Several weeks ago, I attended a dinner meeting consisting of financial advisors (FA). Having worked with hundreds of FAs over the course of seventeen years, I knew quite a few of them and eagerly caught up about business and families.
Somewhere between the main course and dessert, an advisor that I've worked with for many years came over and took a seat next to me. I'll call him "Aaron."
When I first met Aaron, he was still a young FA who knew little about LTC costs let alone its personal impact. After helping his clients understand LTC, he began to see the financial vulnerabilities that many of his clients faced should they need long-term care in the future. He fervently believed in the power of planning to mitigate risks and bring a sense of security, much like myself. I predicted that with experience, he would become an advisor well versed on LTC.
What I didn't expect was that Aaron would call me up almost immediately after our first few meetings and ask if I would sit down with him and his mother (who I'll call "Sandy") to find the right LTC solution for her. That was 15 years ago, but I can still recall some of Sandy's concerns. Though she was just in her fifties, she was already a widow who understood her own exposure to potential long-term care scenarios.
Sandy's biggest concern was the prospect of not having enough money to live out her life in dignity. She wanted to retain control of her choices and her money. After our conversation, it took her little time to determine that a long-term care insurance (LTCI) policy was the answer. She applied for a policy and was accepted.
