Selling long-term-care insurance in a group setting

Agents and advisors are always on the lookout for ideas that will help them provide their clients and prospects with the financial protection they need to help cover the costs of care if they have a chronic medical condition, a disability or a disorder. A product that works well in this area is long-term care insurance. Two financial professionals, Kevin Sypniewski, CEO of AGIS Network, and Steve Cain, national sales leader at LTCI Partners, LLC, recently shared some information on what it takes to successfully sell LTCI in a workplace or group setting.

Why sell group LTCI?

As many in the industry know, group LTCI offers a wide variety of benefits. For example, according to Sypniewski, employers are a trusted source for most employees, and employers have the ability to support education for their employee audience through the use of email messages, webinars, live meetings and videos.

Additionally, insurance carriers know they are getting a better spread of risk and increased volume; so, they can offer discounts and underwriting concessions that they are not able to offer with a one-on-one sale, he said.

For Cain, the benefits of selling group LTCI include:

• Timely education of employees about retirement planning and helping them manage future healthcare costs
• Discounted and gender-neutral rates
• Guaranteed issue coverage (no medical questions)
• 100% portability
• Dual-purpose product design (Life + LTC
  Plans)
• Plans can be voluntary.
• Payroll deductions or direct bill options are available.
• 100% portability (no penalty or additional cost if an employee retires or leaves the group).
• Group rate structure and gender-neutral rates
• Timely education around retirement

As to when it makes sense to sell group LTCI as opposed to individual LTCI, Cain said that it’s a numbers game. “If you’re working with a client with a significant number of employees, it’s worth looking into Group LTC Insurance or Group Life + LTC Insurance plans,” he said.

Moving into the LTCI group space

As agents get ready to sell LTCI, they should be aware of several factors. As Sypniewski pointed out, there are a variety of products and carriers that are in or are moving into the LTC market today, with very different products and pricing. “Do your research and read the LTC contract wording,” he said. “LTC is not as simple as life insurance…you die, they pay and there are very few gray area claims. LTC is a type of disability contract; so, contract language means everything. Don’t just trust the salesperson you are talking to when investigating carriers’ products.”

Cain added that it’s not easy to sell and implement Voluntary LTC Insurance plans. Agents need to implement a robust communication strategy with their clients and maintain a disciplined approach to these engagements.

Also, Cain pointed out, it’s easy for clients to nod their heads and think that LTCI planning makes sense. The tough part is finding funding for these programs or securing the employer’s commitment to educating their employees or marketing these voluntary plans.

The keys to success or failure for these voluntary programs are the enrollment conditions and the methodology, Cain said. “You must understand and be able to communicate the tax advantages of LTC Insurance – know the code sections and be able to share them with clients.” Agents should also be up-to-speed on all things LTC legislation (state and federal proposals), he said.

Strategies for success

So, what are some of the strategies that agents can use to successfully sell group LTCI? “If you are trying to focus on group/worksite LTC, find benefit brokers that you can partner with, as most do not do a lot of LTC, and it is an important specialization that you can help support if you do your homework and understand the market and the marketing of LTC,” Sypniewski said.
Cain added that agents will have success if they partner with employee benefits consultants – position themselves as the SME or expert in this area. “Simply talking to clients about this issue and these programs will lead to opportunities and sales…it’s that simple,” he said.

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