Don Levin, JD, MPA, CLF, CSA, LTCP, CLTC

I was at the park the other day with a couple of my grandchildren and marveled that kids today still enjoy flying a kite. I no sooner had that thought and found myself recalling images of my own kite-flying as a child, when a couple of kids entered the park with their sleek and shiny kids drone. As I watched these two flying machines compete for the airspace above the park, it sparked the thought that there are some great parallels to our own long term care industry.

When some of us joined the long term care industry twenty years ago, it truly was a much simpler business model. We had one carrier, often only one product (unless we counted individual plans, shared plans and facility-only plans as our quiver full of arrows) and, like the kite, it was easier to launch ourselves off the ground and into the business. Sure there were nuances attached to the riders and features and benefits to be learned, but all in all it was a far simpler business. We were tethered to this carrier like the string with which we controlled the kite. The height and direction of the kite was largely dictated by the length of the string and the way we pulled on it to create resistance. The height to which the kite could soar was also limited by the length of the string on our roller.

Just as kites come in different configurations, so to do our agents. I never could understand why a box kite flew better than a standard polygon kite. I am certain that there is a valid scientific explanation for this phenomenon but as a kid I did not care, nor did I need to know why I could send the kite soaring. Much like the makers of these kites, the compliance and product departments of the carriers kept our agents tethered to the products with definable limits and parameters.

Over the years captive agents needed the carriers, and provided leads, to thrive in this business much in the same manner that kites need to be tethered to fly at least until a strong wind will send it soaring like referrals, centers of influence, and strategic alliances will send an agents business ever-soaring to new heights.

Looking back on some hot windless summer days, I now recall that it was sometimes impossible to launch that kite no matter how hard we tried. So too with our formerly captive agents who would often voice the complaint that they were unemployed if there was a scarcity of leads. Fortunately, that is no longer the case, and agents now have the power to create their own leads through efforts in marketing, networking, and prospecting.

Sadly, kites are becoming more pass and, younger and younger, the kids want to fly a drone. My seven-year-old grandson received one for Christmas last year, and I know that his dad had a great time testing it out before tendering control of the remote over to my grandson.

We are a smaller industry today in terms of carriers and agents on the street, and captive forces are nearly non-existent. The skies are filling with drones that can only be flown by older kids and adults. Having tried my hand at flying a drone on a few occasions, I would liken it to flying a helicopter in that your hands and feet must be able to do different things simultaneously. Those that are interested in trying it themselves may want to check out websites like https://www.drdrone.ca/ for specifics on what they can buy. The advent of hybrid and combo products, short-term recovery care, critical care policies, as well as myriad other related products may explain why there are very few new people coming into this business.

Drones are far more complicated and sophisticated than kites, and the industry has necessitated the need to change from a captive agent force industry to a broker force industry. Drones have multiple blades that help keep it up in the air as well as controlling the direction in which it flies. The blades could be compared to the important components of being a broker: Knowledge of the products, knowledge of the processes, ability to market yourself and your business, as well as knowing yourself and how you fit into this business.

Drones dont have to be tethered to fly, are free to fly wherever they are told and dont rely on the winds to keep them airborne. Like the drone, brokers can offer multiple products from multiple carriers and therefore only need access to good products to fly. Unlike the kite, drones do need an internal power supply as well as the ability to be remotely controlled.

As a broker you are the one holding the remote control and it is therefore incumbent upon you to know how to use the remote and how to fly to avoid crashing and burning. Brokers can find their own opportunities in the industry and change directions as they deem appropriate. Brokers have far more control of their business and are not reliant on carriers for leads.

The greatest threat other than physical obstacles is the possibility of flying out of range of the remote signal. When this happens, it is possible that the broker will lose his or her way. For this reason, it is important to always be learning and growing and remaining at the forefront of the industry as new products become available. Like the threat of flying out of range, brokers are challenged with their focus being too divided because of the growing number of distractions in the industry.

Lets Go Fly a Kite is a song from Walt Disneys film Mary Poppins, another fond memory of childhood that I am attempting to share with yet another generation. The song was composed by the songwriting brother duo of Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman. The song is heard at the end of the film when George Banks (played by David Tomlinson), realizes that his family is more important than his job. He mends his sons kite and takes his family on a kite-flying outing in the park. The song is sung by Tomlinson, Dick Van Dyke, and eventually the entire chorus while Mary Poppins makes her exit from the Banks household.

In the same vein, it is important for us to remember that the needs of the client must always come first, and, if we are true to this paradigm, that we will know the sweet taste of success.

Note: Jeff Levin, MBA, CLTC, also contributed to this article.

Like the ocean waves, our business, long term care insurance, is about repetition. It is about calling, seeing, and helping people. Whether it is knee-to-knee or virtually via the web and telephone, as Don Corleone once uttered, This is the business we have chosen for ourselves. It is about marketing, networking, follow-up, learning new products, as well mastering sales techniques through constant practice, practice, practice. This is not merely a philosophy; it is what makes this our business. This job can prove to be difficult sometimes as obstacles such as language barriers arise when talking to clients overseas. Luckily for us, there are companies such as the UK Language Project that are available to us, so that we can learn to converse with the many different countries.

Despite LIMRA reports of declining sales associated with the traditional long term care industry, the need for these products continues to grow as 79 million Baby Boomers continue to turn 65 at the rate of 10,000 per day and are now old enough to be thinking in terms of Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs). The 84 million Gen-Xers right on their heels present an even larger challenge to Society as their anticipated greater longevity coupled with constant advances in medical treatment will prolong life and retirement. With fewer children, now scattered across the country as professional opportunities take them away from the nuclear family, and more women in the workforce, we simply are not the Waltons any longer and family is not the go-to default solution for private long term care.

Over the years I have had the dubious distinction of living through a couple of tornados, some minor earthquakes, and even a hurricane. These experiences have led me to become a little more vigilant, I even closely monitor weather patterns in various parts of the world using precise weather monitoring equipment such as you’re able to find if you click here, for example. These acts of Nature that bring gale-force winds and excessive amounts of rain are absolutely terrifying and completely beyond our control. I used to think that being bed-ridden like any one of my four grandparents (for whom I was a caregiver) was the ultimate definition of helplessness. I would expand the definition to include sitting on the floor next to a toilet, or in a bathtub, with towels covering the mirrors, hoping that the wind was not going to uproot our house and drop it into the middle of Oz.

I can speak from first-hand experience that, when a tornado is literally ripping through buildings on either side of you, it does sound like a freight train and fills your heart with fear that you are going to be dragged along like a ragdoll into the next county. Equally, when the hurricane rips the trees in the vacant lots surrounding your home out by their roots, the tearing and snapping sounds are equally terrifying and beyond any remedial actions on our partwith the only relief available being the heavy thump that announces that the tree has landed safely on the ground and not through the roof, wall, or window. Although, some people do experience trees falling onto their roof in more extreme tornadoes, causing a lot of damage. The whole experience can be very frightening, but it’s important that you contact your home insurance and a roof repair austin company, or a roofing contractor located closer to your home, as quickly as you can after the event. They can help you replace or repair your roof as soon as possible to prevent any further damage to your home from water leaks for example.

There is typically an eye within the storm cell that is a region of calmer weather usually found at the center of strong tropical cyclones. It can provide those suffering from Natures onslaught with a respite but also a false and often dangerous sense of security that conditions are improving.

Like several other countries, the United States is in the eye of the storm.

In Japan the population continues to age, and in 1997 the number of elderly people surpassed the number of children. Seven years later the sales of adult diapers surpassed diapers for babies. In China, the infamous one-child pogrom has caused a backlash of a dramatically shrinking population with a rapidly shrinking workforce, fewer caregivers available for an aging population, and greater dependence on the government for this long term care.

