Bride Alert! Is Long Term Care Insurance in Your Prenup?

Prenuptial agreements are popular with brides of a certain age (40-plus), who often have accumulated assets, careers, and lifestyles they want to protect. Now there's a new prenup wrinkle, a clause specifying that hubby-to-be get a long term care insurance policy before walking down the aisle. The development is reported by LTC Financial Partners LLC (LTCFP), one of the nation's most experienced long term care insurance agencies.

According to the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics, there were 2.2 million marriages in 2007, and the number is expected to increase in 2008 and beyond. "A prenup requiring long term care insurance makes sense for any couple concerned about protecting their assets, careers, or ways of life," says Susan Lenihan, Partner of Northport-based LTCFP. "The bride should be especially concerned, since women live longer than men and tend to inherit the care-giving chores." These chores can be quite disruptive for career-minded women who may be forced to quit their jobs to tend the intended.

"I love the guy, but I'm not signing up to be his nurse or purse," says Sarah, a 50-plus California resident, now engaged to a man her own age. So she's insisting, prior to the wedding bells, that her intended cover himself with a policy like the one she has, which will pay for nursing-home or in-home care should she become ill or incapacitated for an extended period.

Caring for an out-of-commission loved one can be a real drain on one's time and money, without professional help to do the caring and insurance dollars to pay the bills. "Like millions of other women over 40, Sarah knows first-hand what caring entails," says Paula Taylor, Sarah's long term care insurance agent, an associate of Lenihan. "And she's not getting married to repeat the experience," Taylor emphasizes. "She spent countless hours caring for her now-deceased stepmother and father, and for a friend who died of cancer, and now wants a life of her own."

Sarah wants her marriage to be mutually fulfilling, not a potential drain. "With her husband-to-be covered by long term care insurance, Sarah's assets will be protected," says Taylor. "Her time and lifestyle will also be protected. Also she has children and grandchildren who’s inheritance will be protected. Should the need for care materialize, she can spend quality time with her husband, letting others perform the nursing chores; and she can relax knowing that her own financial future will be secure."

For Sarah's intended, there's a silver lining. "By getting married instead of staying single, he can get a discount on his long term care policy," says Lenihan. "And of course he can also enjoy the benefits Sarah enjoys with her policy: protection of his own assets and peace of mind knowing he will not burden his children with future care expenses or chores." Sarah's new husband will also benefit from the fact that Sarah is already covered. "He won't have to worry about becoming her nurse or purse, should she require care before he does."

Susan Lenihan and LTCFP's 500 other associates are spreading the word to other brides-to-be, especially the 40-plus set. "Wedding bells should signal wonderful times ahead, not cloudy possibilities that can be avoided," she says.

Susan also works with couples' lawyers and financial advisors to include LTC protection in estate plans as well as prenuptial agreements.

Difficult Long Term Care Insurance Choices

Seekers of long term care insurance need to make three key decisions: (1) whether the insurance is right for them in the first place, (2) what company they should buy it from, and (3) what specific policy best fits their needs. “When most people make these decisions, they go about it all wrong,” says Susan Lenihan of LTC Financial Partners, the nation’s most experienced long term care insurance brokerage.

“People go online or respond to something in the mail or on TV,” Lenihan says. “This generally puts them in the hands of a specific insurance company or an association offering policies from a single carrier.” What’s wrong with that? “You lose objectivity and choice,” Lenihan explains.

“An objective specialist is necessary to steer you right,” she asserts. The specialist helps answer these questions:

1. Do I need it? “Some people are wealthy enough to self-insure. Others really can’t afford the premiums; they’re better off with public assistance. A specialist helps you do the math.”

2. What company should I get it from? “You don’t want to end up with the wrong carrier – one with poor customer service or a history of big rate increases. A specialist knows which carriers are really sound.”

3. What specific policy and features are best for my situation? “There are scads of policies and options. You don’t want to pay for features you don’t need, or miss out on benefits you want. A specialist knows all the details.”

How can you locate an independent specialist?

Lenihan’s organization has put together a network of more than 400 state-certified field underwriters. “It’s America’s largest collection of experts specializing in long term care insurance and that only. They really know the field, and they’re beholden to no single carrier,” she says. "Aided by years of experience and computer analysis, they help people narrow down to the best, most reliable carrier for their state and situation, and the best policy at lowest cost."

Long Term Care Could Surpass Childcare as Challenge for American Business

Long term care is starting to rival childcare as a problem affecting the business focus of American employees, according to LTC Financial Partners LLC, the nation's most experienced long term care insurance brokerage. As the American workforce ages, more employees may be called away to tend to an incapacitated adult than a needy child.

"Already, in many companies, we find that workers are more concerned with caring for a parent than a child," says Susan Lenihan, Northport-based Partner of LTC Financial Partners.

Lenihan points to a 2006 study conducted by the MetLife Mature Market Institute® which found that American companies lose a total of $33.6 billion per year as a result of demands on employees who must care for an incapacitated loved one, such as an aging parent. The losses stem from a combination of absenteeism, workday interruptions, unpaid leave, and other productivity-related causes including replacement cost when employees quit to tend a loved one full-time.

"With 77 million Baby Boomers set to retire, an ever greater percentage of workers will be distracted by elder-care needs," says Lenihan. "The childcare crisis was solved by day care centers, flextime and such. Now we need to face the long term healthcare crisis." Lenihan's organization offers companies a turnkey educational program that addresses the new need. It’s called the LTC Outreach and Education Program™ (LTCOEP™). The program guarantees every employee, family member and retiree access to a long term healthcare specialist to explain the options for long term healthcare planning. Lenihan points out that most employees mistakenly think that Medicare or their health insurance covers long term care needs. "Our program corrects this misperception and helps employees make the proper preparations,” says Lenihan.

"Any employee can be distracted by the needs of a debilitated loved one," says Lenihan, "and the greatest impact on the company can be at the top, because your most valuable senior people tend to be older and more liable to have care needs. Fifty-something’s and sixty-something’s are the ones with parents or spouses susceptible to prolonged incapacity."

When a loved one can no longer handle the tasks of daily living, such as moving around or preparing meals, the employee must either provide the care personally or hire professional services. "Workers who can't afford round-the-clock care have to fill in by doing much of the care themselves," says Lenihan. "That means rushing tasks to leave work on time, taking crisis calls during business hours, and worrying about the loved one instead of job issues." Even for workers who can afford nursing-home or in-home care, "there are those emergency calls that distract one from the job."

When employees have proper long term care protection, these problems do not occur, says Lenihan. "Employees no longer have to worry about providing care services personally. They have the money, from their insurance policy, to pay professionals to do it." The federal and state governments concur with the need for Americans to provide for their own long term care protection. "Legislators have signaled that ordinary citizens, except for the truly indigent, cannot count on Medicaid to pick up the tab."

Through LTCOEP™, "Companies don't have to pay for long term care insurance," says Lenihan. "All they have to do is make the education available to their employees so they can act in their own behalf." Both the employees and the companies stand to benefit big time, she points out. "The companies can save thousands or millions in productivity, while employees protect their earning capacity, nest eggs, and peace of mind."

The worksite educational program is offered free to companies of all sizes. It consists of multiple options for printed, electronic and online interactive materials; seminars or group meetings in webinar format; and individual meetings to help employees with sound long term healthcare planning. Human resource managers and owners or managers of smaller businesses may request information at 631-262-7167