1st Atlantic Brokerage - Blog

Care for each other? They were both using a walker!

8/6/2014

As I was going through the drive-thru at Hardee's this morning, I looked over and saw an elderly couple getting out of their car. The car is in the handicap spot, so I assumed that the passenger was disabled. When to my surprise, the woman got out of the car very gingerly and the passenger was doing the same. They both reached into the back seat to pull out walkers!

Now, knowing what I know from seeing folks try to take care of each other at this age, I can just imagine what their future holds. There is NO WAY that they can take care of each other and it will be detrimental to the others health to even try!

Secondary story happened last week, when a friend posted a prayer request for her aunt and uncle. The aunt was in the hospital getting a hip replacement and the husband fell and broke his hip! What if they both need care for an extended period of time? They have no children in the area and their niece is a very busy business owner. Can they afford Home Health Care? What if one does not recover well?

Moral of the stories: When someone say's "I'll take care of him and he'll take care of me" Ask them, "What if you both need care?" Better yet, have them try to pick one another up out of a chair and see if they can even do it today! Remember, our job is to talk to 55 year old couple and convince them that the 80 year old couple will probably be unable to take care of each other!

"Sorry, she's uninsurable." (A gut check for the husband)

8/6/2014

It's one of the saddest sights for any agent to see. That look on a man's face when he knows that he's screwed up and now it's going to cost him. Yes, I said man's face, because they usually are very quick to kill a long-term care sale. Why? Because, they married their caregiver 20, 25, 30 years ago.

Oh, don't let the "tough guy" fool you. They know when they've messed up and they will show emotion when it's about the welfare of their wife, cook, cleaning lady, laundry person and caregiver. And, nothing brings this out more than these 3 words, "Sorry, she's uninsurable".

This is a telling sign of his love for her as well as he knows it's going to cost him. For he knows that she may not outlive him and he'll eventually have to deal with the loss of his beloved spouse. On the other hand, this brings up another issue. His caregiver most likely need care and pass away before him. Then, later on, if he needs care, it will cost him because he doesn't have a FREE caregiver built-in anymore.

You may say that the children can come take care of Dad. Now, that's something that you can see being an issue even before your clients reach the age of needing care. If Mom and Dad live here in North Carolina but their children live more than an hour away, it may be very unlikely that they'll be able to be an active participant in his care. Does he want them to be? Do they have their own lives? Does the couple have all boys and taking care of Dad's personal needs be something strong ol' Dad would not want his boys to do? What if their only child has health issues?

So, next time you run into that "tough guy" mentality, find out how much he cares for his wife of many years and the mother of his children, ask him, "What if she goes first?" or "What if she needs care first?" Then, give him an out and say "We can show you a way to take care of both of you and how to get all the premiums back, if you are concerned about needing care or you feel that this will be a waste of money."

Note: A "cake and eat it too" approach works best! Also, you have to project the realities of their future health care needs and the weaknesses of their support network. (aka: sickly spouse, size difference, distance children currently live away from home)

Do your North Carolina clients have enough Life Insurance?

7/31/2014

For most North Carolina residents the answer is an astounding "NO". How can we tell that? Here are the statistics:

PROTECTING NORTH CAROLINA'S FAMILIES

North Carolina residents have $894 billion in total life insurance coverage. That means an average of $149,000 per policyholder.
State residents own 6 million individual life insurance policies, with coverage averaging $89,000 per policyholder.
Group life insurance coverage amounts to $357 billion.

What does this tell us? Group Life Insurance coverage is not enough and that many fall short of coverage to protect their families. How long would it take for your client's family to go through $89,000 or even $149,000? However, you can give your clients the peace of mind using TERM Life Insurance to cover the risk. To get a quote for TERM Life or Guaranteed Universal Life click here

LTC Statistics: 50 Must know Statistics About Long-Term Care

7/31/2014

A review of the data--plus weighing the intangibles--can help your client(s) arrive at the right decision.

"Perhaps you've bitten the bullet and purchased long-term care insurance, or decided to pay out of pocket for long-term care. Or, if you're like many people, what to do about long-term care is just a nervous thought that flits through your head from time to time--triggered when you hear about a relative being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or a friend shouldering the care of an elderly parent.

There's no right answer for everyone. But as you determine your long-term care strategy, it's best to do so fully armed with the facts: the likelihood that you'll need long-term care and what it might cost, the costs and benefits of long-term care insurance, and exactly what the government covers for you (and, mostly, what it does not).

Armed with some data about long-term care costs and insurance, you can weigh these facts against the many intangibles related to long-term care: the burden that caregiving could place on your loved ones, the opportunity cost of paying for long-term care insurance that you might never need, and the peace of mind that can accompany having the insurance." read more and get the cold hard facts about why you need to be promoting Long-Term Care protection to your clients!

"Everybody needs 75K Campaign" starts now! Contact us today for more information!

Marketing 101: Are you looking to improve your Brand?

