• Eric Jacoby, CFP, is a financial planner who has made long-term care planning a must for his clients. For the past ten years Eric has consistently been one of our most productive brokers.  Eric has built his practice on networking with attorneys, CPAs and other financial planning professinals who value his expertise. No one gets away from Eric without hearing his sermon on the need for long-term care liquidity and how an unplanned for long-term care event can devestate even the most well conceived financial plan.
• Timothy Milaney,  CPCU, CLU, CIC, RHU, ChFC, CORS, PWCA, was our top producer in 2008.  His success is a result of one simple maxim; ask each and every client that if they have taken care of their long-term care planning.  If not, insist that they sit down and discuss it. Tim’s “One Responsible Source” business philosophy drives his desire to help his clients properly manage the financial risks they face.
• Mary Lou Reid, CFP & John Celantano are a financial planning tag-team who have been integrating long-term care insurance into their clients’ portfolios for more than twenty years.  John and Mary Lou have been industry leaders utilizing linked product solutions and have placed more than $25 million in asset based life and annuity long-term care combos.  Their insights will help you build the confidence you need to succeed in this fast growing segment of the long-term care insurance marketplace.
• Janet Madrigal, has come out of nowhere to become our fast-start wiz in 2010.  An insurance professional with varied and broad experience, Janet has made a serious committment to include long-term care insurance in each of her clients’ portfolios. We fully expect Janet to be in our top five for 2010.

What do all of these successful LTCi producers have in common?  They walk the walk and talk the talk!  They’ve included long-term care insurance into their day to day discussion of risk and financial planning and candidly, they don’t take “no” for an answer.  I’m also pleased to report that most use a number of the simplified sales tools that we’ve develped throughout the years to help make long-term care insurance simple to explain and understand.

And there’s an added bonus when you join us on March 11^th; during our Producer Panel, you’ll be able to partake in some great wines and enjoy gourmet chocolate from Tifa Chocolate in Agoura Hills.  Learning how to sell long-term care insurance doesn’t get much better than this!

CLICK HERE to read more about our Producer Panel and the rest of our top-flight presenters for our March 11^th meeting.

REGISTER TODAY and take advantage of our early bird pricing.  Space is filling quickly. You won’t want to miss this opportunity to get the competitive edge in all things long-term care insurance related.

barry@paradigmins.com

Underwriting Traditional & Combo LTCi — The Changing Game in Long-Term Care Risk Evaluation (course #238088) will provide you with insights into similarities and differences between traditional long-term care underwriting and the new combo products.  We know how difficult traditional long-term care insurance underwriting can be. The advent of life combo products adds the wrinkle of mortality to the morbidity piece that we’ve grown accustomed to.  Additionally, annuity combo products may provide us with a safe harbor of sorts for some of our most difficult underwriting challenges.  Understanding where each of the three products types works best can help you satisfy the client’s need for long-term care planning.  And there is no one better than Amy Chambers, Genworth Underwriting Manager, to be your coach in this arena.  This course is a must for any insurance and financial planning professional because it will make your life (as well as your clients’) a whole lot easier. 

Regardless of which product type you sell, the long-term care claims process is likely to come into play.  Long-Term Care Insurance Claims Practices — Where The Rubber Meets the Road in LTCi  (course #238087) is our second hour of continuing education on March 11th.  It is designed to give you clarity on claims adjudication so that you can confidently explain to prospects and clients what to expect.  The question of claims payment is one of the most often asked by agents and consumers alike and Renee Roberti-Klemenok, Genworth Claims Adjudicator will provide you with the tools and understanding necessary to sound like pro.

In addition to the two hours of classroom continuing education, attendees on March 11th will receive coupons for a big discount on two very important online continuing education classes from Lyte Speed Learning  (Provider #65579);  2004 California Long-Term Care 8-hour certification (course #146378) and Annuity Compliance 4-hrs (course #179938).  The discounted price of these online courses are $19.50 and $9.99 respectively.  This is a great value on courses that we all need to take every two years.  

Product, marketing, sales training, continuing education, networking, great food, wine and chocolate.  What more could you ask for in an agent’s insurance seminar?  REGISTER TODAY for this great event.  Space is limited and reservations are streaming in.  We look forward to seeing you on March 11th.

