Welcome to the tenth edition of Long-Term Care in the News. We, at Custom Care Solution, LLC, want you to be on the cutting edge of changes and updates within the Long-Term Care industry. We will accomplish this through these email bulletins distributed each week to our brokers, agents and their staffs.

Long-Term Care In The News …….

Spread the Good Wordl

You can now expand your LTCi business with Penn Treaty’s Secured Risk Nursing Facility Plan. They are able to offer coverage to a very high percentage of potential applicants. With this plan, you’ll find there aren’t many conditions they won’t consider for coverage. You can rise above the rest and tell your clients, “It’s not too late to obtain LTCi coverage through PTNA.” Just take a look at the following list to find out which health conditions can help you increase your issued policies: Parkinson’s Disease, Kidney Failure, Cirrhosis of the Liver, Multiple Sclerosis, Hepatitis C, Oxygen Usage, Cystic Fibrosis, Organ Transplant, Poorly Controlled Diabetes and Severe Osteoporosis. Though this product is not available in NY or NJ, it is available in CT and they will allow a NY or NJ resident to sign an application for the Secured Risk policy in CT. Commissions on this product are competitive so we encourage you to review those cases that were declined with other carriers and call us to discuss this opportunity. It may not be too late for some of your clients after all.

Have you been looking for a Single Pay LTC product ???

Transamerica has a Single Pay LTC product approved for sale in the state of CT (and many others, except of course, NY or NJ). The good news is, they will allow a NY or NJ resident to sign an application in CT. If you haven’t looked at Transamerica’s product yet, this presents a great opportunity to do so. Not only do they offer your clients a Single Pay LTC product, but they also have a 5 Pay, 10 Pay, 15 Year Pay and 20 Pay. In addition to these very flexible payment options, they also offer two options for Return of Premium. A full Return of Premium which pays your client’s beneficiary 100% of the premiums paid without reduction for claims paid and a Return of Premium benefit that will discount claims paid on your client’s behalf. Transamerica also offers Survivorship features and Joint Waivers of Premium. Call us today to discuss this innovative product.

NEW LTC Sales Concept-of-the-Month Conference Calls

John Hancock is pleased to announce their new Sales Concept-of-the-Month Conference Calls for producers. These calls are designed to increase your LTCI sales. On May 11^th and May 25^th we will host the first of these calls which will focus on many of the new features and benefits of the Custom Care II product. Each call will be one hour long and will take place twice on each date to reach as many of you as possible. Call us today to pre-register for these conference calls. Let us help you reach your sales goals for 2004 !!!

Spotlight on Custom Care II

John Hancock continues its rich tradition of providing product innovation to meet the diverse spectrum of consumer needs. Custom Care II sets the product standard for today’s changing LTCI environment. At the same time, it reaffirms John Hancock’s leadership position by providing the younger market with innovative, built-in features – while expanding the broad, multi-generational appeal of the product offering. Some of these features include: Double Coverage for Accidental Benefit, which will reimburse charges up to 2 times the Benefit Amount if care/services received are due to an accident prior to age 65 and Return of Premium at Death and Enhanced Return of Premium at Death just to name a few. Hancock also offers a 10 Pay product and a Paid-Up at age 65 product. In addition to some of these fine features, they also offer substantial discounts for couples, including domestic partners, who apply for coverage. A 15% discount is afforded when one partner applies, a 30% discount if both partners apply and are approved. 40% is the maximum for preferred and partner discounts. Hancock also offers a sponsored group discount for employer sponsored and association business of 5%. Please call us today to learn more about their CC II product.

Are you Overlooking a Niche LTC Market??

The April/May/June issue of Sales Strategies publication has a focus section on the Gay and Lesbian Community. A number of long-term care insurers offer premium discounts to gay and lesbian communities. There is a huge need within the gay and lesbian community not just for long-term care insurance but for financial services in general. Members of this community are twice as likely to be professionals and hold managerial positions (as compared to the general population). They are also twice as likely to have a household income of $250,000. They are twice as likely to have graduated from college. And, there are far fewer households with children, so caregiving ultimately becomes an issue. Research has found that these consumers are actively looking for companies that are marketing to them and recognizing that they have special and specific needs. Many of these couples own a primary residence and a vacation residence; they earn good money and don’t have children to put through college. Long-term care insurance can be even more important as a way to protect assets. Call us today to learn about those LTC companies who are marketing to the GLBT community.

Rate Increase News

In July 2000, GE Capital Assurance entered an agreement to reinsure and service The Travelers Insurance Company Long Term Care Insurance. This product has not performed as expected. Therefore, we are advising you that requests for premium rate increases will be filed for the Travelers Insurance Company product. Because of the time required to complete the filing process, obtain necessary reviews and provide appropriate notice to affected policyholders, GE anticipated the earliest an increase will take effect is July 2004. The increases will roll out over the course of the following 12 months. Premium rate increases filed will vary by state, and average 27.5% across all policy series. Please call us if you want to discuss the specific rate increase for your state and/or policy series that you may have sold.