LTC
Bullet: Special Edition for
LTCi Producers Monday, November 13, 2006 Seattle-- LTC Comment: We're
back from a week on the road and a very good week it was for long-term
care insurance agents and their clients.
More after the ***news.*** *** NOTRE DAME LAW SCHOOL in Indiana was on my
itinerary after the conference in Austin described below. I was on a panel with three law professors who specialize in
aging and long-term care. Later
this week, expect a summary of that event and a transcript of my
remarks. In the meantime,
if you get value from these LTC Bullets, please help us keep them
coming to you and others (such as influence centers like the media and
public officials whom we do not charge).
Center memberships, including subscriptions to the Bullets
and our daily LTC E-Alerts are only $150 per year ($12.50 per
month if you subscribe online with a credit card) for individuals.
Corporate memberships are negotiable.
Please contact Damon today at damon@centerltc.com
or 206-283-7036 to contribute, subscribe, and join our campaign for
rational long-term care public policy. *** *** LTCI PRODUCERS SUMMIT:
To find the Power Point presentations and handouts (free) and to
purchase recordings of the presentations ($20 each) for the event
described below, go to http://www.aaltci.org/subpages/resources/sales_audios/audio06.html.
You'll find inimitable tips from top experts in the field.
Our thanks to program organizer Jesse Slome for making this
material available. *** ***
FREE LTCi FORUM. Do you
sell LTCi? Would you like
to be able to exchange ideas and information with fellow agents and
brokers across the country? Well
now you can. David Latch has created an e-mail based discussion group
where anyone can submit questions, ideas - anything that does not offer
directly or indirectly to "sell to" or recruit people. Here's how it works. You
send an email to the forum email address.
The message is immediately sent out to all other members' email
inboxes. If they reply,
that message is then relayed to all members.
It's quick, easy and effortless.
To sign up, send an email to ltcforum@ltcmd.com
and ask to be added to the group. Once
your email address is loaded, messages will be sent directly to your
inbox. If you want to send
out a topic for discussion, send your message to ltcforum@ltcmd.com.
To reply to a message you receive, just hit your
"Reply" button. If
you have any questions, send them to ltcforum@ltcmd.com
care of David Latch - CLTC, LTCP. *** LTC BULLET: SPECIAL
EDITION FOR LTCI PRODUCERS LTC Comment: The
AMG's who sell long-term care insurance don't have an easy life.
It does take an Altruistic Masochistic Genius to sell a product
the government's been giving away for over 40 years.
Their main competition is ethically challenged lawyers who sell
free long-term care after the insurable event occurs by impoverishing
affluent clients (who should have bought insurance) in order to qualify
them for public welfare. How
do you compete with that? Yes, the life of a long-term care insurance
producer is a constant challenge. But
once in awhile, the stars align for these underpaid, under-appreciated,
highly professional facilitators of responsible LTC planning.
That's what happened in Austin, Texas last week. The "2006 LTCi Producers Summit,"
sponsored by the American Association of Long-Term Care Insurance (AALTCI)
and Jesse Slome's LTCi Sales Strategies magazine was a huge hit
with attendees. The highlight of the show were the several
presentations by "top producers" who talked about their sales
secrets and best practices. Awards
and acclamation were given to the top 10 LTC producers in the country. What always amazes me about the LTCi agents who produce the
most sales is how consistent their advice is.
In a nutshell: "Work
hard and stick to the basics."
Nevertheless, the "tricks of the trade" they imparted
held the audience spellbound. The "National Long-Term Care Week,"
promoted by AALTCI and other national long-term care associations,
kicked off at the Austin conference with a proclamation by Texas
Governor Rick Perry. (Future
"LTC Weeks" will be scheduled not to coincide with future
"LTC Summits" so producers can attend the educational and
motivational meeting but still focus on promoting the importance of
long-term care planning in their local markets during "National
Long-Term Care Week.") "Long-Term Care Insurance is Good for
America" posters were everywhere at the Austin Summit.
What a simple concept! It
would not require special emphasis except for the unfair criticism
levied against private LTCi and the relative free pass public financing
of LTC receives from the media. What
if Medicaid and Medicare, with their gigantic unfunded liabilities and
terrible problems of access, quality, reimbursement, discrimination and
institutional bias, received the same scrutiny from the media as private
insurance? Presentations and announcements about the
government's "Own Your Future" LTC education campaign helped
attendees imagine a better future for themselves and the LTCi market. As one previously jaded presenter said: "The old saying 'I'm from the government and I'm here to
help you' is actually true this time." Several talks focused on the Long-Term Care
Partnership program, recently released from OBRA '93-induced dormancy to
national expansion potential. Everyone
has high hopes that the Partnerships will raise LTCi consciousness (and
sales). Yours truly presented on the tremendous potential
of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 to preserve Medicaid as a safety
net for the poor by vastly expanding the financing of LTC by private
insurance and home equity conversion. All in all, the three-day "LTCi Producers
Summit" was a big success. Feedback
was better than ever before. Attendees
left with many more ideas and recharged with enthusiasm for their job to
protect Americans from the risk and cost of long-term care. Congratulations to Jesse Slome and his staff for a job well
done. If you missed the 2006 version of this event, make it a point to sign up for the 2007 National Producers Summit. Details when available. Don't miss it! |