Set the scene for a successful follow-up call

Need a proven direct-mail correspondence for LTCI? Here’s an outline of one used by Trish Swanson, a Chicago ACSIA LTC specialist.

1. Thank you for your interest
2. People need LTC services because of accidents, health issues and age-related issues. Health insurance and Medicare don’t pay for LTC (care in your home, adult day care, assisted living, rehab, nursing home, etc.) beyond 100 days. You may have disability insurance, but that replaces only a small portion of your income until age 65 and doesn’t pay for any care. If you are 50 years old today and require care in 25 years, you will need about $750,000. As medical science improves, we are living longer and almost half of us will need care. Insurance is guaranteed to be there at the full value when you need it.
3. Medicaid-brief explanation.
4. Most people who look into LTC insurance do so because they love their families. They don’t want to be a financial or emotional burden.
5. Personal experience about her sister, age 55, who ended up in a nursing home. After she passed away, the state took her home as payment.
6. My clients refer to LTC insurance as “nursing home avoidance protection.” You have a guaranteed pool of money separate from the rest of your assets.

Trish also sends a piece entitled “Trish’s Story,” about how her mother needed help at home as a result of a leg amputation and several mild strokes. “I treasured my mother…I just didn’t have the skills needed to care for her.” She advises, “Don’t confuse getting LTC insurance with someone not loving you enough. LTC insurance helps your kids get the care that will help them take better care of you. It allows the loved one the dignity that they have always asked for.”