Showing posts with label assisted living. Show all posts
Showing posts with label assisted living. Show all posts

Monday, July 12, 2021

Why You Should Plan For 3 Stages Of Retirement 2023

Two weeks ago I was asked to give a talk to a local networking group about long term care insurance, as well as other related subjects. Most of the material I discussed had to do with the products available to us, like long term care insurance, short term home healthcare insurance and life insurance with "living benefits" that can be used in the case of a chronic illness or cognitive impairment, like Alzheimer's or dementia.

As usual, I discussed the three stages of retirement which are the Go Go Years, the Slow Go Years and the No Go Years. Unfortunately, most people don't plan for the last part, which is what ultimately costs them the most money. 

Take a couple of minutes and watch the video below which covers a short talk on the subject. If you have any questions or comments, please post them below and if you can, please subscribe to our channel on YouTube. 


 

Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, helping people find affordable life, disability, long term care, cancer, accident and other insurance coverages in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia. He's also is a professional speaker helping sales people be more productive and efficient, and has spoken to professional and civic organizations throughout the Southeast. And please subscribe to this blog!

Wednesday, June 23, 2021

I Sell Money

When I first got into the insurance business I didn't have a mentor or anyone to "show me the ropes" per se. I learned quickly that my sales manager had a financial interest in me selling, and one would think that he would want me, as well as the rest of the agents on his team, to succeed. And while it was true to an extent, I also learned that I needed a mentor who did not have any skin in the game when it came to my success. Basically I needed someone who could be objective and give me sound advice who would be looking out for my interests.

Since no one was stepping up to the plate to help me, I started reading books about sales and any information I could find about successful insurance agents. There were many motivational books and most of them gave the same basic information. One day, I came across an article about an agent who was deemed "The Greatest Life Insurance Agent of All Time". His name was Ben Feldman and his story was quite remarkable. 

I don't want to bore you with all of the details as you can look up the details on him with a simple Google search, but the simple fact is that he found a way to sell more life insurance as an agent than some entire companies at the time. When asked how he sold so many insurance policies he said, "I do not sell life insurance. I sell money."


You see, Mr. Feldman was able to clearly communicate what life insurance is. When a client buys a policy, they are actually buying a promise. That promise is that if the insured should die, the insurance company will pay a death claim which will exceed what the client has paid in. 

Mr. Feldman also was noted as saying to his agents, "Don't sell life insurance. Sell what life insurance can do." In today's world of life insurance, a policy can do a lot for a family when the insured passes away, but with all of the living benefits available nowadays, people can use them while they are still living. 

Let's face it, no one really wants to buy life insurance, or any other kind of insurance for that matter. It's not fun or something one can show off to their friends. But it is necessary, especially when others are dependent on us financially. Our children rely on us to provide housing and education, which costs money. Our parents, who always insists that they don't want to be a burden on anyone else, may ultimately rely on us to help with long term care costs if they haven't planned in advance.

And then there are others that may depend on us financially, like charities and churches. When a large donor passes away, that non-profit organization may need to find other donors to fill the missing gaps. And sometimes, those large donors will list the charity of their choice as a beneficiary on a policy.

Ben Feldman knew all of this and made sure he didn't sell just the steak, but the sizzle as well. Instead of saying he was selling life insurance, he would call it something like "a special educational package for your children's children."

So the next time you talk to a life insurance agent, remember, we don't just sell insurance, but we sell money, and a promise. 

Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, helping people find affordable life, disability, long term care, cancer, accident and other insurance coverages in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia. He's also is a professional speaker helping sales people be more productive and efficient, and has spoken to professional and civic organizations throughout the Southeast. And please subscribe to this blog!

Friday, February 26, 2021

What Is The Current State Of Long Term Care Part 3

In the previous posts we took a look at what Long Term Care (LTC) is as well as how those who suffer from chronic illnesses are cared for in various types of facilities. As explained, stays in nursing homes and assisted living facilities are not cheap. Statistically 2 out of every 5 people will need some sort of LTC services, and the cost of those services is steadily rising each year. 