Japan is purported to have the highest proportion of elderly citizens. In 2014, estimates placed one-third of the Japanese population over the age of 60; those aged 65 and older make up a quarter of its total population with half of that number already exceeding age 75!

The number of Japanese people with ages 65 years or older nearly quadrupled in the last forty years, to 33 million in 2014, accounting for 26 percent of Japans population. In the same period, the number of children (aged 14 and younger) decreased from 24.3 percent of the population in 1975 to 12.8 percent in 2014. This change in the demographic makeup of Japanese society has taken place in a shorter span of time than in any other country.

Elderly Japanese have traditionally commended themselves to the care of their adult children, and government policies still encourage the creation of three-generation households where a married couple cares for both children and parents. In 2015, nearly 200,000 people between the ages of 15 and 29 were caring directly for an older family member. However, the migration of young people into Japans major cities, the entrance of women into the workforce, and the increasing cost of care for both young and old dependents have required new solutionsincluding nursing homes, adult daycare centers, and home health programs. Every year Japan closes 400 primary and secondary schools, converting some of them to care centers for the elderly, making it easier for family members to use a “my senior care finder” application to help find the perfect facility for their loved one.

As in this country, many nursing homes in Japan are understaffed and the demand for more caregivers is high. In Japan family caregivers are preferred as the main caregiver, and the consensus is that if an elderly person can perform ADLs with little assistance, they will in turn live longer if his/her caregiver is a family caregiver. Unfortunately many elderly people live alone and isolated, and every year thousands of deaths go unnoticed for days or even weeks in a modern phenomenon known as solitary death.

China today boasts roughly five workers for every retiree. By 2040, this ratio will have collapsed to about 1.6 to one. From the start of this century to its midway point, the median age in China will go from under 30 to about 46, making China one of the older societies in the world. At the same time the number of Chinese older than 65 is expected to rise from roughly 100 million in 2005 to more than 329 million in 2050more than the combined populations of Germany, Japan, France and Britain.

Traditionally, most Chinese children care for their parents through old age, as demonstrated in the Chinese phrase, Yang er fang lao, meaning, Raise children to provide for old age. Consequently, only a small portion of government resources are directed toward elderly care. According to Chinas Bureau of Statistics, in 2015 there were on average only 27 beds at nursing homes for every 1,000 elderly people in China. Contrast this with 39 beds per 1,000 elderly in the United States and 53 such beds in Germany for their aging citizens. As there are fewer children now to take care of their parents, China will need to reevaluate its policies. As Chinas population continues to age, China will need to provide additional resources to meet the needs of the elderly and perhaps transforming societal norms in the process. This is one reason that China Oceanwide is pursuing the purchase of Genworth Financial so as to export long term care insurance to China.

While in better shape than Japan and China, and several of our European allies, we too are currently in the eye of the long term care storm in this country. As long term care insurance professionals we are the ones issuing the hurricane warnings. We know the storm is coming and that the Government is not the solution.

The difference with the warnings that we issue is that those hearing the warnings do not have the option of evacuation to a safer venue. They must face the reality that their only choice is to take all the necessary steps that will allow them to hunker down and ride out the storm that, when it arrives, never leaves and only ends with death. Long term care insurance allows them to board up the windows and gather necessary provisions, rather than to continue to just sit unprotected out on the porch subject to the wind and rain that will devastate their lives.

In everything that I read, more people are aware of the issue, more people know that they need to do something, and more people are experiencing being a caregiver or care manager. More people are being told by their financial advisor that this is something they should be looking into. More financial advisors are recommending it. The key is to be talking to more people and allowing yourself the opportunity to help these people.

For years now, the news has been filled with graphic images of what a hurricane can do to devastate a region. Names like Katrina and Harvey elicit visceral emotions to those who lived through the devastation in New Orleans and Houston. Some attempted to prepare for the oncoming storm but it was too little, too late. For others, merely contemplating the overwhelming nature of these storms was too much to handle and resulted in no action, or blind faith that they could ride it out. They were wrong.

The people we sit with to discuss long term care may initially be ignorant like those who ignore the weather forecasts or evacuation warnings. Ignorance is the lack of knowledge. Once we educate them, they are no longer ignorant. They may be in a state of denial, but they have received the gale warning. They simply need to buy in or buy out. In most cases, needing to think about it is a smoke screen that disguises denial.

In order to pierce these clouds, we must keep the conversation all about them. We accomplish this by asking them open ended questions that address how they are going to feel emotionally, financially, and physically in the event they are overwhelmed by the long term care storm, and what the resulting devastation in the aftermath of the storm will mean to them and their families.

We know the hurricane is coming. We know that three of every four of us are going to feel the impact of these winds. It is our job to help the general public prepare for it. Remote selling gives us the ability to be more effective and efficient and to reach more people.

We all make emotional decisions. We then use logic to validate it. If we want something bad enough, our brain is going to find a way for us to have it because the brain is a goal seeking mechanism. Everybody has a different hot button. Everybody has a different set of fears or motivators. We need to ask questions and, once we have struck gold, we need to mine that vein for all that it is worth.

So how do we make sure that our warning has been effective and that the person with whom we are sharing the imminent danger truly understands the ancillary risk? We must identify the problem, help them feel it and personalize it, and then build enough rapport and trust that they allow us to help them create a viable solution and the accompanying value associated with having a policy in place. It is all about being consistent in everything we dofor like the ocean, our business is about timeless repetition.

For all those reading this, I hope that you feel the power that you have in your control to change the course of countless lives. In my final military assignment prior to retirement, I had the privilege to work on a joint services team comprised of Army, Air Force, and Navy personnel. One of my Navy counterparts taught me the phrase Fair winds and following seas as a means by which to wish the best to others who may be retiring or moving on to other assignments. I have since learned that sailors use this term synonymously with the points of sail below a beam reach, since the wind direction is generally the same as the sea direction. Therefore, the phrase Fair winds and following seas implies that a vessel will have good winds, calm seas, and not have to pound into the waves.

The protection afforded by a long term care policy will go a long way in providing the fair winds and following seas that we all seek in the twilight years of our lives and prevent us from being lost in the storm.

As I contemplate the often tumultuous and topsy-turvy long term care industry of 2018, I am reminded of how much it remains unchanged from the industry that I entered nearly twenty years ago. Certainly the human elements of need, denial, and peace of mind are still very much in evidence, with the most dramatic changes relating to the wider range of products available for offer, the now electronic and virtual submission and delivery systems offered by the carriers, and the need to market ourselves via social media as opposed to direct mail.

Another thing that has not changed is the necessity for us to remain in congruence and to harbor strong beliefs about our profession. Success truly begins within ourselves and the paradigms with which we operate each and every day. As I have long maintained, “Ninety percent of this business is attitude, the other half is activity.” In other words, we are what we believe. This premise is best illustrated by a Cherokee parable:

One evening, an elderly Cherokee brave told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside of all people.

He said, “My son, the battle is between two ‘wolves’ inside us all. One is evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. 

The other is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf wins?”

The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one that you feed.”

I have heard and read variations of this story countless times over the years. Heck, you can even find it on Pinterest and other social media sites. It is just one of these stories that stays with you like oatmeal on your ribs on a cold winter morning. The last line of the story is short but poignant, and places the responsibility for our successes and our destiny squarely on our own shoulders. 

So what does this story have to do with sales producers of long term care insurance? Everything.  Every day, as we rise out of bed, we have to make the decision as to which wolf we are going to feed. Are we going to hit the street with the proper beliefs, client-centric attitudes, and desire to serve our clients by educating them, overcoming denial, establishing need, and truly serving the client as their advocate? Or, are we going to succumb to the negative angst associated with being part of a “dying” industry permeated with rampant rate increases, tougher underwriting standards, negative press, and in some cases greater skepticism on the part of potential clients? Our success is largely dependent upon which wolf we are going to feed that day!  

