Understanding Long Term Care Policy Design
How are Insurance Companies Rated?
A Look inside Group Policies
Buying from a Long-Term Care Specialist versus a Financial Planner
Is it Better to buy LTC insurance from a Local Agent?
Can I buy Long-Term Care "Direct" and save money?
What happens if I have to make a claim
Buying from a LTC Specialist vs. a Financial Planner
Should you buy LTC Insurance from your Financial Planner or Stock Broker?
Whenever I visit my Physician, he has the wisdom to recognize he is a general practitioner and refers me to a specialist if needed. Likewise, many Financial Planners are generalists when it comes to specific knowledge regarding long term care industry issues. Financial Planners and Stock Brokers generally focus their energy on overall financial strategies, where to invest, what and how much. Therefore, like your physician, these non-LTC specialists typically refer their clients to a specialist in this field.
LTC Expertise requires effort and focus.
There is quite a bit of effort required to become knowledgeable to the point of being able to represent a clients best interests regarding the many complexities and changing landscape of products and services in long term care insurance.
Company obligation or Clients’ best interest?
Similarly, Stock Brokers are typically obligated to the financial institution that they work for. While they may recommend a policy for you, it is often the case that their employer may carry one or two policies at the most, and that’s what you will be offered. They very likely cannot offer you a true, impartial perspective among all the major vendors.
We recommend that you use professionals to do what they do best.
A financial or insurance advisor can identify the need, though aren’t experts in the solution. We are! We achieved this by being 100% focused on long-term care insurance for over 15 years, and do not try to advise about Stocks, Bonds, Annuities or even Life Insurance or General Health Insurance matters.
Each industry has its own ‘Code Words’.
We want to better equip you when you hear the following phrases from your non-LTC Specialist:
• Code Phrase: "I’ll research this for you and get back with you"
• Translation: "I have absolutely no idea about LTC Insurance". (He or she will likely call the agency through which he/she is appointed with for long term care and ask them to suggest a solution).
• Code Phrase: "It’s important to have all your insurances with the same company (“under our roof”), that way it is much easier to coordinate everything".
• Translation: "This is the company I carry and this is the one everyone gets".
• Code Phrase: "All these plans are basically the same". (It is equally true to say that all automobiles are basically the same. Yugo; Mercedes; what’s the difference?
• Translation: "This isn’t my area of expertise. I don’t have the time to figure out all these different companies and what they offer".
These were meant to be humorous, but the truth is, you need to work with a true specialist in this area. You are likely going to own the insurance plan for a long time. Make sure it is the best one available to you.
