A couple weeks ago, several people from LTCI Partners attended the LTC Insurance industry's largest conference.  Our team members presented and moderated sessions, in addition to having in-depth discussions/meetings with carriers. The Intercompany LTC Insurance Conference (ILTCI) is co-sponsored by the LTCI Section of the Society of Actuaries & attracts nearly1,000 business professionals from the following:

• Insurance & reinsurance companies
• The long-term care provider community
• Sales professionals & Brokerage General Agencies (BGAs)
• Financial services organizations
• Regulators 
• Consulting firms, including industry analysts
• Associations & other affinity groups

What Did We Learn?

1. The need has never been greater for LTC Insurance solutions. Attendees from government agencies and care providers were clear – they need a healthy private LTC Insurance marketplace and are supportive of efforts to help increase awareness of the need for Americans to plan for extended healthcare.

2. Expect new market entrants. There is real interest in companies entering the Standalone & Multi-life marketplace.  We hope to see new entrants or re-entries in 2016 and 2017.

3. There were numerous discussion about premium stability and carriers are eager to sell new policies.  Just a couple of years ago, we were managing “fire sales” and companies NOT wanting business. Current LTC products are properly priced and insurance companies want to grow their sales. An example of this is John Hancock hiring Scott Williams to lead LTC sales & distribution. 

4. Linked LTC products are now an integral part of the business.  The linked product market has matured and business continues to grow.  Advisors and regulators are more comfortable and understanding  of Linked Products.

5. Avoid using statistics when discussing LTC!  The closing presentation analyzed sales results and concluded that the more statistics you use in presentations the less sales will be made.  Statistics destroy empathy – don’t use them.  Instead, emotional stories of how LTC Insurance helps maintain lifestyles and preserve families work best to get people to take action.  In addition, multi-ple choices also lower sales – make a recommendation on what to do – that’s what consumers are looking for.

Even those skeptical of private LTC Insurance were impressed by the positive vibes of the meeting.   Carriers are working to find the right products at the right price point with the right messaging so that distributors can help their clients plan for care.

Interested in learning about conference?  Powerpoint copies of the presentations can be found here -  http://www.iltciconf.org/presentations.htm.