KIRKLAND, Wash. and CHARLESTON, S.C. — LTC Financial Partners, the nation’s most experienced long term care insurance brokerage, has more than quadrupled in size since 2005, to more than 400 field underwriters and support staff. That just one sign of what’s happening in the long term care insurance field, in the company’s experience.
“Our business is exploding,” says Cameron Truesdell, CEO. “People are learning how risky it is to live without LTC protection. So they’re coming to us for help, and they’re coming in droves.” He says they want to know which policy from which carrier can best protect them from neglect or financial ruin “when suddenly, bang, a family member needs extended care.”
The LTC explosion will be celebrated at the company’s annual conference in Charleston, SC, January 6 through 8, “and we’ll plan for additional explosive growth in the year ahead,” Truesdell adds.
The conference will explore several methods of responding to the explosion. These include —
* Extending a program for reaching people through their employers. Launched in 2006, the Long Term Care Outreach and Education Program (LTCOEP(tm)) is already operating through large companies, providing group discounts as well as knowledge.
* Extending a “partnership” program with financial and other institutions. “We already have alliances with major banks and associations,” says Truesdell. “These partnership let the organizations alert their customers or members quickly. At the conference, we’ll be looking for new alliance avenues.”
* Reaching more people through the Internet. A national network of websites, manned by LTCFP field underwriters, already dispenses information through online text and digital downloads. “We’ll be working on phase 2 of our online outreach.”
* Using video to reach more people. In 2007 LTCFP began experimenting with video as a communications tool. “We found it very effective, and now we’re going to make stars out of our experts,” Truesdell says. At the conference a camera crew will capture footage of individual field underwriters dispensing information. Subsequently, a rash of LTC videos will appear on YouTube, Google Video, and other Internet locations.
* Tapping the power of telephony. Already a few of the field underwriters have mastered the art of educating people by phone. The conference will pursue ways of extending this avenue. “Many consumers prefer meeting with a field underwriter in their home,” says Truesdell. “But others are really busy. They’d rather get the information quickly and efficiently over the phone.”
* Adding more field underwriters. In spite of quadrupling in size since 2005, “we still don’t have enough experts to reach everyone,” says Truesdell.
With a passion for meeting a critical public need, LTC Financial Partners intends to transform itself in all ways necessary, according to Truesdell. “At the conference all kinds of new ideas and enthusiasm will be generated,” he says. “We’re on a roll and we’re going to make more and more of a difference.”
Information about LTC Financial Partners and its field underwriters is available at the corporate website: http://www.ltcfp.com.