You may be sitting there and saying that you understand, and that this message makes sense. Truth be told however, you may not necessarily be taking the wisdom of the story to heart. Clearly, the first perspective’s focus is the one that allows both you and the client to win, but it is still a battle that you have to wage each day. I dare say that there are days that we all let the evil or bad wolf win because that’s what we are feeding with our thoughts, energy, and outlook. It is easy to get discouraged, frustrated, if not out and out angry when declines are piling up, clients are not remitting premiums or signing necessary documents, or doctors are sitting on requests for records prompting applications to time out.  The key is to not get mired down in that muck and to remember that ours is a noble profession. That it is up to us to provide the peace of mind that our clients are seeking, by making sure that the all-important LTCI policy is in place when they do reach for it on that fateful day when their life changes forever.

Sadly, the bad wolf never looks the same when it either abruptly or stealthily appears. Sometimes it’s when we are feeling like  our work simply does not matter or that the entire population is stacked against us because they are either unhealthy or simply don’t have the financial means necessary to buy the very policy that could be a life preserver for both themselves and their family. Sometimes it isn’t even directly work related, and that evil wolf can appear because of something that has happened with one of our children or other family members and we simply get distracted and allow self-doubt to overwhelm us and to win the battle that given day. 

I was 48 years old when I finally figured out that fully 95 percent of what I worried about never came to pass. When I considered the sheer amount of lost time, energy, and (graying) hair, I resolved that I was going to take my already “the glass is half-full” attitude and make it even stronger. The result: Liberation and a much smaller need for antacids and fewer appearances by the evil wolf.

The attitude of both wolves that battle within us can be summed up as a constant visualization of their respective positive or negative success. This success is largely based on the perseverance exhibited in the life of an individual wolf as well as the pack of which it is a part. The same can be said for humans in general and long term care advocates particularly. It’s all about feeding the wolf you want to win in the end. 

Only you can decide which wolf you are going to feed. I would encourage you to remain focused on the positives in life. There are so many blessings and great abundance in each of our lives if we but take the time to reflect on them and adopt a genuine and consistent attitude of gratitude. The evil wolf only wins when we feed it and allow it to cloud our vision. Embrace the good wolf, and find the success that you have been seeking.

Once upon a time, there was a fairy princess who lived in a very large and beautiful castle that her loving and devoted father, the King, had constructed for her and his large extended family. The King had engaged only the most talented artisans and spent countless dollars decorating the castle in his daughter’s favorite colors, with the world’s greatest silks and tapestries and golden opulence last seen in Versailles, and with every intention that the castle with its large and tall walls would keep his daughter safe in the face of all the evil forces that Nature and his enemies could muster against his family.

The King had brought to the Royal Court only the very best financial planners and wealth managers to help build the portfolio that would constitute the foundation of the financial castle for the benefit of his daughter and the rest of his family in perpetuity; for the King had a vision of living to be a very old man and then leaving a grand legacy that would be remembered for generations to come.

The Royal Attorney partnered with the Royal Excavator and helped construct the moat around the castle by preparing a comprehensive estate plan that consisted of an elaborate system of trusts, pour over wills, powers of attorney, and other “legal” documentation that seemingly helped make the castle impenetrable. Unfortunately, while the Royal Attorney was focusing on the height of the parapets and the width and depth of the moat being dug around the castle, there was still one unforeseen enemy: Long term care. For no matter how comprehensive the plan, no matter how deep and how wide and alligator-filled the moat, the problem is that local ordinances and decrees from the Royal Land Office and Royal Treasury made it impossible for the Royal Excavator to fully encircle the castle—even for the King. The very limitation that prohibited the moat from reaching completely around the castle was a series of little known laws, and had been the downfall of many of the large landowners in the kingdom.  

Fortunately, the King was a good leader, and had a sage advisor in the Lord Chancellor. The Lord Chancellor in his wisdom advised the King that there were several options with which to complete the moat to fully encircle the castle. The King, being a fiscal conservative, naturally wanted to hear about these options in terms of asset protection. 

The Lord Chancellor carefully began his lesson by advising his king that most people have four options when they contemplate their future long term care needs, and that a combination of these options is often the means by which many people, from the middle class to those of extreme wealth, can plan in advance for long term care to protect their assets, and maintain their independence and dignity, while also creating peace of mind. 

When the King asked why there was such an emphasis on this form of protection, his counselor again patiently explained that while the reasons varied greatly, it was common for these people to engage in this form of asset protection planning so that they don’t burden family and friends emotionally, physically and financially. Whereas in days of yore it was common for the plan to consist of a default to family as the plan for caregiving, this was no longer the case. In the past, an unpaid family member was tasked to provide care for a loved one in the home, but practicality and reality no longer make this option viable. “Better to make the family part of the plan, rather than the plan,” said the Lord Chancellor. “But why?” asked the King.  Again, the Lord Chancellor explained that the former plan was not as reliable as in years past because of fewer children in the family, the scattered nature of the family, and more women in the workforce. “We are simply not the Waltons any longer, Sire.” Coupled with the diminished income and opportunity for caregivers who are still fully employed, this quickly becomes an untenable plan. 

“Are there other considerations I should be weighing?” asked the King.

“There are always the issues of independence, decision-making, and of course the decided lack of dignity of having a child take his or her parent to the Royal Loo,” said the Chancellor quietly as he watched the King grimace. 

“Second, many labor under the false impression that the government or the Crown will take care of them in their time of need. While Medicare recipients have the potential of one hundred days of long term care benefits, the typical average coverage received is only 17 days before these benefits are exhausted due to ever tightening regulations. Conversely, Medicaid remains the number one provider of long term care in this kingdom with only one caveat for qualification: An applicant has to be broke after having completed a spend-down of assets.” The King wisely drew the conclusion that asset protection and the requisite spend downs are mutually exclusive of one another…

“The third option available is self-insurance, and more often than not, is expensive, inefficient, and the antithesis of asset protection—and could prove the downfall of your Highness’ long term vision for the treasures that you have accumulated.”

“The fourth option is of course risk mitigation through insurance. Like the other major risks that we all face in life, we purchase insurance to guard against the loss of our castles, damage to our carriages,  health insurance to abrogate the risk of an expensive medical procedure and, of course, life insurance to guard against an untimely and usually  unplanned death. Long term care insurance policies fill this need admirably.”  

The Lord Chancellor went on to share that the new 2017 Genworth Cost of Care Survey had been released and, as suspected, the costs associated with traditionally less expensive home health care based long term care services had gone up 6.17 percent to $21.50 per hour. The cost of homemaker services also rose by 4.75 percent to $21 an hour. While some may be put off by these costs, they are relatively inexpensive when compared to the costs of nursing home care. The national median cost of a semi-private nursing home room—when was the last time you involuntarily shared a room with someone other than your spouse—went up 4.44 percent to $7,148 per month, while the median cost of a private nursing home room went up 5.5 percent to $8,121 per month. Again, these are median prices, with some of the more obvious metropolitan areas costing in excess of $11,000 (Seattle), $14,000 (San Francisco), and $18,000 (Manhattan, NYC) per month.

Still not convinced, the King again inquired of his advisor as to the true risk that the royal treasury could really be at risk if left unprotected against the scourge of long term care. Once again, his loyal counselor attempted to explain the risks associated with long term care by analogy. “Sire, the risk of the castle being subject to destruction is only about 1 in 1200; distinctly a remote possibility with minimal risk, but devastating consequences. I assume the reason that you have always maintained your homeowners policy is that you find even that amount of risk to be unsatisfactory,” said the Lord Chancellor. 