7/31/2014

Are you a Health Insurance Agent or an Employee Benefits Specialist? Are you an Investment Advisor or Retirement Specialist? All these descriptions sound good but have totally different meanings to the consumer. Sometimes Agents (Advisors) say they are one thing, but are their actions telling a different story? Then, they do something that makes me furious, they "lock down" their client (or groups) just because they don't have the time or want to take the time to learn how to be of better service to their clients!

Well, I ask "Are you there for the client during their working (accumulation) years or do want to keep them for life?" If you say "for life", then you may want to look at the message you are sending by the way you pursue the client and position yourself as an Advisor. When client's see you as a one-dimensional then you'll always have a tendency to be defending your business rather than being on the offensive bringing more ideas and products to fit your clients needs.

My point is that once you have the relationship for one product don't pigeon-hole yourself into a corner where you cannot do things other than sell them Investments, Heath Insurance or even Long-Term Care Insurance. You have to look for other ways to offer products that become "anchors" that build lasting relationships. If you cannot be everything to your clients, then you need to become the "go to" guy/gal that leads them to the right solutions!

You can change your branding or be branded for life. Check out this article about how to "package" solutions. Know your "target" market but at the same time don't limit yourself to what you think your "focus" should be or because you don't have the time to really uncover the needs. Times are changing and you must change too!

Life Insurance as a PART of LTC plan

7/22/2014

There's no more STAND-ALONE options for Long-Term Care protection. Life Insurance cannot be your client's only means of paying for long-term care expenses. Most of the middle-class will have to use a combination of BOTH traditional Long-Term Care Insurance and Life/Annuities with Long-Term Care access. The key is getting these pieces in place as soon as they can!

Article: Putting more life in long-term care
The response to long-term care (LTC) insurance policies has been consistently the same for the past 20 years. Although consumers continue to affirm the need for the coverage, the price tag on individual policies has been too high to win them over in any numbers, particularly as rates continued to go up, sometimes dramatically.

Price has not been the only deal breaker for most consumers. That came when they heard the answer to the question, “What happens to all my paid premiums if I never use it?” The “you lose it” answer ended the discussion, more often than not...read more

Medicaid still not the answer!

7/22/2014

5 states where Medicaid pounds nursing homes

A client with decent long-term care insurance (LTCI) may look in the mirror and see an ordinary face.

A nursing home administrator will look at that client and see the possibility of turning a profit.

LTCI issuers and producers have always emphasized the advantages that come with using carefully regulated private insurance, rather than a government program meant for the poor, and the advantages may be growing...read more

Wow!!! 10 Things Life Insurance Agents won't tell you

7/22/2014

There's one thing that I'm in total agreement with the author and that is "“When people face a highly complex decision, don’t have the information and cognitive skills needed to do the analysis, and nobody is providing them with education about it, then it may be that the path of least resistance is to do nothing.” This is an opportunity that most are missing and that's why we see articles like this one

Two things stuck out to me...

1) Too much Life Insurance? Low interest rates have made it necessary for people to get an additional 3 to 5 times their salary in Life Insurance protection. Do the math!

10) Long-Term Care coverage is not good for you (or us) - Yes, the Industry has struggled a little with premiums but lower interest rates have not helped. However, the author's solution of "For some older people, it may make more sense to plan to pay long-term care bills with a reverse mortgage, or with savings." is a joke in my opinion!

Children will hide the assets and take Mom or Dad straight to Medicaid to protect their inheritance. We cannot afford to keep doing this! If you owned a business (say an Nursing Home) and you would be reimbursed 70 cents on the dollar, how long could you stay in business? How long before you couldn't make repairs? Even, if 80% of your clientele stayed just one year.

Let us help you prove to your clients that we still have viable solutions. We can give those looking for cash "build-up" the plans that build cash and all the Term Life Insurance to cover the larger gaps when your clients have families to protect. Get a quote today!

Study finds Nursing Homes Out of Reach for Many 'Boomers'

7/14/2014

With higher rates of illness but fewer adult children to care for them, many of America's baby boom generation may find themselves unable to pay for the nursing home care they need, a new study warns.Already, a growing number of older Americans are developing chronic diseases but can't cover the costs of long-term care in a nursing facility, the U.S. National Institute on Aging-funded report says...read more

Contact us for ways to make more financial products long-term care "friendly". This is the ONLY way some of your clients will have the dignity in their last few remaining years.

Video: Worst Money Mistakes at Any Age - Wall Street Journal

7/14/2014

Most of you are the only Advisor some employees see on a regular basis. So, you need to make the most of it by taking the time to help educate these folks on the important financial decisions that they need to make at different ages.

For example: How much Life Insurance do they need while they have children at home? How smart is it to pay for child care pre-tax? Should they put aside for their children's education if they don't have money going into retirement savings? What about Long-Term Care after they retire?

The first step would be Life Insurance because its the foundation of a good sound Financial Plan that you can help them build! Get Easy Term Quotes here!