Curt Horowitz's LTCI agency is in Mill Creek, WA, 20 miles northeast of Seattle. The business generates leads in a variety of ways — in addition to marketing to associations and credit unions, Horowitz generates Internet leads for agents, each of whom has their own territory. As a successful LTCI specialist, you may be wondering: What makes this agent tick?
Q: How many phone calls do you make each week to set appointments?
Curt Horowitz: I am calling leads from the Internet. I call them immediately when they come through. I reach 70 to 80 percent of them and make phone appointments with 70 to 80 percent of the ones I reach. My mentality is that being a business is a war, and that we lose most of the battles, but we don't have to win many to be successful. I am relentless in my work ethic. At the same time, I feel like I am retired. I walk the dog an hour a day, do yoga, work out, pick up my daughter, because I do my selling over the phone and don't schlep to appointments.
Q: How old were you when you bought your own LTCI policy?
CH: 41
Q: What's your personal plan for long term care?
CH: I take awfully good care of myself. I have a 40-year-old wife (I'm older!) and a 9-year-old daughter. I continue to think I'll live well in my 90s, because I work out, do yoga (Vinyasa), and play tennis. It's not that I'm in denial — it's that I'm too wound up living my life.
Q: Which LTCI policy do you sell the most these days, and why?
CH: MetLife and John Hancock because I feel they have the best overall value in the market.
Q: How many claims have you seen?
CH: Not many, since I have only been selling for 13 years. I expect that I'll see a lot more in the next decade, and I have 2,300 clients.
Q: Think back to when you graduated; what did you plan to be back then?
CH: I didn't go to school for anything other than to get an education and the experience. I've always been where I wanted to be. I spent 17 years in the health and fitness industry before joining the LTC industry. I think if you're lucky enough to make any money, it normally happens in your 40s.
