Long Term Care Insurance: Deal or No Deal

In looking back over Long Term Care Insurance Week November 4-11, an event LTC insurers and agents structured to educate the public on issues of Long Term Care Insurance, our company had an inquiry during that period which brought to mind a highly touted television game show program. While medical advances have given Americans prospects of longer lives, those scientific developments have not provided a guarantee on the quality of life. As we age the susceptibility to debilitating illnesses increases, and along with that trend, the demand for assistance is required. A consumer wanting to know the cost of care benefits on a LTC policy contacted us. A sales staff member researched his requested benefits that came out to roughly $100 per month in premium, and explained the features and pricing to him over the phone. The prospective client balked at the expense, so it was explained if he lost certain activities of daily living during the first year of his policy, he would have access to $200k of benefits for a first year cost of $1200 in premium. Percieving the client could be swayed by this rationale of numbers to accept, he was queried to see if he felt a deal being offered. He responded, “no deal!” Though no commitment was made that day on a policy, the circumstance brought to attention the difficulty consumers have in coming to terms with the value of Long Term care coverage.

The sales staff member remarked that he felt for an moment as if he was a game host on that popular television game show which focuses on evaluating financial gain at the risk of loss. The show engages contestants to accept a guaranteed banker’s bid, or go on to higher stakes on the impulse they’ll win though at the threat their prize level maybe lost. In some respects, Long Term Care insurance parallels that program with its emphasis on wealth preservation and risk. You can buy a policy, the equivalent of taking the bid and acknowledging that you have secured a sum of money for your care over time. Or you can chance fate, placing your estate, what you have worked to accumulate over a lifetime, at the risk of going broke due to the high costs of care now and in the future if fraility becomes fate. Contestants on the show have to make a choice for action, and that moment of decision making transfixs viewer attention. In view of this game show analogy, Long Term Care insurance is designed on protecting the risks of becoming ill and a burden to the family, and like each contestant on the show there is a point at which a decision must be rendered “deal,” or “no deal” based on the perception of life's possibilities. In real life people can walk away from confronting this dilemma of deciding, but in doing so they may be jeopardizing their financial legacy and set in motion tragic repercussions for their loved ones. Long Term Care insurance needs to be placed in the spotlight of public attention because the stakes of not doing so can be devastating to the middle class whose assets can be drained by this tragedy. The development of this new outreach program by the insurance community seems a measure in the right direction of making sure we're best informed.

Sound Insurance Advisors, a Colorado Internet Insurance brokerage, helps consumers in the states of Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas evaluate their options for Long Term Care coverage so that they are empowered to make the best decision for themselves. The company only works with highly rated carriers with experience in addressing the needs of its policyholders.