Where does this leave the typical consumer?  Ill served at best.  In the dark with an uncovered insurance risk at worst.  The smart planner will search out the information and broker that can help them but the simple truth remains that most don’t.  They either don’t understand or don’t know the problems that are headed their way. 

There is a confluence between my assertions above.  Many agents and most consumers are unaware of the expanding world of long-term care planning and insurance solutions that now exist.  Traditional long-term care insurance is no longer the only choice.  Brokers that focus on life insurance or annuities can now offer products with the advantage of long-term care coverage.  And traditional long-term care insurance agents may begin losing sales to their more nimble competition if they don’t move their game to a higher level.  The full implementation of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 means that financial and insurance professionals of all stripes are now playing in each other’s sandbox.  Either they will become fluent in how all of the various planning tools fit consumer’s needs or they will begin to lose sales, get sued by disgruntled clients and heirs or both.  Which category do you want to find yourself in?

It is because of this growth of new product types that we at BJFIM/Paradigm are changing our focus from long-term care “insurance” to long-term care “planning”.  Yes, we still make our living by helping you market and sell insurance products that indemnify against the long-term care risk.  But now the solution may include a life or annuity combo, traditional long-term care insurance or all three.  Sales will be won by those agents who can appropriately discuss the long-term care risk, help clients understand that planning for it makes sense and recommending the proper insurance solutions.

So does this mean that you’ll have to learn about new products and techniques that will help you assist your prospects and clients?  Afraid so. I’ve been at it for more than a year and our staff has as well.  And now that the provisions of the Pension Protection Act are fully in play insurance carriers are bringing new products online every month.  1035 Exchange opportunities will abound. Consumers will soon learn that they can use latent cash values in existing life or annuity products to provide themselves with life, retirement and long-term care security.  These folks will represent the low-hanging fruit for the agile agent. The question is, will you be the on the receiving or short end of the exchange process? 

As always our plan is to make it easy for you to succeed in all things involved in long-term care planning.  That’s why on March 11, 2010 we will be hosting a seminar that will help you become a master of this new world.  Join us for Links To Long-Term Care Planning Success, a day complete with product, marketing and sales ideas, continuing education credits and a whole lot more.  You won’t want to miss this opportunity to meet with our entire staff and our friends from Genworth Financial an industry leader in traditional and linked long-term care insurance products and planning.  

Take advantage of our early bird tuition and don’t forget, space is limited. Our meeting in October sold out so you want to reserve your seat today.  Click Here to get a complete program guide and register today!  We look forward to seeing you on March 11.

barry@paradigmins.com

The long-term care sales success “game” will be won by agents who are fluent in long-term care planning as well as those who can juggle multiple types of products. Traditional long-term care insurance agents will want to understand when and where linked products are appropriate.  Brokers who focus on life insurance will need to learn how an ABR for chronic illness can help their clients solve part or all of their long-term care need. Annuity specialists will want to consider how consumers with traditional annuity products may be able to take advantage of the new linked benefit offerings.  The opportunities in long-term care planning have just expanded exponentially; are you ready to multiply your sales? 

Join the Paradigm Insurance Marketing team and Genworth Financial on March 11, 2010 to discover the new universe of long-term care planning techniques and products. No insurance carrier and brokerage general agency are better positioned to help you capitalize on these new opportunities.  Here’s the short list of what you’ll learn:

       Life and long-term care insurance industry insights from Robert Eckhardt, Genworth Financial Senior V.P.                  

       Comprehensive product reviews for traditional and linked long-term care insurance as well as life and annuity products.

       One-hour continuing education session on traditional and linked long-term care insurance underwriting.

       One-hour continuing education session on the long-term care claims process.

       Top producer panel with a focus on opening new cases, presenting and positioning linked and traditional products and closing sales.

