WANT TO REACH 24 MILLION
NEW CLIENTS?

New LTC Education Program Helps Expand Your Insurance Offering

By Tamar Love

For most aging Baby Boomers, the decision to not whether or not to purchase Long-term Care insurance, but when to invest in one of these policies, which guarantees funding for elder care, assisted living and other aging-related expenses.

With such a captive audience -- over 23 million people will be turning 65 this year - and Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program recently rolled out, why aren't more agents offering LTC policies? The answer: lack of education.

Although LTC distribution systems are in place, many agents have reported frustration with the lack of training and support available. LTC policies, which often carry lower commissions and higher declination rates, are complicated products that often produce more claims hassles than clients think they are worth.

However, as almost 10% of the nation becomes eligible for long-term care, savvy insurance agents would do well to wade through the paperwork and begin offering LTC policies. With additional training and technical support, many agents might be able to expand their offerings into LTC, gaining new customers and retaining old, valued business.

Fortunately, a solution is within sight. LTC Consultants ( http://click.topica.com/maaaOczaaVGl6bcyPKIe/ ), the nation's leading third-party training company for long-term care insurance, recently announced a partnership with eLearning specialist, Little Planet (http://click.topica.com/maaaOczaaVGl7bcyPKIe/ ).

The new web-based training program, a three-year joint project, allows insurance marketing organizations to link to Long Term Care University ( http://click.topica.com/maaaOczaaVGl8bcyPKIe/ ) and offer the course -- plus optional CE credits -- at a discounted price to agents and brokers who do business with them.

"At a time when marketing organizations are trying to find ways to increase sales results while reducing travel and overall training costs, eLearning can help achieve those by saving up to 80% vs. traditional classroom training," says Phyllis Shelton, President of LTC Consultants. "This teaching method is entirely different than live training … The fourteen lessons and quizzes with an emphasis on ethical selling and a final exam are so interactive there's never time to get bored."

Bill Nelson, Little Planet's President and an Academy Award-nominated producer, combines cognitive science with technology through a long-standing relationship with one of the world's leading cognitive scientists, Dr. John Bransford, author of How People Learn, and Director of the Learning Institute at Vanderbilt University. By adding Disney-quality animation and incredible interactivity to adult learning content, Little Planet helps make LTC University's training program fun, challenging and palatable for agents of all experience levels.

LTCU can be purchased for individual brokers or groups. The online course is comprised of five parts, including an overview, sections on funding, policy features and agent issues and a self-assessment. The course is thorough, covering a wide range of topics -- Medicaid, Medicare & Private Insurance, Government Solutions, benefits, Inflation Protection, eldercare alternatives, sales training and Ethics. Agents who complete the course, which takes an average of 10 hours to complete, are eligible to apply coursework toward CE units in 36 states; the remaining states are in the approval process.

With a new, easy, inexpensive, flexible and fun educational option now available for agents nationwide, there's really no reason to resist offering LTC coverage to your clients. If your bookkeeper balks, remind him or her of the 24 million prospects out there waiting to be served!