Thank you to Kerry Peabody, CLU, CLTC, for his recent article “Long-Term Care Insurance Is Not Dead” that appeared in CLTC Digest, July-September 2019.
While some statistics are showing that traditional LTCI represented only 20% of all sales in 2018, our book of business showed more of a 50/50 split. The reason is that there is no one size fits all when it comes to funding the risk of long term care. For some clients, a traditional policy is definitely the way to go, and for others the hybrid option is the best solution. The traditional LTCI companies learned their lesson when they priced their earlier products with assumptions that were not sustainable. While today’s traditional LTCI products are significantly more expensive than the products of yesteryear, having actuarially sound pricing means that the premiums that are being charged today are far more stable than in any other time in the history of traditional LTCI. In our work with clients, we always offer to present both the traditional and the hybrid option so that our clients can select the most appropriate product that will help them to meet their goals. Kerry’s article provides a very nice summary of the strengths and weaknesses of both funding options.