This month, I give you this producer's take on the 9th Long-Term Care Insurance Producers Summit, held at the Tropicana in Las Vegas, April 3rd-5th.
"Get over it!" cried Jesse Slome, executive director of the American Association for LTCI. This became the conference rallying cry.
What did he mean by "Get over it"? The illustration on the front page of the conference agenda featured a tall, red brick wall with a suited-up advisor pole-vaulting over it. The caption was "Get over it!" Thus, there were two different meanings to our battle cry. The first: Sure, we have recently experienced LTCI carrier contraction, bad publicity and rate hikes; get over it! The second: We are commissioned sales professionals. Have we never had obstacles to overcome? Get over them!
Jesse's battle cry and call to action were what the Summit was all about. It was impossible for producers not to leave feeling passionate, optimistic and turbo-charged about LTCI.
The session breakdown
I attended educational sessions on LTCI-combo products, underwriting, LTCI actuarialization and CLASS Act LTC that were interesting and very worthwhile.
Perhaps even more valuable were the sessions spotlighting LTCI carriers and producers.
Only at the Summit would you see a panel of LTCI CEOs seated together on one stage, answering questions about their companies' plans and commitment to the LTCI industry. Right before us, we got questions and answers directly from Ross Bagshaw, President and CEO of Transamerica LTC; Malcolm Cheung, LTCI VP from Prudential; Marianne Harrison, LTCI President at John Hancock; Bill Jones, President and COO of MedAmerica; and Beth Ludden, Senior VP of LTCI product development at Genworth.
This session confirmed for me that despite contraction, our LTCI carriers are strongly committed to the LTCI market financially and morally. All the carrier executives stated they are committed to selling LTCI for the long haul, and that LTCI business is profitable for them. What a confidence and conviction-booster this session was!
We had award presentations for the leading producers and the leading LTCI distributors. Guess what? The LTCI industry is alive and well. LTCI sales are booming! Lot's of LTCI producers are making a very good living and helping people, to boot. I get re-energized just thinking of these sessions.
A special shout out to Scott Olson. Scott and I knew and admired each other, but only electronically, before the Summit. We are both LTCI specialists in solo practice. Scott led a session on selling LTCI by phone and Internet. He was candid, well-prepared and shared his knowledge and experience with his large audience with complete generosity. Getting to know Scott and his wife Carolyn personally and professionally was just one of several Summit highlights for me.
