Despite the volatility in the long-term care insurance (LTCI) market, Meredith Pensack, CLTC, has continued to thrive. As owner of Long Term Care Insurance Planning in Newton, Mass., she's consistently placed highly in the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance annual sales rankings and is a member of the Million Dollar Round Table. Senior Market Advisor recently asked Pensack, an independent agent who works with several carriers, for her business and industry insights.
SMA: When and why did you get into the LTCI business?
Meredith Pensack: I became licensed in 2003. I was the care coordinator for a great aunt who lived out of state and as she aged she needed some assistance. What she really could have used was home care or assisted living but she didn't have the funds for that. So, unfortunately, she ended up going on Medicaid and into a nursing home even though she didn't have that intensive care need. I turned to my husband and said, 'We're never going to let this happen to us' and we got long-term care insurance at a young age. Years later I sat for the insurance exam to represent the product.
SMA: Who are your LTCI clients?
Pensack: My average client is in their late 50s and has stopped paying for college tuitions and perhaps thinks that their term life insurance is somewhat less important at this time. We will look at funding long-term care insurance through premiums that used to be set aside for life insurance. Another key element is that many of the people I speak to have lived through a parent needing care. It becomes a wake-up call for them to explore this topic for themselves.
SMA: Do you work any other group or worksite markets?
Pensack: Only when I stumble upon it. For example, I recently spoke to a woman who happened to be a vice president in a small nonprofit in Boston and I am now set up to do presentations to the employees and am setting up a small group for her organization. But most of my business is with individuals.
SMA: How do you acquire clients—what's working for you?
