Parents Are A Powerful Motivator For Boomers Own LTC Buy
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Agents who have had success in the long term care insurance market say convincing boomers to think about LTCI is a matter of finding the right prospects, hammering home the idea that health care can consume huge amounts of retirement cash and tactfully reminding people of their own morbidity.
Ron Brie, a producer with LTC Financial Partners, gets many of his sales through referrals from the parents of boomers. Brie also gets referrals from attorneys and CPAs, he says, but "the most powerful suggestion comes from parents."
After more than 10 years in the business, most of his original prospects are now in their 80s, he points out.
"I now have 1,100 active clients, and whenever I speak to a client I ask them about their children," he says.
Jack Stayer, president of Northern States Brokerage Inc., says a strong belief in LTC helps convince clients they need it.
Stayer has been a believer since he and his wife both saw their fathers become the main caregiver for their mothers late in life.
"My wife and I agreed we were not going to let that happen to us," he says.
A few years after taking out a policy, Stayer began selling LTC himself.
"Ive been preaching that the market [for LTCI] was boomers," Stayer says. "People looked at me peculiarly because the big market was supposed to be people 72 years old or older."
But boomers, if they havent found out already, soon realize through their own parents experience that LTCI is necessary to protect their families from the risk of having to take care of them for many years, Stayer argues.
If the client balks at price, Stayer points out its cheaper to buy sooner than later. He uses a computer program to help clients look at how much it would cost them to wait.
