My friend Bill Robinson sent me a link to a New York Times article that should have been entitled Another Reason To Purchase Long-Term Care Insurance. Instead the headline read,More Profit and Less Nursing At Many Homes. The article illustrates the travails of the nursing home industry but the simple conclusion was never reached; if people have money or insurance they are not likely to ever spend a day in a nursing home. Instead, they can afford to receive care at home or check into an assisted living facility many of which could be called ‘cruise ships on land’. The fact is that the vast majority of long-term nursing home residents are there because they don’t have the ability to pay for the care that they would like to have. Maybe they thought the government would take care of them; too bad they were right!
Here’s a thought. Print this article and keep it in your brief case. The next time you discuss long-term care with your prospects you can ask them a very simple question; ‘when you can least care for yourself is this where you want to be’ Do you really want to rely on the tender mercies of your local welfare department to make sure that your nursing home has the right kind of staffing” You could start a marketing campaign to existing policyholders. Send them a copy of this article with a hand written note that says ‘I would like to speak with you to make sure that this doesn’t become a problem for you.’ Do you think this is too heavy handed’ Is this the equivalent of what we used to call in the life insurance business, backing the hearse up to the door’ If it is so be it. At some level we need to shock consumers out of their denial regarding the need for long-term care planning; particularly Baby Boomers.
As I mentioned in my August 22nd post, a May 2007 report by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services reveals high consumer satisfaction with their long-term care insurance policy at time of claim. Both policyholders and their families attest to the fact that long-term care insurance allows the insured to stay at home, afford an assisted living facility or receive community based services as opposed to having to go to a nursing home. Caregiver stress is also significantly reduced by the fact that long-term care insurance is in-force and consumers are getting the services that they want, at home, at a time in life when cutting corners ought not to be an issue. In 2006, the long-term care insurance industry paid more than $3 billion in claims. That is a whole lot of benefits to a great many people in need of care and comfort.
Long-term care insurance fulfills its promise. We need to do the same.
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