One of the most difficult parts of selling group long-term care insurance is providing a cost estimate without data from the prospective client. Jeremy Nickels, LTCI Partners, Group Sales Consultant, lays out how to conceptually sell group long-term care insurance.
By Jeremy Nickels
What came first – the chicken or the egg?
First steps to selling long-term care insurance in employer groups
It is the age old question, “what came first-the chicken or the egg?” With group long-term care insurance the question is, “what comes first, the rates or the design?” While more businesses are interested in including long-term care insurance as a benefit, the main concerns will always be cost and underwriting. The only problem is that the cost and underwriting of a long-term care insurance program will vary a great deal depending on factors such as: who is funding, demographics of the group, marital status, height, weight, medical history and much more. Therefore, how do you determine a cost without knowing what the client wants to do and how do you know what the client wants to do without knowing the cost?
Step 1 – Sell the idea of long-term care insurance
The first step to any long-term care insurance sale is to conceptually sell the need. Once the employer is aware of the need and the cost associated with care, they then will want to know if the plan is going to cost five or five hundred dollars per month per person. A good way to address possible plan costs is to go into the meeting with sample/generic rate sheets to show the employer how plan design, marital status, payment term (life or limited pay) can affect the cost. By running though various scenarios you will give the employer a better idea of what a long-term care insurance plan will look like. This will also give you a chance to understand the plan the employer desires to have in order to come up with more specific rates for the next meeting.
Step 2 – Find out the goals of the long-term care insurance plan
Long-term care insurance is no different than any other product; all employers have key decision points which will need to be addressed before they make a purchase. Some questions you will need to have answered by the employer are: Will the program be employer-funded or voluntary? Is there a budget in place? Who will be included in the employer- paid program? Will the employer pay for spouses as well? These questions will give you a base of how to prepare for a group long-term care insurance meeting.
Step 3 – What happens next?
LTCI Partners has created an initial sales presentation to help you conceptually sell group long-term care insurance. The presentation includes information to show your client what a low, medium and high plan design would cost and look like. While it is impossible to say what comes first, the rates or the design, it is possible to sell long-term care insurance without knowing the exact cost. For assistance with your group benefits proposals, please contact us at groupltc@ltcipartners.com.
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