In Selling LTCI, Start with “Why”

Clients do business with you because of why you do what you do as an agent.

Long-term-care planning has been my sole focus for 26 years. After almost three decades focused on this one thing, I was asked how I remain so passionate about what I do each day. Frankly, at first, I had a hard time articulating my answer.

Some of you have heard of Simon Sinek. He has the third most popular TED Talk of all time, with almost 27 million views. (See the video online at http://ow.ly/nKe8300iU6t.) Sinek has written a New York Times bestseller, “Start with Why.” His core message is that people don’t work with you because of what you do. They don’t do business with you because of how you do it. They do business with you because of why you do it. The “why” engages us emotionally, while the “what” and “how” serve as evidence of the belief. While other companies can copy what you do or how you do it, they cannot be the same if they don’t start with the same “why.”

I’ve seen Simon’s TED Talk numerous times, I’ve read his book in a study group, and I got to speak with Simon after one of his sold-out presentations. I was anxious to share with him what I thought was my “why.” He, however, wasn’t satisfied with my answer and continued to pressure me by asking, “What is your real why?”

I didn’t have an answer for him, which was devastating to me. Later that year, after reading his book in a study group, one of my good friends said, “Deb, I know what your WHY is. You talk about it all the time!” It was crystal clear to her because it seeps through in everything I say. “I do what I do because of the impact that long-term care can have on the caregivers in our lives.”

Here’s why that’s important to me: There will be fewer future caregivers. According to a recent AARP study, we will each have fewer potential caregivers. In 2010, there were seven potential caregivers for every person over age 80. Let’s be clear. That’s not saying they are willing caregivers, but potential caregivers. By 2030, that ratio is projected to be 4 to 1, and in 2050, it will be 3 to 1.

When we have conversations with clients today, why don’t we have a discussion about giving each other permission?

Another AARP report claims that today, unpaid family caregiving is worth $470 billion annually. With fewer possible caregivers, where are the resources going to come from to help families with long-term care?

It’s not about the care recipient; it’s about the family members. Almost everyone has someone who will care for them. But the physical, financial and emotional impacts of caregiving take a devastating toll on the caregivers. Most of us know a caregiver who has worn herself down trying to care for a loved one. Here’s what it does to people:

• Caregivers are two times more likely to develop chronic illness.

• Caregivers 65+ who have chronic illness histories have a mortality rate that is 63 percent higher than non-caregivers.

• The stress of family care responsibilities has been shown to adversely impact a caregiver’s immune system up to three years after such care ends.

• Stress of caregiving decreases life expectancy by up to 10 years.

The unseen caregiving

Ken and Betsy purchased long-termcare insurance (LTCI) years ago. I visited them to discuss whether it was time to evaluate an assisted-living setting. When I arrived, Ken was sitting at his desk, and I noticed a walker next to his chair. I reviewed the six activities of daily living and asked if he needed help with any of them. Betsy, with tears in her eyes, said, “I help him with five of those.”

I asked how they were getting up and down the winding staircase in the living room. Betsy told me that after she gets Ken ready in the morning, he goes down the stairs step by step in front of her with his walker, while she holds on to his belt. I called a care coordinator to visit them. When one of the nurses was interviewing Ken on the deck, he said, “We’re fine. Betsy does everything.” A second nurse was in the kitchen with Betsy, who was in tears and finally able to tell someone what was going on. They set up a care plan immediately. Ken had not realized the level of care he was receiving and what the physical and emotional stress was doing to his lifelong companion and best friend, Betsy.

Unseen mental and emotional tolls on caregivers

Studies show that up to 70 percent of family caregivers have significant symptoms of depression. The stress on unpaid caregivers has become so prevalent that there is now actually a Medicare classification for caregiver stress. Is this what we want to do to the people we love the most? We are killing the caregivers!

Permission to hire a caregiver

When we have conversations with clients today, why don’t we have a discussion about giving each other permission? After sharing a story like Ken and Betsy’s, ask your clients to give each other permission to hire a caregiver when the time comes rather than taking on the burden personally.

Even clients with significant wealth feel the guilt of personal caregiving; therefore, they do not use their own checkbook to pay for care. If they have an LTCI policy, it makes the decision easy, and they can refer to the discussion about permission and hire someone to help.

As the financial and insurance professionals in our clients’ lives, it is our duty to have these conversations early to assist in creating a plan that will help alleviate some of the burdens of family caregivers. No matter what your solution — traditional LTCI, asset-based LTCI, LTCI riders or