long term care insurance guide for women on their own

planning.  The guide will be available beginning later this week, AALTCI announced.

“Women face a significant risk of needing long term care and actually receive 66 percent of all long term care insurance benefit dollars paid out yearly,” explains Jesse Slome, executive director of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance.   The head of the national trade group just authored a new consumer planning guide for the millions of women on their own.

“There are millions of women between the ages of 50 and 65 who are single, divorced or widowed,” Slome noted.  “They not only face a great risk of needing care one day but lack the built-in caregiver of a spouse and many don’t have adult children they can call on if a need for care occurs.  Planning is so important for women, but we believe it is especially important for the category we refer to as women on their own.”

The new guide was produced by the Association to help insurance professionals reach out to prospects in light of pending higher insurance costs for women recently announced by several leading long term care insurance companies.  “Women will start to pay more for this important protection with some states implementing the rate increases in April,” Slome reports.  “The window is closing for women to lock in the lower unisex rates still being offered by some insurers, but that will likely end at some point this year.”

The new guide is available in electronic format allowing insurance professionals to attach copies to emails, post on their websites and offer via blogs and other media.  Guides are personalized with the agent’s contact information, photograph and other personalization.

The American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance focuses on educating both consumers and insurance professionals.  The new guide is available exclusively to members of the organization and can be viewed via the organization’s member benefits section.  The cost for personaliuzed versions of the guide will be $35, a one-time charge.

For additional information visit the organization’s website or call the national organization at 818-597-3227.

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Access to the guide, the fourth available to consumers, is free of charge and no sign-in information is required to access the guides.  Click this link to read the four long term care insurance information guides from AALTCI.

The latest in the ongoing series of consumer awareness efforts produced by the American Association for Long term Care Insurance focuses on helping individuals between 40 and 60 understand the importance of initiating a plan.   The magazine insert, made possible by commitments from leading insurers Genworth Financial and John Hancock, was timed to coincide with November’s Long Term Care Awareness Month.

“Each of the Kiplinger’s consumer guides are designed to heighten awareness as well as specifically provide new and relevant planning information that will encourage more individuals to take action,” declares Jesse Slome, AALTCI’s executive director.  “The new guide recognizes that consumers today are increasingly budget conscious and addresses ways to take advantage of age and health to make this important protection affordable.”

The insert in the November issue of Kiplinger’s will reach some two million readers nationally.  “Buyers of long term care insurance are very defined at this point and a highly targeted marketing effort is both financially prudent and most likely to generate the greatest results,” Slome explains.   The median age for Kiplinger’s readers is 56 and nearly two-thirds (63%) of readers are men.  Over half of the magazine’s readers have a household income of over $100,000 and a median net worth of nearly $500,000.

An online version of the insert “Valuable Lessons on Long-Term Care Planning; Helpful Guidelines for 40-60 Year Olds” has been posted on the Association’s website at www.aaltci.org/guides.

The American Association for Long Term Care Insurance was established in 1998 to advocate for the importance of planning for long term care and to support insurance and financial professionals who market LTC insurance.  To learn more call the organization’s offices at (818) 597-3227 or visit the Association’s website.

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The cost variation is due to the fact that each of the leading insurance companies sets their own rates.  “Every company has their sweet spots where they are the most competitive in terms of cost,” explains Jesse Slome, executive director of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance http://www.aaltci.org.  “The lowest cost may not be the best long-term buy but because switching rarely is advisable, it is important to shop around.” 

Long term care insurance experts acknowledge that few consumers are aware of common discounts available that can significantly reduce the cost of the protection.  “Some of the discounts will also vary from company to company,” Slome explains.  “While they may all offer the savings, the percentage discount offered may be quite different.”

Leading insurance companies offering long-term care insurance protection today include Genworth Financial, John Hancock, Mutual of Omaha and Prudential.  “There are a number of significant companies like Transamerica, MedAmerica and LifeSecure that are leaders with very attractive and well-priced products as well,” Slome notes. 

The Association recently reported that the number of Americans who would apply for new long-term care insurance coverage in 2011 would exceed 500,000.  In 2010, some 475,000 purchased coverage according to the Long-Term Care Insurance Sourcebook, an increase over 2009.  “More consumers in their 50s and 60s are clearly aware of the importance of planning,” Slome notes, “and the risk of putting it off too long.” 

A free online guide that explains available discounts and planning techniques that can help reduce the cost for long-term care insurance is now available on the Association’s Consumer Information Center.  “We believe helping educate more people is the first step to creating better understanding,” Slome concludes.  The free guide is available without any required sign-in information.

To access the free guide go to: http://www.aaltci.org/free-guide/

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