“That, and the fact the premiums are so inexpensive,” said the King. “A prudent and worthwhile investment.” 

“The risk of damage to one of the royal carriages by an uninsured motorist or the liability of one of the King’s royal teenaged children causing damage to another carriage or property owner is five times greater, or literally about 1 in 240, prompting higher premium charges from the insurance company because of the risk that the insurance company has to bear in paying out claims.” 

Because the King and his wife were too young for Medicare, he knew how expensive health insurance was for their family, as it seemed that one or another of the family was always going to the Royal Doctor for one malady or another. Truly, the risk to the insurance company that issued this form of insurance was immense. “Sire, the odds of you or the Queen requiring a procedure such as heart surgery or a hip replacement is fully one in 15 as you near age 65. These procedures often run well into the six-figure range,” he said to the horrified King.

As a result of the King having both permanent and term insurance on his own life, he could readily understand that permanent insurance was more expensive because there was a one hundred percent chance of the insurance company having to pay out a death benefit whereas with the term insurance the risk was only about two percent of a claim ever being filed.

“So what of this risk called long term care?” asked the King. “I am sorry Sire, but the risk of either you or the Queen requiring such care is fully 90 percent, and that is if only one of you requires it, and that this care is of only the average duration of three years and at the median cost.” The King was shocked. “That could run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.”  

“Fortunately much of the royal family is young, carefree and in good health,” said the King, again questioning the need. 

“Sire, any of the young princes and princesses could also find themselves in need of long term care for a variety of reasons including accidents, chronic conditions, strokes or other debilitating conditions. Fully 40 percent of the people receiving long term care are working-age adults between the ages of 18 and 65.”

“What can be done to guard against this evil? How can we protect the assets of the Crown?” asked the King, sobered by the previous information.

“Sire, we can purchase long term care insurance policies for all members of the Royal Family. Can you think of any reason that you would want to address the far greatest of these risks differently than the way you have dealt with these other lesser risks?”

At this point the King gravely raised his hand and indicated that he wanted a long term care policy for all of his family members, and the Royal Long Term Care Planning Specialist was then summoned before the King and given the charge to design a plan that would in fact protect all of the assets of the realm. The King being risk averse, then opted for full coverage with no co-insurance and a home health care waiver to thwart the 90-day elimination period. 

After he later learned that many of the family would qualify for a preferred class rating and ancillary life-long discount, it was said that peace reigned in the kingdom and they all lived happily ever after.

Many of our colleagues have recently expressed great concern over the current state of the long term care industry. Nevertheless, recognizing ample but unfulfilled opportunity beckoning just over the horizon, they envision a golden future for us-if we embrace a necessary change in approach. 

These specialists (and I) believe that the long term care insurance industry, having shrunk dramatically in the past fifteen years (going from a billion-dollar industry to a mere fraction of that figure) now must attune itself to the 21st century:  Simply put, producers must become marketers rather than remain satisfied with being “order takers.” 

The notion of order taker, a term coined to represent a producer’s total dependence on individual LTCI leads generated by various carriers for their captive career shops, was once the industry norm. Now, however, a producer must know how to “network,” “build their own brand,” “prospect,” and know a thing or two about marketing.

At all of the agencies with which I’ve been affiliated since 2000, we’ve always placed a premium on acquiring these skills and on freeing ourselves from the shackles associated with being a “lead junkie.” We’ve striven to become the entrepreneurial independent contractor that we all purport to be in terms of running our own businesses. (At this point, having mentioned “leads,” I must clarify that leads generated through marketing efforts with associations, groups, and in the worksite are in fact still byproducts of marketing, and these efforts are to be commended.) 

Now, having identified its urgent need for marketing, the threshold question for our industry is: How can we make marketing fun, less daunting and nerve-racking, and more productive and lucrative?

I submit that marketing as a term has really been worn out, much as we now prefer utilizing the word   rather than referrals for the same reason. Moreover, I suggest that everything you do, whether you know it or not, is in fact marketing. If it helps you to promote your business by using different strategies like digital marketing for contractors or even conduct digital marketing in-house, meet more people, build your brand, and/or create centers of influence, all of that is in fact marketing still. I love helping producers recognize that whenever they call their existing clients in an effort to convert them into centers of influence or to solicit a referral to friends and family-or even better, to their financial advisor or attorney-these activities can all be categorized as that dreaded marketing.

For those of you who are still leery of the word, let me be even more plain-the term marketing should not be sending chills up and down your spine. There is nothing scary about it and, in fact, a good bit of marketing really starts with desire. It is not a dirty word! You can even use it in mixed company and still be considered politically correct.

I have found that effective marketing is not an event, but rather will become part of your lifestyle if not your very DNA. You can engage in passive marketing, aggressive or proactive marketing, or any combination of these approaches. When you meet someone new and start talking to them, that’s marketing. For this reason you should always have some of your business cards with you. Likewise, utilizing a “set it and forget it” drip campaign is also marketing.

I recently asked a number of my more active “marketing” agents how they have managed to successfully adopt marketing strategies into their daily lives, and their responses were remarkably similar-direct and plain-spoken. I’ve listed the most compelling of them here:

How do you start the marketing process?

• “The beauty of making marketing part of your lifestyle is that you can in fact market anywhere and at any time. Start talking to people while waiting to be seated at your favorite restaurant, and that becomes a marketing event- which means, according to the IRS, you are then entitled to deduct your meal as an expense.”
• “It’s actually a part of my nature. In my belief system, people aren’t going to know what I do unless I tell them. We are salesmen and we’re selling ourselves all the time; for this reason selling and marketing are one and the same to me. Bottom line, it has to become part of your lifestyle and it has to be habit-and you can’t be afraid to open your mouth.”

What advice would you give someone who is not a marketer, but would like to become one?

• “It all starts with desire. In order to be successful, you have to practice all the different aspects of our business. For example, when you are out in public, you have to tell people what you do and, in turn, ask questions that force them to talk about themselves. These questions need to be pertinent, but not so deep that you dive in too quickly. It’s about stirring need and urgency in their hearts and planting the seed that you are the one who can help them achieve their desired goals for the future.”

What is the key to creating this need and urgency?

• “It helps if you have a story about your own family to tell. In that case you merely ‘layer’ your story onto theirs; doing this correctly and maintaining the focus on their family can often assist you in getting over the cognitive dissonance or knee-jerk reaction that compels them to ‘resist’ a salesman and in fact allows them to see the real story.” 

What about talking to that “hard nut” that is going to be tough to crack?

• “This is how you really make your money (and where some find marketing to be daunting). In these situations don’t overthink it. Don’t be worried about potential outcomes, just talk, and ‘dance as if nobody’s watching you.’ The key to success is to find that one hot button-and gently press the advantage until the seed begins to take root. Leave them wanting more from you. If all else fails, these people tend to be a good source of referrals.”

Is there a recipe for the secret sauce that accompanies successful marketing?

• “A general truism related to successful marketing is to find something that you genuinely enjoy doing-and then marketing is no longer drudgery. It can be golfing or another passion, and, whatever your choice, it simply becomes part of why you do business and why you are in business. Find what you enjoy and combine your passions.”

What is the key first step in starting the conversation? What are your best leading questions?

• “Every situation where you can potentially meet someone is yet another opportunity to make them a client. The key is to ask them a thought-provoking question that is all about them-their current situation or their future-that may lead to your providing the kind of assistance which will help them achieve their desired goals.” 

So, what is the bottom line of marketing?

