 LTC Bullet: LTCI Education Friday, February 17, 2023 Seattle— LTC Comment: CLTC exemplifies certified excellence in LTC education. More on what that means after the ***news.*** *** 2022 LTCI PAID CLAIMS: Jesse Slome, Director, American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance reports “Long-term care insurance companies paid out a record $13.25 billion in 2022. Claim benefit payouts for policyholders with traditional long-term care insurance coverage grew from $12.3 billion in 2021. The increase in benefit payouts is expected as policyholders age and start to require care. For calendar year 2018 the Association reported that long-term care insurers paid out $10.3 billion. Link to the reported info here. *** *** CLTC, the subject of today’s Guest LTC Bullet is sponsoring some special programs. One, titled “The Rise of LTC-Annuities: What’s New? Why Now? What Lies Ahead?, is scheduled for February 22, 2023 (Wednesday) at 2:00 P.M. EST. Another, called the CLTC Product Insider class will be offered March 12 at the ILTCI conference in Denver. Check out these programs here. *** *** THE 2023 ILTCI CONFERENCE is less
than a month away. Check out the Denver March 12-15 program
here. Register
here. The 2023 ILTCI Mobile App, sponsored by Nationwide, is already
available to registrants. Themed “Take the Lead,” the conference will
convene at the Sheraton
Downtown Denver. Comedian lawyer (evidently not an oxymoron)
Jeff Kreisler, is slated to keynote the program. Organizers say “Last
year’s conference was a huge success! Over 750 attendees from across the
US attended. We look forward to bringing you another amazing conference in
2023.” For a history of this and other LTC insurance conferences over the
years, check out our
History of LTC Insurance Conferences (2021). You’ll find
summaries of each conference and many pictures of much younger LTCI
luminaries, who are older and wiser now. Don’t miss this opportunity to
get the latest industry news, scuttlebutt and networking. *** LTC BULLET: LTCI EDUCATION LTC Comment: The Certification for Long-Term Care company and training have been around for a long time. They are highly regarded and deeply appreciated by people who care about LTC insurance excellence. That includes myself and the Center for Long-Term Care Reform, which is proud to have CLTC as a corporate member. Our appreciation for CLTC got an extra boost when I saw the latest issue of their CLTC Digest. It contains serious articles by thoughtful experts bearing on issues of concern to anyone serious about improving the delivery and financing of long-term care. In fact, the Digest’s “new year and fresh look” spurred me to email this to CLTC’s Executive Director Amber Pate: “I’m so impressed with CLTC’s program and development, especially the CLTC Digest. The industry has had nothing like that since George Sherman published LTC News & Comment in the 1990s.” Old timers like me remember how that monthly newsletter kept us all at the forefront of LTCI news and analysis at a time when anything and everything still seemed possible, in fact more than likely, to happen. If the CLTC Digest can help rekindle that sense of mission and hope, it will be a valuable part of our common objective, to improve long-term care for all Americans. So I added “I’d very much like to publish a guest LTC Bullet about CLTC and the Digest.” Steve Moses LTC Comment: Now here’s today’s Guest Bullet column by CLTC’s Director of Education. The Value of Education in the
Long-Term Care Insurance Industry The impact of an unexpected need for extended care has serious, if not irreversible consequences for families and for their ability to keep future financial commitments. Long-term care planning is a critical component of risk management and retirement planning and is considered the most overlooked aspect of insurance and financial planning in our country. A long-term care event and associated expenses pose the greatest threat to an aging client’s financial security. Long-term care insurance is a complex product. Long term care planning is a complex process. Back in 1997 elder law attorney Harley Gordon, Esq. created the Certification for Long-Term Care (CLTC®) because he believed long-term care planning was an essential component of comprehensive financial, retirement and estate planning. He also did not support the common practice of educating a client about the risk of needing care for the purpose of purchasing an insurance product. Such tactics serve only to create an adversarial environment because most people believe that the worst will happen to someone else. Attempting to convince the client otherwise will only provoke an argument that leads to frustration for the advisor and the client. As a result, Harley developed a program built on the concept of “consultative engagement.” Its goal is to educate a client about the consequences, emotionally, physically and financially, to those he or she loves, if an unexpected extended care event happens. When it is done correctly, the individual is persuaded to decide to plan for such an event, and to fund it. The 16-hour CLTC Master Class is the hallmark of Harley’s vision and awards the CLTC designation to those who pass the 100-question exam. Over the past 26 years, tens of thousands of planning professionals have completed this training, and carry the CLTC (Certified in Long-Term Care) designation. CLTC has many industry thought leaders among its alumni. Becoming a CLTC graduate grants instant access to this elite group of long-term care planning specialists. It also provides objective credibility for the advisor about his or her intent, commitment, and skills in extended care planning. With the advance of technology and the changing work environment, advisors have a choice of how they complete the Master Class today. There is the traditional live classroom option, or a student can join a virtual classroom, or pursue a self-study program via eCLTC. CLTC leaders recognize the need to adapt and continually increase the value of CLTC because much has changed since 1997. New training programs have been introduced including a shortened, 4-hour continuing-education-approved “Foundations” class developed for advisors who want to know the basics, but don’t wish to specialize. Most recently, a new “Product Insider” class was developed to answer the ever present questions about LTC insurance products. There are many ways to fund an extended care plan today, and this new class provides in depth and impartial training on the features, client applicability, pros and cons of each. CLTC recognizes that education extends well beyond the class room. Therefore, it provides tools and “news” members can use to advance their knowledge and practice. Industry experts join our monthly webinars and contribute to our quarterly CLTC Digest. Monthly newsletters give quick updates on CLTC and industry happenings. A variety of planning and education tools are developed, updated and shared regularly, some targeted for use with a client, and others for advisors only. All materials are impartial, carrying only the CLTC logo. While it is true that all of the leading insurance carriers and distributors endorse CLTC, it is not aligned with any one organization. CLTC’s mission is to educate financial, legal, accounting and other professionals about the need to discuss proactively with their clients the consequences of not having a plan will have on them and their families during retirement. As a former First Lady said, “There are only four types of people in the world: those who have been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers, and those who will need caregivers.” Celeste Cobb is CLTC’s Director of Education. Reach her at celeste@ltc-cltc.com or 203-770-2438. |