If you've been to the doctor, you've seen this posted somewhere on the wall.  Part of it reminds me that planning and discussing long-term care with clients can be really challenging.

Recent consumer research from carriers like Genworth and Mutual of Omaha shows that the majority of long-term care insurance buyers were the ones who brought the subject up - not the advisor.

Why do people raise the subject ?  It typically is because of an event - taking care of a parent, experience of a friend, an offering of LTC insurance at work, or reading something about Alzheimer s. They realize this is something that could affect them so it becomes a real issue they want to address.

What about those people who don't bring up the topic?  That's right - it is the advisors job to talk - no matter how painful the conversation.

The good news is there are ways to reduce the pain.  One such way is sharing videos like this excellent one from Genworth :

Another way to prime the conversation is to share material from lifehappens.org   They have great material on long-term care planning.

Simply stated, nobody likes to talk about Long-Term Care…but that’s exactly why we need to talk about this issue.  Planning 20 years before something happens is a much better alternative to planning 20 minutes after.

What is your strategy for discussing LTC with clients? Why is it so painful?  Add a comment below or send your thoughts to  steve.cain@ltcipartners and we'll share the best strategies in an upcoming blog post.