• “Again, it’s that you have to dance like nobody’s watching. Don’t be afraid to open your mouth and to ask questions. Help your potential clients paint word pictures in their own hearts and minds with the questions you ask. Remember that you have knowledge that they desperately need, and that you most assuredly know more about long term care planning than they ever will, bar none.”
• “Arrogance is like cholesterol. Just as there is good and bad cholesterol, the same can be said for the ‘arrogance’ of selling. You need that drive and commitment that comprises the competence that accompanies ‘good’ arrogance. You need to firmly believe that you have something to share that they desperately need, and that long term care planning has nothing to do with dying suddenly, but is rather about not dying suddenly.  It’s about experiencing an event that causes a decrease in capacity, independence, and control over their lives.”

What is the worst that can happen?

• “The very worst thing that happens is that you hear ‘Thanks, but no thanks. I am already covered.’ They are not going to hurt you or beat you up.” 

Rules to Live By:

• If you are engaged in an initial conversation with an individual or prospective client, think of it as an opportunity to: 1) establish a little bit of need on their part, and 2) to set a time to talk at length. You’re not, for instance, going to try to sell a policy at a party.
• If you are talking to a professional with a book of business, you can start peeling the onion by asking them what they are doing to protect their clients as well as to protect themselves.
• Remind the professionals you encounter that their clients rely on them for the advice they provide (or don’t provide). In those instances where they possess some level of fiduciary responsibility to their clients, the professional in fact does have a duty to broach the subject of long term care planning with those clients.
• The key is to have the courage to open your mouth and to let people know what you do.
• Don’t make what you do for a living sound like something you’re ashamed of; your elevator speech should flow off your tongue. Say it with pride and in a quiet, unassuming manner that easily communicates to them the wealth of specific knowledge that you have and that they need.
• You can’t help everybody, but most people will want to work with you when they see that your intentions are honorable, your passion and sincerity are genuine, and that you really do walk the walk and talk the talk. Most people you encounter won’t know what they don’t know.

Make it all about them. People love to talk about themselves, and if you keep the spotlight on them you will be successful. We actually get paid to be good listeners, to find out what the other person needs, and position ourselves to meet these needs.

Marketing starts with belief and opening your mouth-and dancing like nobody’s watching. 

Benjamin Franklin, the venerable inventor, statesman and intrepid leader, once said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!”

Much the same can be said for the general populace and their attitude toward long term care and estate planning; nobody plans to fail, but they often fail to plan. As producers and advisors, 70 percent of those with whom we will come into contact will require some degree of long term care at the end of their lives. For single women this figure is 79 percent, and for married couples, fully 90 percent of them will be touched by this need in their lives. The question therefore is not whether it will happen, but to what degree will they have structured their estate plan to deal with this contingency. 

By definition, long term care is required when an individual is no longer able to perform two or more of the activities of daily living (bathing, toileting, dressing, eating, transferring, and continence) or suffers some form of cognitive impairment. This impairment can be organic in nature (Alzheimer’s, dementia, Parkinson’s) or non-organic (traumatic brain injuries, depression, behavioral).  

Back in the day, our grandparents, and even some of our parents, would rely on the old 40-40-40-40 method of retirement. They would work 40 hours a week for the same company over a career of 40 years, and subsequently retire on 40 percent of their pension, clasping a $40 watch as they walked out the door. They were the same people who retired with a paid off mortgage, virtually no debt, and savings in the bank. Today, it is not uncommon to find recently retired members of Society with newly re-financed thirty year mortgages, and carrying a fair amount of consumer credit card debt. These same people may have retired early, started drawing a reduced amount of social security, with no real consideration of just how long their retirement funds will carry them into the future. 

Previously for our 40-40-40-40 crowd, adding Social Security as a windfall, estate planning merely meant having a will to divvy up the house and whatever personal property was left after both Dad and Mom had passed on. Those days are long gone as pensions and even defined benefit plans, are becoming endangered species. Fortunately for subsequent generations, retirement and estate planning are terms bandied about by people as young as in their 30s. 

Further muddying the waters of retirement planning are the facts that we are living longer as a society and dying slower. Advances in medical science, pharmaceuticals, and life style lessons have all largely contributed to an ever aging society. In Japan, more adult diapers are now sold annually than their infant counterparts. Contrary to public misconception, Social Security was never meant to be the primary means of support for retirees. At its inception, the average life expectancy was 63, with benefits beginning at age 65. Today the average life expectancy is 81. At the beginning in 1935, there were 16 workers contributing to the fund for every one beneficiary drawing benefits. Now it is slightly under three to one.  

For all of these reasons, it is imperative that the client and the estate planner remember that long term care insurance is for the living, life insurance is for the dead.With the average retiree looking at an average of twenty five to thirty years in retirement, the goals are very much about ensuring that they don’t outlive their money and about estate preservation.  

With the release of the new iPhone X, I am reminded of the fact that nobody knew that they wanted an iPhone or an iPad or an iPod until Steve Jobs told them that they wanted one. Likewise, many people today remain completely unaware of the tsunami that lurks over the horizon and could potentially ravage their estate plan if the specter of long term care has not been afforded appropriate attention.

Simply stated, some variation of long term care insurance (LTCI) has to be part of every balanced and responsible estate plan. Some may construe that as a biased statement given that I find myself immersed in the long term care insurance industry—having joined it in 1999. 

Current occupation aside, I should note that in a previous life I was a general practice attorney at law. Quite often a residential real estate sale would lead to my preparing wills for the new homeowners.  Never mind that they had two, three, or four children for whom an estate plan would have been deemed critical. Unfortunately, for a lot of folks, it was only that deed of title that prompted them to change their thinking or raise their awareness and take the leap into some form of estate planning. 

As the attorney of record, my charge was to be concerned about the “what ifs” associated with estate planning—to wit: Guardians, trustees, executors, conservators, successors to those roles, medical and durable powers of attorney, living wills, and other aspects that address that “what if” the client dies. I remember a bit of an epiphany when I was sitting at my computer drafting one such set of documents and I found myself with the dilemma of what if the client does not die? What if they are merely disabled or find their lives turned upside down and inside out with an illness, chronic condition, or accident that raises the dark specter of long term care? Who will provide the care? Where will the money come from? What will be the consequences of a void not filled with a bona fide LTCI policy? This was both sobering and fright-filled, because the documents I was drafting and to which I was boldly affixing “prepared by:” were intended to address a myriad of scenarios. As a result of that harsh reality check, I embarked on a journey to learn about long term care insurance. I spoke with insurance producers who largely knew very little about it, estate planners and wealth managers who knew even less, and finally stumbled into an office of long term care insurance planning specialists. And the rest, as we say, is history. 

Fast forward several years, and it is now the year 2000. As a recovering attorney, and now fledgling LTCI regional sales manager, I am now regularly meeting with attorneys and financial advisors networking with them in an attempt to bring the protection that LTCI affords to all of their clients. Everyone recognized the need for life insurance (liquidity, taxes, and/or the enlarging the corpus of the estate) in estate planning—so why wasn’t LTCI playing a more prominent role in estate planning? That was both the question and challenge, and set me on the path of educating and raising awareness for the past seventeen years. 

The challenge was that the very idea of providing, or needing, care was a completely foreign thought that never occurred to many advisors. Fortunately that situation has changed, and despite the near 80 per cent slump in stand-alone long term care insurance from its peak of $1 billion in 2002 to last year’s $200 million of sales, more advisors are stepping up and addressing this need with the use of other hybrid and combo products that are built on either a life insurance or annuity chassis. 

So what occurred to prompt this seemingly seismic change within the financial services community? It was probably several things. 

From the perspective of the advisor it was growing awareness that as a fiduciary they had a duty to their client, and the client could in fact unduly rely on the advice that the practitioner did or did not render unto them. Bottom line: If a devastating illness, accident, or chronic condition forced the liquidation of the estate in the absence of a LTCI policy, courts were finding in favor of plaintiffs, be they children or other surviving heirs, at an alarming rate. So, future liability was a growing concern.