       Discounted online continuing education package from Lyte-Speed Learning

       Networking lunch + afternoon wine, cheese and gourmet chocolate tasting

       Discounts for 12-hours of online continuing education training from Lyte-Speed Learning

       Raffle prizes and much more

FOR A COMPLETE PROGRAM & REGISTRATION click on the link.  Take advantage of our early registration tuition.  Also, please note that space is absolutely limited at the Woodland Hills Country Club. I mention this because we had to turn some folks away for our October 2009 seminar and registrations for this event are coming in daily.

Susan, Paul and I thank you for your business and look forward to seeing you on March 11, 2010.

barry@paradigmins.com

I’d like to invite you to join us on October 8, 2009 for our fall broker meeting. We have an all-star line-up of insurance company presenters, product, sales and marketing information and six hours of continuing education, designed to help you discover and master the new world of long-term care planning.

CLICK HERE to download a complete event program and register today.  Space is limited and “early bird” registrants get the advantage of discounted pricing.

We look forward to seeing you soon.

barry@paradigmins.com

As an introductory offer we have arranged a 20% discount on LyteSpeed’s online 8-hour LTC-2004 continuing education course. This is the underlying 8-hour course that you must take in order to sell long-term care insurance in California.  After the discount your cost for the online 8-hour course will only be $19.49!

You will need a promotional code and instructions to receive the discount. Please contact your BJFIM/Paradigm marketer today for the details and make sure you ask them about which of our products are in FIRE SALE mode and why now is the best time to be talking to your clients about long-term care insurance.

barry@paradigmins.com

The tone of the 2009 meeting was a bit more subdued than past years. Clearly government oversight and the media have caused the insurance companies to be more circumspect in their “hospitality”.  I don’t mind this; candidly, I go to these meetings for the information and networking not the food and booze.  There did appear to be fewer carrier marketing representatives in evidence. A number of companies limited attendance. Others have either “reorganized” their staffs, imposed hiring freezes, or both.  Also, my impression was fewer long-term care insurance agents attended this year.  This is too bad because I think it is good for home office employees of all stripes to have regular contact with the field force.

That being said, the conference was great, the topics lively and the information dispensed invaluable.  The clear trend on the traditional long-term care insurance side of the equation is multi-life. We’ve been talking about this for several years, and as I’ve mentioned in past posts, our multi-life sales accounted for more than 50% of 2008 production.  There are also new companies coming into play. Transamerica is back in the game and LifeSecure, a wholly owned subsidiary of Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Michigan (the latter is not yet available inCalifornia – now there’s a surprise!).  We’re pleased to be representing both companies and our marketing representatives are ready to assist you with information and quotes.  Product innovation continues as companies attempt to simplify their products and make them appear more affordable.

As I’ve also been writing (both here and the industry trade pubs) a new era of linked life + LTCi and annuity + LTCi are set to expand consumer choices in long-term care insurance.  If you’d like to read my January and February Broker World articles on this topic, please email me directly at barry@paradigmins.com.  We are set to go with the products that are currently available in the market place.  This includes Genworth’s TLC product and Lincoln Financials’ MoneyGuard, both single premium universal life + LTCi.  Additionally we represent State Life’s Asset Care (single premium whole life + LTCi) and Annuity Care (SPDA + LTCi) as well asNationwide’s Ultimate U.L. (annual premium universal life + LTCi rider).

As to overall industry trends and outlook, traditional sales are down for some, flat for others; the Q1 LIMRA production report is pending.  Much of this has to do with the economy and concerns over carrier financial viability. The long-term outlook, however, is optimistic and candidly the future will be written by those of us who choose to continue marketing and selling this product.  Regardless of challenges ahead, the need for long-term care planning has not disappeared and may very well be greater than ever before. We will continue to innovate and work to help you sell more.  All you need to do is talk to your clients, give them the facts and solution that fits their need.

Before I sign-off for the week I’d like to provide you with some additional information on state guarantee associations and how they may or may not work in relationship to long-term care insurance. I want to assure you that I am not concerned about any of our insurance carriers but I continue to get calls and emails from brokers regarding a few of the carriers that are struggling or that are being “rehabilitated” by their state of domicile.  The American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) has an excellent fact sheet on Insurance Guarantee Associations.  If you have any questions specific to the California Life & Health Insurance Guarantee Association, you may want to contact them directly as they are located in Los Angeles.  As to the specific long-term care insurance company (which we never represented but you keep calling and emailing me about) that is currently under state rehabilitation you may want to check withPennsylvania Department of Insurance on their status.

