When selling long-term care insurance, start in the home, advises Karen Henderson, a long-term care insurance educator and founder of howtocare.com. She says advisors should go into the home of a potential client first to see if they can qualify, and second, to give tips to safe-proof the household to avoid early claims. (click here to see the checklist)

“Advisors should be building a relationship with their client that goes on for many years and often times advisors will go into a client’s home for a meeting…particularly with senior clients,” says Ms. Henderson.

She adds, “I think if you are a compassionate person you should look around in the client’s home…not being nosy...but by looking to see how they can get around and how well they can look after themselves.”

For example, she says, look in the fridge and observe the food situation to judge if they are eating properly. “Look at the pots on the stove. Are they burnt? These are indications that there can be an early cognitive impairment. Which can be dangerous and could disqualify the client,” emphasizes Ms. Henderson, who does not sell any long-term care insurance (LTC), but is recruited by insurers to educate advisors about the product.

About trust

Selling LTC involves a combination of qualities and skills, she sums up. “It is about having a trusting, compassionate relationship, caring about the welfare of your client and evaluating their readability for long-term care insurance.”

Offering tips to safe-proof the client’s home is also a key part of the advisor’s job, says Ms. Henderson. “Are they wearing old, worn-out shoes that have no support? Do they have scatter rugs that they can trip on? It happens in a heartbeat, a fall can trigger a claim and it can be the beginning of the end for an old person,” says Ms. Henderson, speaking from experience.

Ms. Henderson set up an informational website called Caregiver Network Inc. (caregiver.ca) in 1996, when her own father became ill and she found there was no place offering support for people caring for the elderly. “I started it on the Internet and then I got feedback from people from all over. I am unique in the country. There is nothing like the resource centre I have created,” she says.

Ms. Henderson also joined forces recently with Oliver’s Notes, a Toronto financial services education company, to build an LTC Canadian division for advisors. “It is going to concentrate on education of all facets of long-term care. We are building an education centre so advisors can take courses online,” explains Ms. Henderson.

She adds, “I learned when I started to teach this that advisors knew nothing about LTC.”

Overall, says Ms. Henderson, advisors need to position LTC as a tool within a comprehensive financial plan. “It has to fit in with everything else they are discussing with the client. If you don’t have sufficient assets, and if you can’t afford to pay the premiums comfortably, then it isn’t for you. But if you can, and you want to protect the money you have, the product should absolutely be considered.”

Facing client denial

Ms. Henderson adds that advisors may often run up against denial when marketing LTC to their clients. “Being the age-denying society we are, we all think we are immune to chronic illness and somehow the money will appear from the government or some other source to look after us.”

Farhang Nikoo sells primarily LTC and practices what Ms. Henderson preaches. The Cold Lake, Alberta advisor gets a feel for his client’s surroundings to see if they are healthy and will qualify. He also recognizes that LTC is unique because it is a different product to position and to sell. “Clients can feel this product,” he says. “I ask them, ‘do you know anyone in a long-term care home?’ And they say, ‘yes’. The client can feel that one day they will be there.”

Tom Ryan, an LTC insurance specialist for Clarica, sells the product on a referral basis. He asks the advisors who make the referral to see if there are any indicative signs that the client won’t qualify. “I tell my partners that if there is an oxygen tank behind the door of the prospective client, or if they are in a wheelchair, then they shouldn’t bother calling me.”

However, Phyllis Shelton, an LTC guru in the U.S. and founder of LTC Consultants says that even she burns her pots and she does not necessarily look around the client’s home for clues. However, she does ask a set list of questions to potential clients. “I ask them if they have been in the hospital, what medicines they are taking, if they have difficulty bathing or dressing, and if they use any equipment, such as an oxygen tank.”

Maintain relationship

Kim Stanley, co-founder of the Canadian Living Benefits Centre, specializing in critical illness insurance (CI) and LTC, says that caring for the elderly should not fall on the shoulders of the advisor.

“I don’t think it is the advisor’s responsibility to safe-proof the house, but it is to maintain client relations. When they do their client review once-a-year and if they pick up on something unusual, then they may want to talk to the family or the spouse,” Ms. Stanley points out. “The key is to make sure the family knows that there is an LTC plan in place. They should be aware because what happens if the person is stricken with dementia and may not remember?”

Ms. Stanley adds that LTC is still a young product and sales are still years away from really taking off. In 2003, there were only 8,000 policies sold in Canada, she says, quoting LIMRA International figures. “We are already having a hard time selling CI. It [LTC] is very much an infant product. Even though it has been around for awhile, nobody is promoting it. The demand for LTC is five years away.”

Daniela Cambone

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