It is important that once again I remind those who indulge in this “opinion” column that my conclusions are my own personal fantasies and admittedly jaded impressions of 30 years of attempting to read our own peculiar tea leaves. All efforts to reduce the impact of the need for custodial care regardless of how brave or timid have been enthusiastically supported and heralded in my ramblings each month for 20 years. Therefore I would ask your indulgence in my attempt to examine the most important question in our corner of the insurance marketing universe: Where do we go from here?
(Warning: Do not quote or weaponize the comparative statistical speculations inherent in this philosophical exercise.)
I am not admitting defeat in any way. The troop formations may have shifted but our lines have held for over 15 years. It is true sales of stand-alone health insurance solutions have fallen dramatically however reserve replacement troops from short term to combo life in all its incarnations have kept our sales steady and strong at about a half million new policy holders added each year. Next I would challenge all other segments of insurance sales to deny that the individual purchase of protection against the clear and present risk of catastrophic long term care is by far the most difficult sale to complete. It has not gotten any easier and, if anything, even more difficult.
The computer navigation in my car is perhaps the primary reason I am by nature technology averse. First it will only calculate relative efficiencies between two fixed points. The concept of asking the navigation voice to provide a “scenic” route is algorithm anathema. More important to me is my relative spatial position to any and all other points of reference or potential interest. Frankly I would rather be struggling with folding up my old paper map—at least I knew where I was in relation to my surroundings. Where we go from here must be viewed with the widest panoramic view possible. While this is a necessity it is also the greatest impediment to progress. Frankly we are an industry that has lost a clear compass heading. My impression is that the most prominent stake-holders of our future are divided and lacking a clear destination.
Frustratingly, past experience has not really given us any clear path to success. The two most hardened deniers, those who believe the government will provide and those who believe that being self-insured is sufficient and prudent, remain impervious to reason. We know that those who have had a personal experience with the hardships of care together with those better educated and more affluent have the greatest predisposition to buy. Unfortunately, that knowledge has not provided us with a universally recognized accelerant to sales success.
Now, in no particular order of significance, lets try and identify potential compass headings:
- Whatever direction our ship sails, the severe negative impediment of inadequate flexibility in successful underwriting strategies must be addressed. Brokerage was built on finding ways to leverage existing risk. Far too many have been turned away.
- Someone will have to explain why three-fourths of current sales are combo life where premium represents the cost of two separate risks juxtaposed to the singularity of the health insurance approach which is clearly less expensive. And nowhere is this more abundantly clear than the tragic wasteland of worksite solutions.
- The perceived or real concept that premiums are simply too high should not become an automatic rationalization to expand employee/employer payroll tax as a last resort to directly solve what is believed to be the greatest obstacle to market penetration.
- What portion of the risk can we be the most successful supporting front or back? Our response to that will define either our capitulation to a government imposed solution or our successful supplemental support to the establishment of a new centralized base of operations for the risk.
- MLTSS claim administration is now available in half the states. These detailed management services for those most in need may very well be providing a blueprint that can best accommodate the avalanche of boomer claims on the near horizon.
- The rise in interest rates should be providing some relief to a host of issues. Existing product performance as well as potential future income strategies should benefit.
Finding a true direction compelling the greatest possible unity of purpose is really all we have left.
Other than that I have no opinion on the subject.
