It’s not just about who you know, it’s about how well you know them. The sale of LTC insurance is never an arm’s length transaction. It’s up close and personal.
At a recent pre-enrollment meeting for a large hospital, the human resources director asked the perfect introduction question: “What can we do to make this a successful enrollment?”
My response—as sincere and firm as I could say it—was: “We need to make absolutely sure everyone who works at this hospital understands exactly what it means to not participate in the new benefit offering!” Then I gently explained that LTC insurance is very different from other benefits—it is not just an either/or proposition, nor is it just a question of do I want this or not—which is exactly why a separate, stand-alone enrollment is necessary.
“We have to be able to explain what long term care insurance is and what it is not. We need to be able to clarify that it is not just for the old. We need to be able to illustrate what it means in each employee’s personal life. We need to be able to demonstrate that waiting is bad planning and that inflation is not their friend. Most importantly, we need the opportunity to clearly outline why LTC insurance really is not expensive.
“Every employee must have a chance to understand the true value proposition of LTC insurance in order to make an informed decision to protect themselves and their families—or not.
“We are entering new territory together. Once you offer LTC insurance—especially on a purely voluntary basis—the product in and of itself may generate some fiduciary issues. Specifically, if LTC insurance is offered in the context of an opportunity to protect estate assets, it would not be unusual to assume that heirs might look to see if you did a good job of clarifying the importance of this opportunity to protect their parent’s retirement assets.”
It’s all about access. Producers must have firm guidelines for potential voluntary cases before they start a sale. From my experience, these guidelines need to be engraved in platinum—rigid, fixed and immutable.
Communicating directly with all employees multiple times is an absolute necessity. There must be mandatory employee meetings, and subsequent individual enrollments must take place at work during business hours. Producers must also be allowed to provide a statement for signature when an employee opts out or declines coverage. Every employee must be required to formally turn down discounted premiums and simplified underwriting or, at the very least, confront the reality of their decision by signing and dating a declination form.
If these minimum requirements are not met, respectfully decline to be a part of the sale. Although there are circumstances in which you may bend the rules, the outcome of your flexibility must be predictable.
Success in multi-life and group LTC insurance sales is based on access to the final decision makers. They will decide where in the employee census they are going to draw a line. They may only want coverage for themselves; however, everyone who makes a difference at the company should be included—even if they are provided only a small “core” benefit incentive. And don’t forget to reiterate that LTC insurance coverage of this type requires no FICA tax, Federal Unemployment Tax, or W-2s, plus it is fully deductible for employees and spouses.
All initial conversations about multi-life and group LTC insurance must be primarily about access. Someone wants LTC insurance or at least wants to kick the tires. Wonderful, you should talk about the potential opportunity.
However, before you go too far in the sales process, you need to ask: “What is the marketing plan?” And what you need to know is: What access to employees will you be allowed to have? How many ways can you communicate? Who will personally make the sale, complete the educational campaign and take the applications?
If you do not have access, no one is helped. If you are not going to be allowed to help…walk away.
Access is everything!
Other than that I have no opinion on the subject.
