Thought for the day:

“Counting on your opponent to inform you when he or she breaks a rule is like expecting them to make fun of their own haircut.”                                                           Unknown

 

If you will read no further:

Then there is the story of the financial planner who is being threatened with a lawsuit by his client’s son (an attorney, does that surprise you?) for not offering his mother a long-term care policy.  He said she had plenty of money and didn’t need it.  Now she is in a nursing home spending $10,500 per month and it looks like that won’t stop any time soon.  Fortunately the planner has a lot of clients; so he can afford to lose this one as the son takes the account away.  I’m not sure what the deductible is on his E&O policy.

 

Thought for the week:

It was announced in the press this week that a prominent executive for a major broker/dealer is resigning his recently accepted position so that he could tend to the healthcare needs of his parents and in-laws.  This is a great illustration of the impact that long-term care episodes can have on one’s life as well as others around him.

I was discussing this very subject at a recent breakfast with a long time friend and very successful financial planner .  Three things he said impressed me most.

1. He mentioned that his aging clientele was “falling like leaves”.  With uncanny regularity they are announcing a move into a senior care facility or using home care because of dementia, or some other debilitating cause.
2. The toll that it is taking on the families of his clients is appalling; with kids and relatives fighting one another for the money; and who is responsible to take care of mom and dad.
3. He was glad he purchased a robust LTCi policy many years ago (as did I) because even though he has sufficient assets to pay for most likely care scenarios, it is comforting to know that when the time comes there will be extra money available so it will not be such an issue to the family.

I can’t tell you how many times I have heard advisors say that their clients don’t NEED to buy LTCi insurance as they have plenty of money to pay for it.  Clearly they have not yet experienced enough of their clients writing checks for $10,000 each month; or talked to the “kid” who’s upset at seeing his inheritance being wasted away on nursing care bills; and which sister is taking care of mom and which brother is AWOL, and on, and on.

And it could have all been avoided if the advisor would have just insisted on his clients moving some of their assets into a linked-benefit insurance contact before they got too sick to do anything but put up 100% of their assets to guarantee their care.  Tragic!

 

Most inane comment of the week:

“My client can afford to self insure for LTCi.  No, he really can’t move any money (one year’s worth of self insure) into MoneyGuard” (to multiply it 4-6 times for LTC.)

 

Rate Drop Announced:  There’s a surprise

TLC will drop rates for new contract in all states except CA CT FL HI IN NJ  NY .  Interest rate will go down effective 4/22 from 3.25 to 3.0.  If you have some proposals outstanding you should call clients and tell them now is the time to decide.   Long Apps must be received in HO BEFORE 4/22; TLC Quick request tickets in good order by 4/19 and interview completed by 5/11.