Monday, November 18, 2013

Combination Long Term Care Insurance Analysis Makes National News


An analysis revealing significant differences between the most popular combination long term care insurance policies helped generate widespread national news this week for the American Association for Long Term Care Insurance.

“We’ve seen an increase number of consumer inquiries about combination life insurance policies offering long term care insurance like benefits,” declares Jesse Slome, director of the American Association for Long Term Care Insurance.  “Our conversations revealed that consumers assumed these policies are all very similar in terms of key components, especially the amount of benefits they ultimately provide.  There is lots of interest in what many call ‘new and improved long term care insurance’ but there can be vast differences in ultimate benefits paid.”

combination long term care insurance policy comparisons from AALTCI

Working with leading independent experts, the Association undertook an analysis of leading combination long term care insurance, also known as hybrid long term care policies.  “We found significant differences,” says Slome. “Some would pay far more if long term care services were needed, others had a higher life insurance benefit that would be paid to heirs.”

A release distribution of the analysis resulted in widespread media attention.  “Several hundred major media picked up the story including Yahoo Finance, The Wall Street Journal’s MarketWatch column, Reuters and some 200 newspapers, business journals and local television stations,” Slome reports.  “There has been a high level of interest in this as more consumers are being told about combo LTC products by their financial advisors.”

The Association’s analysis pointed to the value of getting a comparison from a knowledgeable combination long term care insurance specialist.   ”Not all financial advisors have access to products from multiple companies,” Slome adds.