LONG TERM CARE INSURANCE (LTC) – REDUCE THE FRUSTRATION

I regularly hear that it is difficult to obtain Long Term Care Insurance; actually, I hear this about all forms of Living Benefits. In fact, it is not that difficult to obtain, the process is just different. Our industry has done a pathetic job in training advisors on how to qualify their clients. Many clients who encounter difficulty qualifying for Life Insurance may actually be able to qualify for Long Term Care insurance. I was once asked by an insurance advisor who had had both cancer and a heart attack if he could qualify for Long Term Care Insurance. Subject to certain conditions, the answer was yes. The best advice that I can give, as either a client or a financial advisor, is to use the insurance company’s Pre-screening guide. I will even take it one step further and say that regardless of the product you are going to present, use the Pre-screening guide prepared by Desjardins Financial Security. Their guide is clear, simple, and complete. Of course, it is developed with Desjardins’ underwriting philosophy in mind, but it will give you a reasonable idea of what the other carriers may do.

I know it may seem obvious, however too many advisors seem to ignore the next point. If your client is already having trouble performing any of the following: Bathing, Dressing, Moving in/out of a bed or a chair, Toileting or bowel/bladder control, Eating, Taking Medications, Walking In/Outdoors, Using a Telephone, Managing Finances, Performing Housework, Doing the Laundry, Transportation, Shopping, or Meal Preparation he/she is uninsurable, and most likely eligible for benefits or very close to that point.

Equally, if your client requires a Walker, a Wheelchair, Oxygen, Dialysis, a Respirator, a Hospital Bed, a Quad Cane (4-pronged cane), or a Motorized Cart do not apply for LTC

Moving away from the obvious, the next points to consider are medication and height and weight. Verify which medications your client uses, both prescription and non-prescription, and compare them to the list in the guide. As far as height and weight are concerned, the tables are fairly liberal; however, if your client falls outside of these criteria, he/she will not qualify.

I will just give 3 examples:

• If you are 5’6”, you must weigh AT LEAST 102 pounds and NO MORE than 229 pounds.
• At 5’9”, the minimum is 111 pounds and the maximum is 246 pounds.
• At 6’, the minimum is 120 pounds and the maximum is 268 pounds.

Finally, carefully take your client through the list of medical conditions in the guide. These thirty minutes that you spend will significantly reduce the frustration for you and for your client.  Frankly, this last sentence expresses all you really need to do: “Invest a little bit of your time learning about these products and both you AND YOUR CLIENT will reap tremendous rewards.”

Click these for more information on the respective topics :
Long Term Care Insurance
Disability Insurance
Critical Illness Insurance
Life Insurance
Mortgage Insurance