We also discussed a couple of ways to shift the burden of the expenses to an insurance carrier, through either a traditional stand alone Long Term Care insurance (LTCI) policy or a life insurance policy with living benefits. Depending on one's financial situation, age and health conditions, one option may be preferred over the other.  However, there are still another way to help cover the costs of LTC services. 

Short Term Home Healthcare (STHHC) insurance is a great alternative for those who possibly can't afford the premiums of a LTCI policy. As most people would prefer to stay in their own homes instead of a facility, a STHHC is an obvious choice. Especially with Covid wreaking havoc in nursing and assisted living facilities. home healthcare is a better option. But there is a caveat. 

The costs of home healthcare are much higher than staying in a facility. This makes sense if one considers that one-on-one care will cost more compared to a facility where several staff members watch over dozens of people at once.


As I mentioned in a previous post, my father suffered from Parkinson's Disease and insisted on being in his own home. His in-home care company was charging him in excess of $75,000 each year! He barely had the funds from his pension and some rental incomes and fell short each month. To subsidize the shortfall he was dipping into his home equity line, which our family was unaware of until he passed away. 

A better way to pay for the cost of home healthcare is the purchase of a Short Term Home Healthcare insurance policy. The cost of one of these policies is not nearly as expensive as a traditional LTCI plan and the application process is very simple. However there are a few drawbacks. 

The policy only covers in home care and for a total of 365 days. Given that some people only receive in-home care services a few days of the week, the 365 days don't have to be consecutive. In other words, the policy can be used over several years potentially. 

The applicant for one of these policies must be 60 years old and the rates do go up every five years, so these are points that must be taken into consideration. However, I still recommend this coverage to our clients who are looking into LTCI. 

For a good explanation of the policy and how it works, you can watch a short video by clicking here

Trying to self-fund long term care expenses is difficult for the vast majority of Americans. There is a myth that the government will take care of us, but it's not true. With our life spans getting longer it doesn't mean that the quality of life is better as we age. Making sure that we don't burden our families as our health declines should be a priority for most people. 

As we plan for our retirement years we need to seriously take into consideration that our health will decline and there will be expenses to deal with. Let us help you with planning and if you have any questions let us know. In the meantime, please stay healthy!

Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, helping people find affordable life and disability insurance coverage. He's also is a professional speaker helping sales people be more productive and efficient and has spoken to professional and civic organizations throughout the Southeast. And please subscribe to this blog!

Wednesday, February 24, 2021

What Is The Current State Of Long Term Care? Part 2

In the previous post we looked at Long Term Care (LTC) services and when people need them. Included in that summary was how expensive LTC can be. As discussed, someone can work their whole life to build a nest egg of assets, only to have those assets depleted due to a chronic illness. The alternative is to shift that financial risk to an insurance company by taking out a policy while one is still insurable. 

We also covered one of the options which was a life insurance policy with "living benefits" or a LTC rider to help cover these expenses. One advantage of this is that if the insured should die unexpectedly, the policy will still pay a death benefit.

Another option is the traditional stand alone Long Term Care Insurance (LTCI) policy. These insurance policies have been around for a relatively short period of time and there have been a lot of changes over the years. And even though they are pretty comprehensive in that they can help pay for care in a facility or for "in home" care, they also can help pay for other expenses, like construction of a ramp or "informal caregiver" training, when a family member is involved. 

There are other issues that one needs to be aware of when it comes to LTCI. First, the underwriting process is different (as in stricter) when someone applies for coverage. The carrier may want to have a cognitive test done, for instance. I had a client get declined for coverage because he had a history of heart problems and smoked a few cigars each week. Separately they may not have been a problem but the underwriter put the two together and saw that as a potential risk. 