Next week you can look forward to my comments on what I believe will be the long-term care insurance industry’s next great fire sale and why the best time to be selling traditional long-term care insurance is NOW!

barry@paradigmins.com

Our meeting will feature Andrew Mako, Sr. Vice-President of Prudential Long-Term Care Insurance and Thomas Bacher, Director of Long-Term Care Insurance Risk Management Prudential Long-Term Care Insurance.  Bacher and Mako will brief you on the latest perspectives in long-term care insurance and talk about why this is the time to focus your attention on this hot and growing market.

You?ll learn:

• Why Baby-Boomers want your counsel and advice on long-term care insurance and why and what they will buy.
• Why Prudential and other major insurance companies are committed and going full bore in the long-term care insurance marketplace.
• Why multi-life (worksite) long-term care insurance is no longer a dream but a reality and your shortest distance to making LTCi sales.
• How you can reach the summit of long-term care insurance sales success.

This 4-hour meeting will include:

• Two hours of continuing education for California insurance licensees, CFP?s and CPA?s.
  • Courses filed and pending approval
• Sales training on individual and multi-life long-term care insurance
• Breakfast and validated self-parking.

Go to the Barry J. Fisher Insurance Marketing, Inc. website NOW.  Read and download the full brochure with event details.  Register today using our secured online GoToProsystem or by faxing or mailing us a registration form.  Members of the Health Underwriters will receive a 29% discount!

Do not delay; space is limited to the first 80 registrants.

Attendee Special: For attendees only, I?ve arranged to have Tom Bacher in our office after the meeting from 2:00pm to 4:00pm for one-on-one meetings with agents who have specific clients and client files they would like to discuss.  Email me today for more details,barry@paradigmins.com.

Let BJFIM/Paradigm be your guide to long-term care insurance sales success.  We’ll see you on April 29th!

barry@paradigmins.com

We would also like to thank the Los Angeles Association of Health Underwriters for allowing our meetings to be its first in a series of broker2broker Live Events.  We applaud LAAHU’s efforts to expand its educational offerings and to help its members consider opportunities beyond traditional medical insurance.  This is good for members and their clients.  Special thanks go to Sam Smith and Shauna Benson for their support and assistance in getting these meetings organized particularly within the time restraints that we were working within.

NOW for a major correction; the eagle-eyed Nancy Aita, one of our special friends from Santa Rosa, identified an error in one of my presentation slides yesterday that also extends to my September 10^th Blog posting.  In both I was pointing out how we have implemented an employer-paid core benefit long-term care insurance program for our employees.  I asserted that for about $30 per month, per employee they would receive $73,000 of retirement income protection.  In fact, they are receiving $109,500 of retirement income protection as well as coverage if they have a serious disability prior to retirement ($100 per day for three years ‘ 1,095 days –= $109,500). This program is even better than I thought!   I don’t know how I came-up with only $73,000; sometimes I just get moving too fast for my own good.

Here’s the follow-up; as a result of starting this plan at BJFIM/Paradigm, one of my employees has added compound inflation protection to her policy and has also purchased a similar plan on her husband.  This is exactly how multi-life long-term care insurance programs are supposed to work. The employer makes a down payment to help their employees get started and then they begin taking personal responsibility for their own retirement income protection planning.  Everyone wins.

At the meetings this week I asked for a show of hands to see how many of you had agencies with three or more employees.  About 25% of you raised your hands.  I already know of several agencies that are sending us a census for a multi-life long-term care insurance quote for their company.  Wouldn’t this be a great place for you to start your education to see how affordable and easy multi-life long-term care insurance really is’

Employer sponsored long-term care insurance is where the game has shifted in our industry. Significant underwriting concessions for as few as three lives, premium discounts and plan designs that allow for low-cost base benefits with buy-up opportunities, for the first time, makes selling LTCi easy.  Let BJFIM/Paradigm help you create a valuable product offering for your prospects and clients and tap into this stream of vested renewal commissions.

barry@paradigmins.com