Long-Term Care Insurance In Adolescence

Just Sweet 16…

Not really. Long-term care insurance (LTCI) is 45 years old this year. But that’s still in adolescence as far as claims history is concerned.

I started my business in 2002. It was one of the most robust years in the history of long-term care insurance.

I remember industry pundits predicting that it was the product line to be in with aging baby boomers. The day would come when LTCI insurance producers would just sit at their desks and take orders. LOL …

Although I never believed that to be the future, I did not think we would see the changes we’ve experienced.

In his article about the evolution of the long-term care insurance industry, Jesse Slome, founder and executive director of the American Association of Long-Term Care Insurance, details the change in policies sold in 2001 compared to 2017.

He also outlines what has not changed:

  1. Few Americans have any formal plan in place to address the very real risk of needing some long-term car.
  2. There are no likely government solutions on the horizon.
  3. The onus of creating awareness still falls on insurance agents and financial professionals.

Slome and the AALTCI also spearheaded the establishment of November as Long-Term Care Awareness Month.