Second, the livelihood of these financial advisors, particularly wealth managers, is dependent upon the income and commissions generated by assets under management. An ever shrinking estate being ravaged by long term care costs became a growing area of concern. The negativity of this cause and effect could also prompt other (healthy) family members who are clients to move their assets to other more “progressive” advisors, forcing an even greater hemorrhaging of lost assets under management and annual income. 

It would be unfair if we didn’t also recognize that a good number of advisors did have their clients’ best interests at heart, and wanted to do something to preclude this tragic scenario from coming to pass. For these well intentioned advisors it made perfect sense to bring in a specialist like me, or one of my agents, to help construct this critical aspect of the estate plan. 

The other argument for forming this win-win-win strategic alliance with financial advisors and wealth managers  and for becoming their specialist resource for LTCI is that many advisors don’t know how to talk to their clients about the specter of long term care. More than a dollars and cents issue, there is an emotional component that most long term care planning specialists have experienced first-hand with their own family members. The vast majority of LTCI producers have either been caregivers, or been exposed to the disorienting dynamics of having a family member living in their home (or in a facility) where they themselves have to spend regular time as a care manager.

Since 1996, the federal government, in concert with their state government counterparts, have made it quite clear that they want to privatize long term care in this country. First came the incentives associated with tax qualified plans, State Partnership, ever rising annual deductions for premiums paid offered by the IRS, as well as the level of tax-free long term care benefits—$360 per day ($10,800 per 30-day month). The level of tax-free benefits is not changing from 2017 to 2018.

Why does the government want everyone to embrace long term care insurance as a step toward self-reliance?  Because the budgetary red ink that is drowning nearly every state’s largest line item, Medicaid, is only getting deeper and darker, especially as the Baby Boomer generation continues its journey into retirement, Social Security, and Required Minimum Distributions. Talk to any legislator who is involved in budgetary issues and they will have to confess to a fear of the devastation that this generation could do to the budget if all are forced to turn to the state for assistance with their long term care.   

Based on industry and consumer research, the typical LTCI buyer looks like this, and the similarity to the average estate planning client cannot be clearer: 

• Average age 55.
• Slightly more women than men apply (51 percent female, 49 percent male).
• Married with adult children.
• Working in a white-collar profession; not yet retired.
• College educated.
• Living in a metropolitan area with a population of at least 250,000.
• A homeowner with 11 or more years in the current residence.
• Affluent; upper middle class with a household income of $100,000 or more.
• A “planner” who is interested in financial issues; owns life insurance and other conservative investment products.
• Family oriented.
• Exposed to long term care issues; knows someone (a family member or friend) who has needed long term care services.
• Research oriented; an online user; self-educated about LTCI. 

As a practitioner, my recommendations for a family are that the same average client should desire:

• For their families to be part of the plan, not to be the plan.
• That their family members act merely as care managers rather than caregivers.
• Not to exhaust their financial legacy; and,
• Not to outlive their estates and subsequently become a burden on family, friends, or society.

Consider a simple example of long term care’s potential impact on the estate of any client. The Genworth 2017 Cost of Care Survey reports that the current national median expense of a private nursing home room is $267 per day or $97,455 per year, an amount that’s been increasing by about four to five percent annually for the past five years. If the client is currently age 55 and first requires that level of care in 30 years at age 85, the first year’s cost will be about $390,000 (at five percent annual inflation). Multiplied to reflect a four-year plan of care without any additional cost increases, the total cost could exceed $1,560,000 – a staggering amount. 

For this reason, long term care insurance simply makes good sense. Very modest premiums, with slowly adjusting premiums, and the ability to “re-size” or tailor the inflation protection rider, makes this a great way to leverage your client’s estate. There is not an investment vehicle that can deliver a rate of return comparable to the value associated with a LTCI policy. As a producer, nothing thrills me more than when I can design a shared plan for a couple where the annual premium for both members of the couple equates to the monthly benefit derived for just one of them, or as I like to pose it to them, “Would you rather write that check once per year, or once or twice a month?” The realization on their part is gratifying, and genuinely motivates me to get up in the morning. 

There are a lot more options for addressing long term care concerns than there were years ago, ranging from traditional stand-alone LTCI policies, to life insurance policies with a long term care benefit rider, or even annuities with a long term care benefit rider. In addition to LTCI,  wealthy clients may even consider more sophisticated options that include buying and owning a life insurance policy with a long term care benefit through an irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT), allowing them to further leverage financial benefits. While many of my peers recommended these vehicles, I liked to keep things as simple as possible. The mechanics can be somewhat complicated and cumbersome since it works best when the long term care benefits are paid on an indemnity basis rather than a reimbursement. (Note: Most, if not all, traditional plans are now reimbursement plans so they can qualify for tax-qualified status with the federal government.)

Over the years we have heard the term “land rich, cash poor,” and typically equate it to historical figures like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. It is just as applicable today and should prompt planners to review the structure of their clients’ portfolios to determine whether they have the liquidity with which to deal with a long term care crisis, or whether a LTCI policy would prevent needless, and often times expensive, liquidation of a portfolio or assets under less than desirable market conditions.

Steve Jobs once wrote, “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something—your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.” 

As estate planners, attorneys, insurance producers, and other financial professionals with a fiduciary duty to our clients, we must step up and be there to assist our clients to connect the dots in a future direction and to integrate long term care into their estate plan. 

From the time that I myself was only knee high to a grasshopper, I was captivated by the wit and witticisms of Mark Twain. Known for Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, he was also a world traveler who favored Europe and would write about these adventures as well. World-renowned at the time of his death in 1910, his writings and wry pieces of advice and observations of life live on into yet a third century and countless generations of readers. 

What does Mark Twain have to do with the long term care insurance industry? Everything. 

It is not hard for me to imagine him on stage at ILTCI or another industry conference, clad in a white suit, his luxurious white hair askew as he puffs on a cigar and utters something such as “Like rumors of my own demise, the rumors regarding the death of the long term care insurance industry are greatly exaggerated.”

As for me, in the course of my regular business day I often speak with dozens of people. These days, particularly if they have reached out to me, I attempt to listen more than I speak and to really hear what they are attempting to say to me.  More often than not when the topic of the lack of LTCI sales rolls around, there are myriad myths, rationales, and distortions—or what I call “rocks”—that these people would presumably love to free themselves of and leave on my desk. As much as possible I refuse delivery because I already have my own box of rocks with which I am dealing, and because I firmly believe that they are all wrong! I want to take this opportunity to address some of these erroneous paradigms and to allow Mr. Twain to weigh in as well.

Clear as day, traditional, stand-alone long term care insurance (LTCI) is going away…
Traditional, stand-alone LTCI is clearly not going away. If anything, there has been a resurgence in the sale of LTCI since financial advisors, estate planning attorneys, and other insurance producers now view it as the “alternative to the alternative” hybrid and combo products that often require great infusions of cash in order to fund the policy and less remaining assets under management (AUM) upon which they derive a livelihood. They really like us now!

“It has been reported that I was seriously ill—it was another man; dying—it was another man; dead—the other man again… As far as I can see, nothing remains to be reported, except that I have become a foreigner. When you hear it, don’t you believe it. And don’t take the trouble to deny it. Merely just raise the American flag on our house in Hartford and let it talk.” —Letter to Frank E. Bliss, 11/4/1897

I cannot think of a more dangerous and self-destructive paradigm for a producer to possess about this invaluable, life-altering product. Our ability to tailor a plan to fit the needs, the wants, as well as the budget of the LTCI-seeking client is unparalleled. 

