Chris Bor, LUTCF, CLU, ChFC, a loyal NAIFA member since 1998 and Immediate Past President of NAIFA-WA, testified at a hearing of the Washington State Senate Business, Financial Services & Trade Committee on the use of life insurance, annuities, and policy riders in long-term care planning. He gave an overview of a wide variety of LTC planning options and discussed the value of agents and advisors to consumers. Bor also serves as Vice-Chair of NAIFA's National Membership Committee.

Increased awareness of long-term care (LTC) insurance means increased interest in LTC coverage. However, not all clients qualify for a traditional LTC rider.

Along with resolutions and high hopes, the new year also brings many insurance carriers promoting changes to their whole life insurance product portfolios. These revisions are due to adaptations in the IRC Section 7702 regulations. Prolonged low interest rates also continue to factor into product refreshes, revamps and adjustments. It may be overwhelming to sift through the fine print of the new products, but as you begin to evaluate them, keep these top five considerations in mind:

Ah, retirement. The reward at the end of years in the labor force, of saving and investing and planning for financially sound, restful, and even adventure-filled golden years. Millions of Americans enter retirement annually, but increased reliance on Social Security income and Covid-19’s impact on employment, access to social supports, and mental and physical health have altered the retirement experience for retirees across the U.S. With retiree numbers significantly increasing in the last year and predictions of more to come at an accelerated rate, we wanted to know if retirement still lives up to expectations. Are retirees experiencing the retirement they expected, or do they have regrets? 

The recent stock market run (especially in tech stocks) has been amazing. Despite the high unemployment rate, many investors are enjoying that feeling of increased net worth in both their qualified and non-qualified money.

The last several years have seen major changes in LTC Insurance - leading to what can be referred to as LTC 2.0.  LTC 2.0 means that while the pure protection of traditional LTC insurance is still a popular option, there has been an accompanying growth in Hybrid LTC + Life plans - both in number of policies sold and number of carriers offering these plans. 

For Financial Professionals that are savvy enough to have a discussion about the impact of a long-term care event one of the most important topics is whether a client should consider long-term care insurance or should instead "self-insure".

Many clients find that the best way for them to plan for LTC is by purchasing a linked life/ltc plan.  Compared to traditional LTC policies which provide pure long-term care protection (and the most LTC protection per premium dollar) linked Life/LTC trade off some of that leverage to provide guaranteed premiums and a life insurance benefit.

If you have a client who can’t afford their policy – especially if it’s due to health problems – you may want to help them look into a life settlement. Of course, this leaves them without any death benefit protection, which isn’t ideal. But if they either don’t need the coverage or have no financial option but to let it lapse, a settlement may be the ideal solution.

If these past few months have taught us anything, it’s that trend-forecasting is an inexact science. We’ve all known for at least the past two decades that technology would continue to change our world, seamlessly integrating itself into our daily lives until almost everything can be ordered, viewed, or accomplished digitally. But very few of us could have predicted just how much, and how quickly, we would have to adapt to a world where working from home, video-chatting with doctors, and ordering groceries was not only an option but a necessity. It’s changed the way we conduct business – so much so that many industries, like life and health insurance, have been forced to reevaluate their relationship with tech to meet the demand of advisors and clients alike. They’ve begun to realize that technology is not just a trend they must grudgingly dip their toes into but an opportunity to dive in head first for total transformation. Keeping all that in mind, here are the most notable trends that insurance agents should be aware of.