Also, most stand along LTCI policies usually have a provision that allows the carrier to raise the rates on the policy, unlike the previously mentioned life insurance which would "lock in" on a rate. After the financial crisis of 2008, several companies increased their rates on their in-force books of business, some doing it more than once. For those who are trying to do the right thing and plan ahead, this provision can come back to bite them.

Yet another thing to consider is that a lot of insurance carriers have gotten away from offering LTCI policies. These companies have either stopped selling new policies but still keep the old ones on their books, or they have sold the books of business to other carriers. This is due to the fact that when these policies were developed they did not have a lot of claims history to go on when setting the premium rates. As claims mushroomed, the number of carriers offering these policies shrunk. 

One more thing to be aware of is how these policies pay. Typically, LTCI pays claims as a reimbursement, which means the insured will need to send the bills for LTC expenses to the insurance company. Most nursing and assisted living facilities will take care of this matter for you, but remember that if you are a patient in one of these facilities you may need to rely on a family member to handle this. 

With all of that to consider, I still think that LTCI can be a great value as long as the client is aware of how they pay benefits and the multitude of features. A good agent will discuss all of this with a prospective client in detail and should also include other family members as well. These policies may seem expensive but can save you and your loved ones tens of thousands of dollars.

In the next post we'll look at one more option that is available. In the meantime, please stay healthy! 


Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, helping people find affordable life and disability insurance coverage. He's also is a professional speaker helping sales people be more productive and efficient and has spoken to professional and civic organizations throughout the Southeast. And please subscribe to this blog! 

Monday, February 22, 2021

What Is The Current State Of Long Term Care? Part 1

Over the past year nursing homes, assisted living facilities and other facilities that house the chronically ill, mostly the elderly*, have been ravaged by Covid. The numbers of infections and deaths are heartbreaking, especially since the vast majority of these people are isolated from their families. But why are all of these people in these facilities to begin with? Are there other options available and what do those options cost?

In general terms, most of the people who are in these types of facilities are deemed "chronically ill", which means that they will be ill for a long period of time and there is no cure. Some will receive some rehabilitation but getting them back to 100% is not possible. An example of this could be an older person who has broken a hip which will prevent them from walking again. 

Medically speaking, long term care (LTC) services are for those who are unable to perform or need help with Activities of Daily Living (ADL's). These are:

  • Bathing
  • Transferring (going from the bed to a chair, for example)
  • Dressing
  • Using the toilet
  • Eating
  • Incontinence

Paying for these services can be expensive. Many people find out too late that Medicare will not cover the costs of assisted living facilities and will only pay for skilled nursing care for up to 100 days, and that is only if you are released from a hospital. In other words, the smart move is to begin looking for LTC insurance early on when you are healthy and insurable.

Most LTC policy's benefits will be triggered if someone is unable to perform two of the six ADL's. Another way to trigger the benefits is to be cognitively impaired, i.e. Alzheimer's or dementia.

There are other types of facilities as well, which mostly are non-medical. Think of an apartment but has meals and someone checks in on you. LTC policies generally don't cover these types of facilities.

Let's assume that you are reading this and are healthy enough to go through the underwriting process with an insurance carrier. What are your options? My suggestion is to call a few facilities in your area** to find out what they are charging their patients. Most are pretty good at giving you rates, but be aware that some will give you a monthly rate and others a daily rate, which is an industry norm. 

With that valuable information at your disposal you can begin to look at ways of covering those costs. Needless to say, these services can be very expensive and it can easily take a few years to wipe out any assets one may have spent a lifetime working for.

Let me say right off the bat that there are a limited number of available "Medicaid beds" in each facility, but to be eligible for those one has to prove a level of indigence. In other words, you are limited in the assets you own and there is a "look back period", which at the time of this writing was 60 months. This is to avoid someone from transferring all of their assets to a family member so they can get free nursing care. 

Going back to our options, if you are young enough you may want to look into a life insurance policy with LTC or "living benefits" as part of the policy or even a rider. This locks in the rate for your coverage and if you should pass away before you use it the life insurance will pay a death benefit to your loved ones. 

