Long Term Care Insurance Association Director To Speak In Chicago

So much has changed about long-term care insurance except no one tells that to consumers according to one of the nation’s leading experts.

“So much has changed as a result of the Great Recession and that includes long term care insurance,” explains Jesse Slome, director of the American Association for Long Term Care Insurance.   Slome will travel to Chicago to speak to the staff of one of the nation’s foremost distributors of policies.

“Sales of long-term care insurance are slumping and a key reason is a lack of information and awareness of the important changes,” Slome adds.  “No body would pay seven percent for a 30-year mortgage today but that’s about what they cost in 2007.  Consumers understand that because of media and industry awareness efforts.  But when it comes to long term care insurance, it’s almost as if little has changed in the past few years.”

Slome will urge the Chicago audience to educate their markets to the fact that long term care insurance policies today are dramatically different than they were just a few short years ago.  “The new policies have options and features that consumers seek – affordability, options for future growth and flexibility in terms of care options,” Slome will share.  “Someone has to now create the understanding among prospects who want to plan for the very real risk of needing long term care.”

The national expert founded the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance in 1998 to create heightened awareness and to support insurance agents and financial professionals who market LTC solutions.

Long Term Care Insurance Association Makes Awareness Month Logo Available

 

November marks the 14th anniversary of Long-Term Care Awareness Month an opportunity to create heightened awareness of the importance of planning for extended care.

“The vast majority of Americans who are 50 or older have never planned for the real risk of needing extended care,” explains Jesse Slome, director of the American Association for Long Term Care Insurance.   “It’s hard to get from healthy to dead without needing care which may last for a few days, several months or a number of years.”

To focus attention on the importance of understanding risks, costs and planning options, the Association established Long-Term Care Awareness Month in 2001.   ”The effort to create awareness has been recognized by a Congressional Resolution as well as resolutions and declarations of support by numerous governors and mayors,” according to Slome.

Recent Long Term Care Insurance Savings Idea Posted By Association

The thirteenth installment in the Real People – Real Long Term Care Insurance Savings Ideas was posted recently by the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance.

“This has become the most visited page on the Association’s website,” declares Jesse Slome, executive director of the Association, a national trade group focused on creating heightened awareness.   ”Clearly people are seeking to understand how to best compare long term care insurance to get the best coverage for the best cost.”

The Association began posting examples of real ways different consumers approached their own personal long term care planning.  “We are sharing ideas that few consumers know and that’s simply because most insurance agents sell a one-size-fits-all approach to long term care insurance,” Slome admits.

This  installment focuses on a college professor with considerable savings and retirement income.  “Many people in this position have the ability to pay for the cost of long term care but they want insurance to pay some of the cost which makes sound financial sense,” Slome shares.

“In this case, the long term care insurance specialist suggested a 365 day Elimination Period whereby the client would cover the first year of any costs,” Slome notes.  “That reduced the cost of insurance considerably but we share more about how the nuances of policy language are important come claim time.”

“We encourage comparison shopping but few consumers have the time or knowledge to really compare policies,” Slome adds.  “True expertise comes from experience that is really acquired over time.”

The American Association for Long Term Care Insurance is a national organization that advocates for sound and responsible planning for the real risk of needing long term care services.

Long Term Care Insurance Buyers Tip For Different Aged Couples

There’s no reason a husband and wife both applying for long-term care insurance should spend 50 percent more each year declares the director of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance.

“Take a common scenario where the husband is 65 and the wife is 55,” share Jesse Slome, executive director of the Association, a national trade group focused on creating heightened awareness.   ”They could pay $2,475 a year by choosing one leading insurer or they could pay $3,675 yearly if they chose a different insurer an almost 50 percent difference.”

Slome was sharing real examples of why it is increasingly important for consumers to comparison shop when considering long-term care insurance protection.   “People mistakenly think this is a commodity and that all prices are going to basically be the same but that is clearly not true today,” Slome advised consumers.

“If the husband is older, one long-term care insurance combination will be better,” Slome notes.  “If the wife is older, another is going to be the better buy, this is one of those nuances that few people are aware of.”

“Contacting an insurance company directly is not going to get you the comparison you seek,” Slome advised the group.  “It will put you in touch with an agent who will clearly favor that company but he or she may not be appointed to sell other companies so don’t expect an unbiased comparison.”
“Prices for virtually identical coverage will vary considerably, discounts available will vary and even acceptable health conditions will vary from one insurance company to the next,” Slome notes.  “We encourage comparison shopping but few consumers have the time or knowledge to really compare policies.  True expertise comes from experience that is really acquired over time.”

