How to Deal with Only 1 Insurable Spouse LTC Situations?

[CALTCAgent]

Hello,

Its often difficult when selling individual LTC and only 1 spouse is insurable. Often they reject individual LTC for the healthy spouse.

I have tried various ways of handling this objection. I am looking to see if I can convert a few more or maybe others are having success with a way of handling this.

I am looking for analogies, techniques, ways to handle this situation and enlighten couples that don't want LTC if only 1 can get it.

Thanks!

 

[Mr_Ed]

Hello,

Its often difficult when selling individual LTC and only 1 spouse is insurable. Often they reject individual LTC for the healthy spouse.

I have tried various ways of handling this objection. I am looking to see if I can convert a few more or maybe others are having success with a way of handling this.

I am looking for analogies, techniques, ways to handle this situation and enlighten couples that don't want LTC if only 1 can get it.

Thanks!

It's not uncommon for spouses to say, "We'll just take care of each other--we don't need LTCi."

That may be possible if the caregiving spouse is perfectly healthy. But, how can a spouse who has serious health issues (the uninsurable spouse) care for the other spouse. He/she already has health problems.

That was the case with one of my clients about 10 years ago. The husband had severe heart issues. The wife was perfectly healthy. But, it was the wife who needed care first. She got cancer and the husband called me from the hospital room and said, "They are discharging my wife in a few days and I can't take care of her... you know all my health problems. We have a 90 day elimination period. I can't take care of her for 90 days."

I reminded him that his policy had no elimination period for care at home. He called the claims hotline and the care coordinator met with him and his wife in the hospital the next day. The home health aide and the care coordinator were waiting at their front door when he drove his wife home from the hospital.

He called me in tears a few weeks later because he was so pleased with the care and the entire claims process.

He couldn't have care for her because of his health problems. But, she, the "healthy one", needed care for and got the care she needed.


nadm

 

[billberry12]

That is textbook LTCI education. We, as professionals, have to figure a way to get the uninsureable spouse to "get" this concept. My comment is always " If one of you is uninsureable, that makes it double important to insure the one that is insureable. Good personal story Scott!
Bill

 

[Briefcaseboy]

Women on average live longer than men. Usually, it is the man who needs care first. The wife will take care of her husband until he passes, then later when she needs care, there is no one to care for her. When the husband is uninsurable and the wife is, relate this concern with them. When a couple says they just cannot afford LTC, stress the need for at least insuring the wife.

 

[Mr_Ed]

Women on average live longer than men. Usually, it is the man who needs care first. The wife will take care of her husband until he passes, then later when she needs care, there is no one to care for her. When the husband is uninsurable and the wife is, relate this concern with them. When a couple says they just cannot afford LTC, stress the need for at least insuring the wife.

If you can only insure one spouse, it's better to insure the spouse who has the highest retirement income or the spouse who is most likely to need care first.

In fact, as a default, it would make more sense to insure the husband and not the wife.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

If you can only insure one spouse, it's better to insure the spouse who has the highest retirement income or the spouse who is most likely to need care first.

In fact, as a default, it would make more sense to insure the husband and not the wife.

Real life example:

I met a man around 1997. He was a retired engineer from GM. He had worked for them for about 40 years.

His monthly income was about $80,000 per year (most of that was pension and about $25,000 of it was social security). The pension had an automatic COLI each year.

His wife had a small pension and social security income totaling about $20,000 per year.

They had about a $100k mortgage on their home that was worth about $200k.

They owned one car free and clear and had owed about $10k on their newest car.

And they had about $30,000 in savings.

Why did they only have $30,000 in savings? Because they had 8 kids (or more... I forget) and they put ALL of them through college.

A lot of agents would say, "They don't qualify for LTCi. They don't have enough assets to protect."

The husband realized that he needed LTCi because if something were to happen to him and he needed to qualify for Medicaid, his wife would have to live on about $30,000 of income. (whatever the MMMNA was at that time, plus the housing allowance, would have totaled about $30k per year in income for her.) Since she already had about $20k in her own name, the other $10k would come from her hubbie's income. The rest of his pension and SS would go to the cost of the nursing home.

If something happened to him, his wife would have gone from living on a household income of over $100k to about $30k.

He didn't want her to have to sell the house, downsize, or get rid of the nice car. He realized that he needed an LTCi policy for himself.

I worked up the quote just covering him and also a policy covering both of them. He ended up getting one covering both of them.

But, the story illustrates the point of why, if you're only going to get a policy on one spouse, it should be the spouse with the highest income and/or the spouse most likely to need care first (not last).

 

[Briefcaseboy]

Well, you are right. No sense doing a spend down on both of them and since she is going to need care last, let her go in on medicaid. Well, I just learned a real life sales technique.
Thanks Never !

 

[CALTCAgent]

Thanks for the responses so far!

The example NADM gave was good regarding the spouse with the most income.

I vaguely remember an analogy I heard in the past. Correct me if anybody knows this one and its wrong. I have never used it.

If one horse got out of the barn you'd close the door so the other wouldn't get out, wouldn't you?

Any analogies that others use and seem to work?

 

[Mr_Ed]

Thanks for the responses so far!

The example NADM gave was good regarding the spouse with the most income.

Any quick analogies that people use to get the point across?

I vaguely remember something from a Phyllis Shelton tape regarding this. Correct me if anybody knows this one and its wrong. I have never used it.

If one horse got out of the barn you'd close the door so the other wouldn't get out, wouldn't you?

How about:

if one spouse couldn't get auto insurance because of a speeding ticket, would the other driver decide to drop his/her insurance?

if you couldn't get insurance on your vacation home because it was on the gulf shore, would you drop the insurance on your primary residence?

 

[Arthur Rudnick]

"If one horse got out of the barn you'd close the door so the other wouldn't get out, wouldn't you?"

"if one spouse couldn't get auto insurance because of a speeding ticket, would the other driver decide to drop his/her insurance?"

"if you couldn't get insurance on your vacation home because it was on the gulf shore, would you drop the insurance on your primary residence?"


I always ask...............

"Why is it, if a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball or saving an infant’s life, she will choose to save the infant’s life, without even considering if there’s a man on base?"

Doesn't really help me sell any insurance, but who cares?

 

[clearlight]

Never Dull's 4/11 story is brilliant. I'm memorizing that one!