The nice part about this option is that it pays you a percentage of the face amount of the policy once your doctor says that you can't perform 2 of the 6 ADL's or if you are cognitively impaired. Once the benefits are triggered they pay until they run out.

In the next post I will go over a couple more options. In the meantime, check us out on the web and please stay healthy!

*One of the myths of nursing facilities is that only the elderly are patients, when in fact nearly a third of the patients are under the age of 65.

**Costs vary dramatically depending on your geography.  

Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, helping people find affordable life and disability insurance coverage. He's also is a professional speaker helping sales people be more productive and efficient and has spoken to professional and civic organizations throughout the Southeast. And please subscribe to this blog! 

Wednesday, January 27, 2021

Life Insurance and Long Term Care Combo Products

If you or a loved one ever need help with daily living activities, you will discover that custodial care can be expensive. That’s true whether the care is provided at home, in an assisted living facility, or in a nursing home, and it’s especially true if care is needed for many years.

Long-term care (LTC) insurance is available, but insurance companies have learned that these costs can be steep. Premium increases for LTC insurance are in the news (for example, some press reports tell of cases where premiums have tripled in the last three years), and some insurance companies have dropped out of this business. Consumers face the prospect of paying thousands of dollars a year, every year, and never getting any benefit at all if it turns out that custodial care is not needed.

Some people might prefer another path to LTC coverage, such as a hybrid or “combo” product. In a traditional life insurance policy a consumer buys a product that will deliver a death benefit, but with a combo product, the consumer can obtain a rider that will offer a payout if the covered individual needs LTC.

Let's assume that our new friend Bob has an insurance policy on his life, payable to his son James. Bob’s policy has an LTC rider. So, if Bob needs LTC, that insurance policy will provide a benefit to help pay those bills. Regardless if Bob needs care and collects an LTC benefit, his life insurance policy will pay a death benefit to James at the time of Bob’s death.

Generally, in this situation, Bob would receive an “accelerated death beneļ¬t” to pay for care.  When someone receives such a payout, the amount of the lifetime benefit is subtracted from the death benefit that eventually will be paid to beneficiaries. Typically, a combo life insurance product would be some form of whole life or universal life, rather than term life insurance, although of late we offer a term policy that includes "living benefits".

The common aspect of this tactic is the absence of a “use it or lose it” drawback. With standalone LTC insurance, the money spent could wind up generating no return. With life insurance there will be a payout to someone at some point. The extra LTC coverage is another benefit that possibly will come in handy.

Acquiring LTC coverage in this manner usually avoids the threat of future premium increases. As another attraction, existing life insurance policies might be exchanged, tax-free, for a new contract that includes an LTC rider.

The attractions of LTC combo products, however, come with negatives as well. The underlying problem here includes the potentially disastrous costs of LTC, and this problem can’t be escaped by switching from one type of insurance to another. There often is a cost to adding an LTC rider to an insurance policy. These combo products may require a substantial outlay, which must be paid upfront or within relatively few years.

In addition, tax advantages may be lost with combo products. With most standalone LTC insurance policies, certain amounts of your premium count as a medical expense, which can potentially be deducted. That’s not the case with a rider to a life insurance policy.

As of 2017, people age 40 and younger can include LTC premiums up to $410 as a medical expense; that amount scales up as premium payers age, maxing out at $5,110 for those 70 and older. Those outlays are added to other medical expenses, and the amount that exceeds 10% of adjusted gross income can be taken as an itemized deduction.

Combo products vary widely, and so do individuals’ concerns on this issue. However, generally, people who only want LTC insurance might be best-served with standalone coverage, working with an insurance professional to hold down premiums. That said, if you are interested in life insurance such as whole life or universal life, it may be worth exploring the idea of adding LTC coverage, perhaps for an added fee.

There are a few factors we take into account when discussing these options, notably the age of the insured at the time of the application and, of course, their budget. A younger person may find a combo policy more affordable than an older person.

