Discount Grand Circle Travel Code

A discount savings for Grand Circle Travel land tours or cruises has been made available by the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance.  The savings offer is valid for first time travelers and can be utilized by any senior according to the AALTCI director.

“We are pleased today to announce a $100-per-person discount that is now available to our organization’s members who help older Americans plan for long-term care,” announced Jesse Slome, director of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance a membership-supported organization.   “The special savings is offered to our members but is open for insurance agents at large as well as to any consumer age 62 or older.”

To take advantage of the Grand Circle savings offer, a traveler merely needs to mention Jesse Slome’s name and the special Code 932019 when making a reservation.  “This discount is ideal for Association members but we’re able to make it available to anyone,” Slome added.

The Association announced the special savings as the latest benefit available that also includes discounts on continuing education, errors and omissions insurance as well as hearing programs for seniors.

“There is more to life than selling insurance,” Slome remarked during his call with the organization’s members.  An avid traveler, Slome shared that he had just returned from exploring Mongolia and the Gobi desert.

Jesse Slome is founder and director of several insurance trade organizations that advocate for the importance of planning and support insurance professionals who market long-term care insurance, Medicare Supplement insurance and other health-related products.    According to online resources, Grand Circle Travel has more than 30 offices worldwide and approximately 3,500 associates, guides, and crew serving more than 110,000 travelers per year.

To learn more about long-term care insurance costs or to request a long-term care insurance quote from a local professional, visit the Association’s website at www.aaltci.org or call 818-597-3227.

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The open season period, which ran from April 4 to June 24, allowed these individuals to sign up for the long term care insurance coverage with abbreviated underwriting, which means they had to answer fewer health questions during the enrollment process.

The Office of Personnel Management, which runs the program, said today that the 20 percent increase in enrollment brought the program to 270,000 total enrollees.  “The Federal program is the nation’s largest group plan,” explains Jesse Slome, executive director of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance http://www.aaltci.org.  “In addition to those enrolling in the plan, we estimate some 10,000 or more individuals purchased private coverage as a result of all the promotion.”

“We’ve seen strong support for the program in federal agencies, and ultimately in the number of people who applied and were accepted into the program,” OPM Director John Berry said in a statement. “OPM is proud of the success of the FLTCIP — one of the most flexible, inclusive and affordable long term care insurance programs, designed to help employees plan for their needs as they age.” 

The open enrollment was the first major open season since OPM initiated the program and the first time eligibility was extended to same-sex domestic partners. OPM said it received more than 300 applications from same-sex domestic partners. 

“We were receiving as many as 30 calls a day from consumers during the open enrollment period,” Slome adds.  “As a result, we expect overall industry sales for 2011 will be higher than 2010 a most welcome occurrence.”

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 This represents a 53 percent increase over the daily value of claims paid by the same entities in 2007 according to study findings.  “Every single day, long-term care insurers pay benefits for home care, assisted living and nursing home care,” explains Jesse Slome, executive director of the national trade organization. 

“Benefits paid by just these leading insurers totaled nearly $4 billion for the year, an amount that will keep growing as more aging policyholders qualify for benefits from their coverage.”

The study examined claims-paying data for leading insurers that provide coverage to some 5.76 million individuals.  “During a typical 30-day timeframe, these insurers paid benefits to nearly 135,000 individuals,” Slome notes.  According to the Association’s 2010 LTC Insurance Sourcebook, some 31.0 percent of new individual claims are for home care services, 30.5 percent for assisted living and 38.5 percent for skilled nursing home care.

In 2007, the same entities participating in the study paid $7.0 million dollars in daily benefits according to the AALTCI report.  “As policyholders age the likelihood of needing costly long-term care increases as does the value of having this important protection,” Slome adds.  Some eight million Americans currently own long-term care insurance with about 350,000 new policies sold yearly.

For more information on long-term care insurance visit the Association’s online Consumer Information Center at http://www.aaltci.org/. 

2011 LONG-TERM CARE INSURANCE CLAIMS PAID REPORT

Data and information may be used with credit to the “American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (www.aaltci.org)”.

For further information or for comments, contact Jesse Slome, executive director at (818) 597-3227

Study conducted January 2011

2010 CLAIMS PAID DATA

Number of Covered Lives:       5.76 million for study  (8.05 million industrywide, 2010)

Daily Value of Claims Paid:      $10.76 million  (based on a 365-day cycle)
Annual: Roughly $4 billion for these insurers ($6 billion industrywide est.)

Number of Claimants:               134,431  (individuals receiving claim benefit during a 30-day timeframe)

Percentage Increase (fr: 2007): 53%

2007 CLAIMS PAID DATA

Daily Value of Claims Paid:      $7.03 million  (based on a 365-day cycle)     Annual:  Roughly $2.6 billion for these insurers

The following leading long-term care insurance companies provided data for this report.   Included is data for individual as well as employer-sponsored plans.
Listed alphabetically.

Conseco / Bankers Life
Continental Casualty
Genworth Life
John Hancock
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
Mutual of Omaha
Prudential Insurance Company of America
Thrivent Financial For Lutherans
Transamerica Life Insurance Co.
Unum Life Insurance

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“Costs for health insurance and other employee benefit programs increased dramatically last year so it’s not surprising that employees were older and more cost-conscious when it came to long-term care coverage,” says Jesse Slome, executive director of AALTCI, the long-term care insurance industry organization. 

According to the annual study, over a third (37.2%) of new group buyers were age 55 or older compared to 28 percent for the prior year (2008).   “Younger employees likely decided they could postpone the decision,” Slome suggests.

Nearly half (45.4%) of new enrollees selected daily benefit levels of $149 or less about an eight percent increase compared to the prior year.  “While there was an increase among those selecting less costly options, there was a slight increase in those selecting more costly plans offering daily benefits of $200 or more,” Slome adds.  “In addition, there was a slight increase in the number of new enrollees selecting longer benefit periods, which are more costly.”

According to the Association study, the most common benefit period selected remains five years.  Some 66.1 percent of buyers selected coverage designed to pay benefits for at least five years (up from 61.0% the prior year).  Unlike individual long-term care insurance policies where nearly half  of buyers (64.5%) purchased a five percent annual inflation growth option, only 15,4 percent selected this option with the vast majority (83.6%) selecting an option enabling them to increase benefit levels periodically in future years.  

The Association study also examined new claims beginning during the year.  Some 6.4 percent of new claims were initiated by individuals age 59 or younger.  Only 1.8 percent of claims made against individual LTC insurance policies were by individuals age 59 or less. Nearly half (49%) of benefit dollars paid for new group policy claimants were for home care with only 30 percent for nursing home care.

The complete findings of the survey are contained in the 2010 Long-Term Care Insurance Sourcebook published by the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance.  For more information visit the organization’s Website:  http://www.aaltci.org/2010sb/.

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