March 2020
VOLUME 39, ISSUE 3
Being part of the long-term care industry, we talk to hundreds of law firms — including firms within the ALA orbit — every year. And we keep hearing the same concerns: You want to help your employees plan for their future and their retirement by introducing a long-term care planning, but you run into the same stumbling blocks.
You may feel that your firm is too small or that you have a number of K-1 business owners. Historically, most carriers have not recognized K-1 business owners as benefit eligible; however, we’ve found carriers that are willing to recognize this type of employee and are able to provide benefits to them.
Or you may already have a long-term care insurance (LTCI) plan in place but you haven’t seen enough employee participation. You may have had the best intentions to do some research into LTCI, but you just haven’t had the time to get more informed. Do any of these sound familiar as impediments to your goals?
Let’s now discuss some of the challenges you, as an employer, may face when introducing LTCI, and how to best overcome them.
Regardless of the demographics of your group or past LTCI offerings, it might be worth giving your long-term care planning options and information a second look.
LTCI group plans can accommodate groups as small as 10 employees and can also work for you if you have a number of K-1 business owners.
You can get a comprehensive proposal that includes all LTCI carriers available in the marketplace for your group, as well as other solutions that you might consider, like a life insurance policy with an long-term care rider. This option can sometimes allow for guarantee issue underwriting.
If you already have an LTCI plan in place but are not seeing the participation you would like, there are easy ways to adjust. Education is the key to an LTCI plan succeeding.
Rate increases and carrier product changes bring another level of complexity to the long-term care insurance product. It’s important to communicate early and often to employees who may be affected by changes. If you are facing a rate increase, show your employees other products available to them in the individual market so they have options when it comes time to make a decision regarding the increase.
This is where education is also key. For example, look for additional services, including a customized website with educational videos and a monthly list bill reconciliation to add new hires and continue coverage for employees that leave the firm. The continuation of coverage is the largest concern law firms have due to lawsuits occurring in the marketplace. It’s important for an employer to have a portability tracking system in place. It is very similar to COBRA.
The first step in helping your firm’s employees with protecting their retirement is evaluating long-term care planning options that are available to them.