AALTCI and National Underwriter Team Up for Long Term Care Sales Conference

The American Association for Long Term Care Insurance and the NU Life & Health Network announced plans to produce a live online broadcast from the 2015 National Long Term Care Solutions Sales Summit.

“We are so pleased to have NU Life & Health and Retirement Advisor magazines as a partner in this effort,” declares Jesse Slome, executive director of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance.   “This marks the first time the National Long Term Care Summit will be held in the nation’s Capital and we know the online broadcast will benefit thousands of insurance agents, brokers and financial advisors who market long term care products.”

“We are very excited about our partnership with the AALTCI Fall Sales Event,” said Tashawna Rodwell, Group Publisher of the National Underwriter Life & Health. “Collaboration with the AALTCI to help educate advisors on Long-Term Care best practices is crucial in a time of constant change. We are proud to support the Long-Term Care Industry and the agents, brokers and financial advisors who continue to advance it.”

The 2015 LTC conference takes place on Tuesday, October 27.   Four leading long term care insurers have agreed to underwrite the costs involved in making the online broadcast available free of charge.  “We thank these leading companies, Genworth, Transamerica, Nationwide and John Hancock who are truly committed to producer awareness, education and building industry sales,” Slome added.

For those not interested in attending, access to view the online broadcast will be completely free.   “All you need is a computer with Internet access,” explains Slome.  “You’ll see the speakers, view their presentation and be able to chat with others and even ask questions.”  The broadcast has a capacity for 5,000 simultaneous viewers.

Long Term Care Insurance Age 65 Waiting Penalty Discussed

A couple that waits to purchase long term care insurance until age 65 will pay nearly 70 percent more than had they considered coverage when they both were age 60.

“I tell consumers the sweet spot for long term care planning is between ages 55 and 65, but the sooner the better,” explains Jesse Slome, executive director of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (AALTCI).   Some was addressing mistakes people make when looking into long term care insurance.

According to the Association’s 2015 LTC Insurance Price Index, a 60-year old couple would pay $2,170 for good coverage that provided both spouses with about $165,000 of long term care benefits.  “The same coverage would cost the couple $3,590 a year, or 65 percent more, if they were age 65,” Slome explained.  “And, that is at today’s prices.  Someone who is age 60 today will likely pay more in five years because new policy rates tend to increase every year.”

Slome shared that many consumers perceive long term care insurance is ‘too expensive’ to buy.  “Many insurance agents simply focus on what I call a ‘fully loaded’ policy which of course makes the policy cost thousands of dollars,” Slome adds.  “If you can afford the coverage, more is always nice, but for most consumers a far more modest plan will be sufficient to meet their needs.  And, it will be far more reasonable.”

The long term care insurance expert noted that many agents only sell one or two long term care insurance policies a year.   “Many of the insurers now offer some really consumer-friendly benefit options such as the ability to buy more coverage in the future without having to meet health requirements,” Slome shares.  “An off-the-shelf approach speeds up the sales process but isn’t always in the customer’s best interest.”