“Better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt.” – Mark Twain

Everybody is getting out of the long term care insurance business.
Sure, some of the carriers have pulled a disappearing act again, but at the same time other carriers are broadening their footprint and offering new and unique products that are attractive to a wider range of client. 

It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt. 

I am detecting a pattern on how Mr. Twain feels about the doubters.

The carriers are raising the underwriting bar and making it increasingly difficult for me to find coverage for my clients.
Certainly underwriting standards have been raised for fear that adverse selection will negatively impact the pool of policyholders, but at the same time the move towards fewer underwriting requirements, i.e. less Attending Physician Statements (APS), has actually made it easier to get applicants approved. It is also great that we have a wide array of LTCI-related products that we can offer these hard to insure clients. E-apps are also making it faster to process through the system as we avoid Not-in-Good-Order (NIGOs) and this in turn leads to better placement!

“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.” – Mark Twain.

“A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.” – Mark Twain

I am still experiencing push back from clients that paying premiums for a lifetime with nothing to show for it is a waste of money, not to mention which there is so much negative press about the ongoing  inforce rate actions.
Like other forms of insurance, LTCI is still an exercise in risk mitigation. Nobody ever complains about living their entire life without filing a claim for a house that has not burned down or a car that they never totaled.  Yet, in this case, where the odds of needing care for a couple are an incredible 90 percent, they push back. Clearly this is ignorance – defined as a lack of knowledge. Or denial. Once we educate them, they are no longer ignorant. Sometimes we just have to accept the fact that we cannot overcome well-grounded denial or… something worse. I would certainly hope that if there was a forecast that included a 90 percent probability of rain that they would grab their umbrella. 

There is no doubt that the need for long term care and its accompanying insurance continues to grow at pandemic levels, especially in terms of cognitive impairment, as we continue to live longer lives. New Return of Premium riders are also attempting to address this perceived shortfall in the coverage, as are Single Pay and Ten-Pay offerings.

“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” – Mark Twain

Denial is rampant and I am frustrated at attempting to get people to drink the Kool-Aid.
It has always astounded me at how deep denial can run. Even in the face of years and years of statistics and logical argument, if a potential client does not believe that it can happen to him, they are not going to buy our product. It is also painful to us because of the knowledge we have and the insights into what their lives can become in the absence of this protection. Keep the Faith.  

“The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.” – Mark Twain

“I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.” – Mark Twain

Selling LTCI is getting harder and harder because people simply don’t want to hear about it.
It is about serving our clients with the utmost of professionalism, product knowledge, and with total integrity. 

“If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And If it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.”–Mark Twain

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” – Mark Twain

People don’t trust that we will deliver on our promises.
As long term care advocates, it is important to remember: “Character is the architect of achievements.” This involves our becoming the face of the policy and selling the difference (ourselves) from the moment we first begin to speak with them.

“Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.” – Mark Twain

The LTCI business is harder because of higher premiums that people flat out don’t want to pay.
“You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.” – Mark Twain

The keys to success in this business are belief and activity. In fact, 90 percent of this business is belief and the other half is activity. Ours is a very simple business: “call people, see people, help people.” It is simple, but not easy. If it were easy, there would be ten thousand producers offering LTCI, and we would not be earning the compensation we are for our efforts. The key is to not get discouraged, and to remember that we are attempting to live a life of significance.

“Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.” – Mark Twain

“A man’s character may be learned from the adjectives which he habitually uses in conversation.” – Mark Twain

I love what I do, and it often breaks my heart when I cannot find a product solution for someone who really wants the coverage. I’ve also been told by several people whom I respect that I would be better served to find another area of specialization because LTCI will not be with us much longer and that I am wasting my time.
Just as we have to deal with ignorance and denial from clients, it is still prevalent among advisors and other producers. To this we would say,

“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.” – Mark Twain

“Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” – Mark Twain

Sometimes it is hard for me to pick up the phone and make the calls I need to make, or to face another “day of drudgery in the trenches.”
I still remember the excitement with which I began my LTCI career some nineteen years ago, and realize that it is still the reason that I get up every morning and approach my desk with such enthusiasm and belief that I am going to do some good today for somebody who needs me to do it. I believe that LTCI remains a great and viable business. The opportunity has not diminished in the slightest and for the most part is greater today than it was when I began my career—if for no other reason than there are fewer of us in the business! More for those of us who have endured…

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain 

Last week I received a host of congratulatory LinkedIn messages on my first “anniversary” as an MGA. I must admit to all reading this missive that I had to ask my staff and family what anniversary I was being congratulated on because the date meant nothing to me until my son explained that it was on June 21 of last year that we had updated my LinkedIn profile to reflect our change in agency status. Who knew? Half the time I am lucky to even find my Facebook or LinkedIn page! 

These messages in turn prompted me to become reflective and think about what this entire Captive GA / Independent MGA dichotomy is all about, leading to a whole series of thoughts that I now feel compelled to share as we continue to examine the ongoing downward trend of the traditional long term care insurance industry and attempt to ascertain why it has gone from a billion dollar annual industry to a mere shadow of that figure. A few months ago I espoused a number of hard facts and figures put forth by LIMRA and the carriers (and cited various and sundry other reasons), and only negligibly touched on what I think has become a pandemic issue: The Casual Producer.

Who or what is the casual producer you may ask? Well, he or she is likely one of the hundreds of faceless names on an agency roster that may contribute premium when either the mood strikes or the opportunity presents itself. Imagine my chagrin when at my first National Long Term Care Network (NLTCN) meeting I was told by another long-established member that they have “three to four hundred names on our roster of agents, and any given (good) week we will have fifteen submit business.” I think a few of my brain cells died that day when some of my circuitry overheated. Shoot, I was used to a system where an agency of thirty agents would have fifteen producing, and the dream week (which happened more than a few times for me over the years) was when all of them would submit business in a given week. I always hated the “one-hitters” when all but one would write, because I felt terrible for that agent and would often attempt an assist at the end of the week if we were in a position to predict the ultimate outcome.   

So how did we (yes, the dreaded imperial “we” that spouses often like to utilize with us) end up in this current situation? A single word: accountability. Or more accurately, the lack of accountability. I was speaking with my operations director who actually sparked this article when she (erroneously, I believe) stated that agents have too much freedom. I told her not to confuse freedom with a lack of accountability. In my book, freedom needs to be earned. What is missing now is accountability. We can re-establish it if Compliance would allow us to utilize activity logs or a one card system or convince the agents that these are tools that they can voluntarily employ as a best practice and a coaching tool for their leadership team.

I am finding that the casual producer is also guilty of missing the mark on other “have to’s” which should include attending agency meetings, training calls and carrier webinars. In the absence of these activities, the casual producer only falls further out of touch. I fondly remember the days when attendance could be mandated if product training was being conducted.

I used to recruit agents to the old captive model by pointing out that they would be their own boss, run their own shop, and be a true independent contractor, entitled to four weeks of vacation per year because that is what people who earn six-figure incomes are usually entitled. I stopped doing that several years ago, tempering my remarks with how this freedom and liberal work/holiday schedule only came after becoming established in the business. It was at this time that I adopted the Three C’s model of leadership with new agents. While new and enduring their learning curve I became a cop, and required them to check in with me frequently. Once they had achieved validation, I became a coach, helping them to complete their first one hundred appointments during which they should see everything, hear everything, earn the t-shirt, and frame it for the wall. When they were achieving production standards I became a consultant, committed to helping them take their game to the next level—ideally that of MDRT and leading producer. The best advice I received as a new attorney was “take care of your practice and it will take care of you; ignore it, and it won’t be there for you when you want it.” That was sage advice then, and is equally applicable today for the casual producer.

