your financial accounts. Therefore, if you envision an assisted living center as your future home, you will need the necessary resources to fund this option. Are you prepared?

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What to Say Now About LTCI Rate Increases

By Margie Barrie

Margie Barrie, a veteran long-term care insurance (LTCI) agent, marketer and educator, has been writing articles about long-term care planning and related issues for years.

Here, she handles a question about what to say to clients about past, present and future LTCI rate hikes.

Q. The topic of rate increases must be part of the conversation when I work with clients. When they request more details, how should I explain the reasons for past rate increases and the probability of future increases?

A. Our clients need to be told to expect rate increases and to understand the reasons why. As long as rate increases occur, we will probably see negative articles in the press. So, it will be helpful if our clients understand the challenges that actuaries and carriers encounter when setting rates.

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Webinar – The Future of Long Term Care Insurance

Ron Cohen and Blair Farwell invite you to attend their Future of Long Term Care Insurance Webinar.

Topics to be Presented:

• Where has the LTC market been over the last 30 years? Where do we foresee it going in the future?
• What have the carriers learned/systemically changed in order to make a brighter future for this product?
• What’s new for brokers to sell in 2018?
• What Linked Benefit plan designs/configurations are clients buying and why?
• What are the dangers or pitfalls in some Linked Benefit programs?
• Exciting new products to be available this YEAR.
• The worksite marketplace and exciting new opportunities.
• All products discussed in the webinar are represented by carriers rated A- or better.
• If you’re a seasoned LTCi Broker or want to enter this lucrative field, you don’t want to miss this webinar!

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LTCi Claims Paid Rise 6.4% to $9.2B in 2017

Long-term care claim benefits paid by insurers rose 6.4 percent from 2016 to 2017, with to $9.2 billion in claims paid, the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (AALTCI) reported Wednesday.

About 295,000 individuals were on long-term care claims last year. That represents an increase of 5.4 percent, or 15,000 people, compared with 2016, AALTCI also reported.

“The total of all benefits paid increased as did the number of long-term care insurance policyholders on claim,” Jesse Slome, AALTCI executive director, in a news release

The total value of the claim benefits is likely higher than the $9.2 billion reported since thousands of individuals who own linked-benefit life insurance or annuity policies also receive long-term care benefits, Slome said.

LTCi policies help families defray the cost of long-term care, which can easily run more than $50,000 a year in many places.

“Without insurance to pay some or all of the cost, the caregiving responsibility often falls on elderly spouses or adult children caring for their aging parents,” Slome said.

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