How can you be a Leprechaun 365 days a year?
On St Patrick’s Day, everyone is Irish and we all have a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow protected by a Leprechaun. But what happens on March 18th and beyond when your client and their family need that pot of gold because of an extended healthcare event? Have you been their Leprechaun not just protecting, but helping them create their own pot of gold? If you’ve helped your client put a Long-Term Care Plan in place, you’ve helped to provide their family income to use exclusively for those costs, leaving the rest of the retirement portfolio intact.
Talking to your clients about Long Term Care planning doesn’t need to be difficult or take time away from your main focus. Many clients are thinking about where their pot of gold will coming from, especially if they have experienced a family member needing care. Starting the planning process can be as simple as asking a few questions.
“Has anyone in your family needed care for more than 6 months?” Most likely in today’s world, the answer is yes. Then ask the client about that situation. How was the care provided or paid for? What impact did it make? Then, ask them if they ever need care, what plan do they have in place for their family? Who will provide the care, or what income have they set aside to pay for their care? Where will that come from?
Then the conversation about creating a separate pot of gold to protect their family can begin. Remember – LTC Planning really isn’t about the insured, it is about protecting their family members from becoming caregivers themselves or being forced pay out of pocket for professional care. Most people would rather an insurance company pay most of claim rather than disrupting their loved one’s lifestyle.
Call UMS - we have many solutions available, and the solutions today look very different than those 10 years ago. We still have stand alone LTC, but Linked Benefit products have made many changes to make them more affordable for more of your clients. Longer guaranteed premium payment periods, better inflation options and more flexible plan design makes them the leader as a planning tool. Yes, I did say guaranteed premiums. Many Linked Benefit options guarantee their premiums, even if it isn’t a single pay. There have also been many changes to the way these policies can be funded. Qualified funds can now be used and existing annuities that maybe were earmarked as a rainy-day fund can be changed to provide better leverage and not make an impact on your client’s current cash flow.
We will also work with you every step of the way to make this as easy as possible for you. We have custom marketing materials, fact finders and other resources. We will look at your case and evaluate all of the solutions and help find the one that makes the most sense for your client. We will even do a conference call or virtual meeting with you and your client to answer their questions.
There are many ways for your client to have a pot of gold set aside if they ever need care. You can be a Leprechaun all year round by helping your clients build theirs.
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