Long Term Care Insurance Association Offers Free Presentation

Insurance agents and financial professionals who sell long term care insurance products now have free access to watch a session recorded at the 2014 National LTC Sales Summit.

“We are offering free access to watch the special 30-minute filmed presentation,” explains Jesse Slome, director of the American Association for Long Term Care Insurance.   The organization recently held it’s annual conference attended by over 500 insurance professionals.  Free access will be available through September 30, 2014.

For the first time, most of our conference workshops were filmed.  “A number of select sessions were streamed live online and viewed by several thousand agents,” Slome notes.  “All the recorded sessions became part of an On Demand library accessible for a nominal fee.  We are now making the first of those sessions available for viewing at no charge.”

The 30-minute session focuses on strategies for dealing with prospects and clients who are unable to health qualify for traditional long-term care insurance.  “As many as half of the market can’t health qualify, so alternative options are valuable to the prospect and also a great way to earn extra income,” Slome adds.

Free access will be available through September 30th.  In addition, the Association is offering a special 50-percent discount to those who order access to the full package of conference recorded sessions.    Details are available on the website.

To access the free video, go to http://www.fleetwoodonsite.com/aaltci/promo/

The American Association for Long Term Care Insurance was established in 1998 to create heightened awareness for the importance of planning and to support insurance professionals who market LTC solutions.

Long Term Care Insurance Association Launches Effort Focused On New Ways To Reduce Costs

A national campaign launched this morning focuses on newer options that provide individuals considering long term care insurance added flexibility as well as significant cost savings.

“Having long term care insurance coverage that can increase as care costs tend rise is valuable,” explains Jesse Slome, director of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (AALTCI) a national trade group.   The Association launched a national consumer awareness effort today to heighten awareness of the many options now available for future benefit increases.

The Association kicked off the effort with a national media campaign that has already generated news features in The Wall Street Journal’s MarketWatch, on Reuters, Bloomberg BusinessWeek and a variety of other news media.

According to Slome, a healthy 55-year old couple might pay $1,440-per-year (combined) to obtain $175,000 of long-term care insurance protection for each spouse.   “If they add an option that increases their potential benefit amounts by five percent yearly, they’ll face paying $5,850 yearly ($487-per-month),” he explains.  “That is clearly too expensive for most consumers today.”

The Association director points out that the same 55-year-old couple selecting a policy where future benefits increase by one percent annually will pay $150 monthly.  “The cost for benefits growing two percent yearly is roughly $175-per-month,” the AALTCI director explains.

“Too many inexperienced insurance agents today take an ‘off the shelf’ approach to recommending a long-term care insurance policy,” Slome notes.  “What worked two, three or five years ago is totally different today and consumers would greatly benefit by comparing the most current available options that increase their potential benefits.”

Slome points out that some newer, more innovative policies also allow insureds the flexibility to make future adjustments to their benefit growth percentage.    “The ability to change the future growth factor is a really meaningful built-in feature that is worth looking at,” Slome adds.

Comparisons Essential For Overweight Persons Considering Long Term Care Insurance

Over two thirds of American adults are overweight and those considering long term care insurance protection need to understand some important facts explains the director of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance.

“People incorrectly believe that everyone qualifies to get long term care insurance and that all policies are pretty much identical,” declares Jesse Slome, director of the Long-Term Care Insurance a national trade group.   ”That’s simply not the case and understanding how weight impacts your insurability is one of the areas people to know more about.”

According to Slome some 69 percent of American adults are overweight.  “A significant number are considered obese which means they weigh 100 pounds more than the ideal maximum for their height,” the AALTCI director notes.

The Association just posted a new example of how weight impacted a real New York couple purchasing long term care insurance.  “The husband was 5-7 and weighed just around 255 pounds which was the maximum acceptable weight for the insurer being recommended by his local insurance agent,” Slome notes.  “The agent was encouraging John to submit an electronic application but that could have been a very costly mistake.”

Slome shared with consumers that each insurer establishes their own minimum and maximum.  “If the scale tipped over the 256 pound mark when John underwent the insurer-required physical, he would have been declined,” Slome shared with the group.  “The agent probably didn’t know that other insurers had higher weight limits.  Few agents today have the interest or knowledge to help a consumer comparison shop,” he added.

Ultimately a long term care insurance specialist recommended John consider coverage from a copy that had no height and weight qualification.  “This particular company will immediately reject anyone who has previously been declined insurance within the past three years,” Slome notes.  “Had John been declined by the original insurer he would have been out of luck.”

“Too many inexperienced insurance agents today take an ‘off the shelf’ approach to recommending a long-term care insurance policy,” Slome notes.  “Today, a consumer will really benefit by working with a specialist who has knowledge of all the major insurers, their provisions and requirements — the small print that few take the time to learn.”