If you have questions or concerns let us know. In the meantime, please stay healthy!

Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, helping people find affordable life and disability insurance coverage. He's also is a professional speaker helping sales people be more productive and efficient and has spoken to professional and civic organizations throughout the Southeast. And please subscribe to this blog! 

Wednesday, November 18, 2020

My Personal Long Term Care Story Part 2

In my previous post I told the story of my aunt who spent 22 years in a nursing home after breaking her hip. Since her adult children were in no position financially to pay for her care, my parents took the reins. The financial part of her care was draining, but so was the emotional segment. Frankly speaking, my parents were burnt out.

When my aunt died, my mother called me and broke the news in a very somber voice. Knowing exactly what she was thinking I asked, "Do I hear dad in the background dancing a little jig?" Two decades of financial burden was finally off his plate.

My mother chuckled and said, "Shut up. We're supposed to be sad." She was sad at some level but at that moment she was glad that it was over. 

As I mentioned previously, soon after this I approached my parents about purchasing long term care insurance. Surely they would see the need after all they had been through, but that wasn't the case at all. In fact, my father was adamantly against the idea. "I'm not trying to make a sale, I'm trying to avoid going through all this again," I pled , but he wouldn't listen. "I don't care if you buy a policy from someone else, just get a policy!" I said.

Within a few years, my mother, who was now in her seventies, was in need of a knee replacement. At some point during or after the surgery she had a small stroke. The two week rehab became six weeks of rehab.

The stroke also triggered dementia. When she returned home, she insisted that family members, who were long dead, were at the house and she was going to serve them dinner. My father, who had refused my help in getting a long term care insurance policy was her caregiver. Over the next five years they settled in to a routine. I would drive two hours on the weekends to visit, sometimes with my own family, and sometimes not. It was all very stressful, as my father, I discovered, was a micromanager. 

My mother's health declined slowly over the years and my father wasn't doing much better. He developed a twitch in his hand and refused to discuss it. His weight dropped as he tried to manage the household, which he wasn't very good at doing, while driving my mother to her various appointments. Occasionally, he would ask me to fill in while he took care of his own medical issues

About five years after her stroke my mother had a health setback, which was looking pretty dire. That's when my father told my sister that "Maybe I need to look into that insurance your brother tried to talk to me about." She had to explain that it was too late, no insurance company would accept my mother's application. 

Seven months later my mother passed away. Now all of the attention was refocused on my father, who would later disclose that he had already been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. 

He insisted on living alone, and let it be known to anyone who would listen that he wanted to be left alone. My sister and I made attempts to help, which he only accepted when he was desperate. After a series of falls we intervened, saying that he needed to either go to a facility or have someone stay with him. He settled on a home health agency which was approximately double the cost of a facility. 

When I asked him how he could afford the home health care, he said that he still had the rental income from the properties my mother had inherited, along with his pension. Unfortunately, he also had more expenses and debt that he didn't let us know about. To make up the difference, he was dipping into his home equity line. We didn't know about that part of his finances until his death earlier this year. 

One of my regrets is that I was never able to convince my father that there was value in long term care insurance. Friends and family, who still acknowledge that he was very "difficult" man, try to tell me that I did my best, but as an agent, I failed in my job. 

Nowadays, we have long term care policies, life insurance policies with "living benefits", and short term home health care policies, which would have helped my parents immensely, if they had been open to the idea. If you don't want to be a burden to your family, take a serious look into these options. 

With Covid taking it's toll in facilities, home health care is more important now than ever. If you have a family member in your care, take precautions, wear a mask and wash your hands, like we've been told. Please be safe and enjoy your holidays with your loved ones so you can enjoy them next year as well. 

Chris Castanes is the president of Surf Financial Brokers, helping people find affordable life and disability insurance coverage. He's also is a professional speaker helping sales people be more productive and efficient and has spoken to professional and civic organizations throughout the Southeast. And please subscribe to this blog! Thanks!