Another new belief that I am fostering is that a lack of demonstrated commitment to maintaining accountability is tantamount to an admission of a lack of true entrepreneurship on the part of the producer—and poor agent selection on our part. We have to own part of this problem. As I have heard several GAMA International speakers so articulately express it, “If we hire them we owe them, because they are entrusting their livelihoods to us.” The corollary I would add is that we can’t want it more than they want it for themselves and their families, so it is not all on us.

For many years, there have been two questions that plagued me: How does a thermos work, and what do (captive) agents do with their time? I have since learned that the answer to the first question is that it’s a vacuum. It has been suggested to me that the answer to the second question may very well be the same as the first. In the absence of any accountability, the casual producer often squanders our greatest single and finite resource: Time. Parenthetically, the third question that still confounds me is: Why does it take people so long to board and get settled on an airplane? But we digress.

Without sounding the knell of condemnation of any individual or the industry as a whole, I must admit that the term “casual producer” does nothing but make me cringe, nearly as much as fingernails on a blackboard. I have spent way too much time worrying about these people and their families. How does the casual producer survive going weeks and weeks without submitted business? In the absence of a book of business spinning off renewals, or the benefit of a gainfully employed spouse, how do they do it? Why do they do it? What do they know that I don’t? Maybe I should become a casual MGA! 

As a full time producer I wrote business every single week. I even had production credit the weeks that I was employed by the company as a contract trainer which provided me both with a pay check and constructive production credit for purposes of trip qualification, by running an evening appointment or when I was on vacation by leaving a full slate of appointments for other agents to run and to split commissions with me.

In hindsight, I recognize that I was the exception and not the rule. Maybe it is because words like discipline, diligence, and accountability mean something to me.  I know that my self-respect and integrity required it. Monday was the best day to write business because it set the tone for the week. The only thing better was to write over the weekend and to carry it over into Monday. If not Monday, then Tuesday. By Wednesday, I was growling. By Thursday the dog was hiding for fear of being kicked, and by Friday morning, I was looking at potential “B-back” appointments not previously closed, and was very much a self-acknowledged ‘bastardo’ on the prowl for anything to submit because my personal value system would not tolerate a zero in production next to my name on the call-in sheet, especially once I had become a second tier leader. My wife tells me that I was at best extraordinary, more likely just weird in my zeal to achieve in this manner. But, I will say that there were other agents who felt as I did: most of them however earned monikers such as “President’s Club Member,” “Leading Producer,” and never Casual Producer. Hmmm, could there be a correlation between accountability and success?

Our five children may have complained about the household rules that we had for them as they were growing up, but ultimately every single one of them acknowledged at some time, either as teenagers or college students, that they found comfort and security in these rules and the structure that they provided. Interesting.  

After 23 years of military service, 13 years as a practicing attorney, 16 years in the captive agency world, and now one eye-opening year in the independent brokerage world, I realize that like my children, I too like structure, rules, and accountability. It makes life so much easier to deal with on a daily and weekly basis. I find that I miss it especially on Monday morning, for in spite of any success enjoyed the previous week I have that same feeling of vulnerability that most sales leaders experience as we start a new week. I now fly completely blind as to upcoming activity level and until I see the first production of the new week. For in the old captive days we heard from agents on Monday when they updated their activity for the upcoming week and reported any weekend production; on Wednesday with mid-week reports; and on Fridays when we would do the happy dance and tabulate the week’s production. By Monday noon I would know my agents’ appointment count for the week, and could extrapolate to within a few thousand dollars or percentage points our anticipated weekly production; now we hear nothing on Monday or Wednesday, and quite often Friday is like waiting for the lottery numbers to be announced. 

Maybe I am Alex in Wonderland and just looking down the wrong rabbit hole. But most definitely, in the absence of rules, contract minimums, reporting requirements, and accountability of any kind, the inmates are running the asylum, and this, more than anything else, will ultimately be the demise of our industry. If performance improves when it is measured, what happens when we stop measuring it? Maybe it’s time to end casual time, and put on a coat and tie again and go back to work as Committed Producers. 

We have a tremendous opportunity in front of us as the market keeps growing faster than we can serve it, as Baby Boomers and succeeding generations discover their long term care needs, and we now have additional products with which to tailor a solution for our clients. The key to success in this environment is commitment to our craft (i.e. product knowledge), to activity (seeing the people and marketing), and in our beliefs. With these elements in congruence, there is no doubt that success is inevitable for the committed producer. 

A very common thing to do in the face of adversity or even the simplest forms of change is to regress and fall into the lament “remember the old days when…” Well, it has been a year since I began my odyssey from the role of captive general agent to independent BGA. Wow. What a year of change and transition it has been! I feel much like the little worm that has crawled out of the radish into the shiny red apple to discover just how sweet life can be!

Just yesterday I was on a fact finding appointment with one of my agents, speaking with a dentist, when I realized, and actually shared with both of them, the very fact that a year ago we would be having a much different conversation; the range of products and carriers that we could offer to our clients then was dramatically smaller and limited in scope. So, while some changes are easier than others to embrace, I for one celebrate our move to independence and recognize that with it came the ability to better serve our clients. 

We now have all the tools we need to be able to help virtually everyone with whom we meet! 

However, no matter how much things change, there are certain things that always remain the same. A few of these truths include:

• This business is 90 percent beliefs and the other half activity. 

• Your belief system needs to be intact before you even think about encouraging paradigm shifts in clients.

• You have to see the people in order to help the people. 

• Leads are merely the tip of the spear. 

• It is all about need… as well as urgency and value when it comes to a long term care sale.  Without a solid first key agreement and the establishment of need, do not proceed. 

• It is all about listening to the client. Selling has never been achieved by telling.

• It is all about the client. A client-centric mindset will always work out best for them, for you, and for the companies you represent.

• It’s all about putting the client’s best foot forward by doing solid field underwriting, writing letters to the underwriter, and portraying them as the three-dimensional people you met with rather than the one-dimensional paper file of application and medical records. 

• Avoid submitting “garbage apps” or “dual apps”–neither one serves anyone a good purpose. Clients don’t obtain the protection they want. You don’t make any money–remember, you only get paid on what places and achieve nothing but a reputation for submitting garbage. And the carriers lose because of the ancillary costs associated with poor placement rates. 

• This industry remains the best “get rich slow scheme” around.

So let’s talk about the “good old days.”
Some would say they were “good” because company-generated direct mail leads were plentiful and it was almost like dropping a line in the waters of a fish farm where it was nearly impossible not to catch something.  Others would say these were good old days because the presence of these leads required no marketing on the part of the agent. “Smile and dial” pretty much described an agent’s day if he was not on a selling appointment. 

For those who remember those days with fondness, I would point out that my recollection of those days as an agent, district manager, regional sales manager, and even as a divisional vice president, included plenty of moaning and groaning and teeth gnashing about the quality and quantity of the leads. On more than one occasion I heard comments such as “these leads stink” or “I don’t have enough leads—I am unemployed.” I never heard comments like those from agents who were being intentional on generating their own leads thru marketing, networking, and prospecting, and incidentally earning twice as much money when AGB was worth twice the commission earned from either a broad market or endorsement lead.

These same leads often required hours and hours of dashboard time, and often left an agent feeling like the world was conspiring against him when he was “porched” on occasion, making the drive back even longer! I can honestly say that I was never porched by a referral or networking client, because of the significance they attached to these appointments.

Bottom line: the “good old days” are gone, and I for one am not sad to see them go. With greater awareness in the marketplace because of personal experiences with long term care from aging parents, a greater array of products to carry as arrows in my quiver, and the market continuing to expand quicker than we can serve it, I for one believe that for those that embrace the new culture of selling long term care products that better days, if not our very best days, lie ahead.