As advisors try to play offensively in a virtual environment, they need to be looking for cross-selling opportunities with both new and existing clients. One product that advisors should make sure to discuss with clients is Short-Term Home Health Care Insurance, through Guarantee Trust Life (GTL).
GTL’s Short-Term Home Health Care fits especially nicely in the Later Bucket of clients’ Bucket Plans, either as an alternative for clients that don’t qualify for combination long-term care/life insurance policies, or for clients who know they want to receive care at home and may need extra care in their homes – like nursing care, speech pathology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, etc.
In a recent episode of The Bucket Plan® On-Demand podcast series, Jason Smith interviewed Bryan Bibbo to get some answers on what this product is, how it fits into a client’s Bucket Plan, and how to discuss it with new and existing clients.
What It Is
GTL’s Short-Term Home Health Care Insurance is designed to help cover deductibles and co-payments for home health care services. Base plans consist of three components: the home health care benefit, a home health care aide benefit and a prescription drug benefit.
There are three base plans to choose from, to match the level of coverage a client wants. Each plan pays a daily benefit of up to 360 payments, for a variety of services. Short-Term Home Health Care is a reimbursement policy. So, when a client incurs an expense, they will be reimbursed for it in about three to four weeks. Benefits are paid directly to clients to help cover deductibles and co-payments, regardless of any other insurance they may have.
Fitting It into The Bucket Plan
When planning a client’s Later Bucket, advisors may tend to lead with the full blown long-term care/life insurance combination conversation, because they know that’s going to cover a variety of possible situations – like home health care, nursing home, assisted living, adult daycare – which is the kind of comprehensive coverage advisors want their clients to have. But in the event that a client doesn’t qualify for other things, and they know they want to get their health care at home, Short-Term Home Health Care may be a good fit.
Another benefit of Short-Term Home Health Care in the later years of a client’s Bucket Plan is that it won’t cost as much to consider this option if you haven’t already planned for or are just now planning for this coverage. Unlike long-term care/life insurance combinations that can be costly to purchase in your late seventies or early eighties, Short-Term Home Health Care is available and affordable even in a client’s later years.
How to Discuss It
As fiduciaries, advisors want to do what’s in the best interest of their clients. For new clients going through the holistic planning process, one of the things you should talk about is long-term care mitigation. Bryan explains that first he’ll talk about the long-term care/life insurance products that are out there, explain the cost, see if his clients qualify, etc. In some cases, clients don’t qualify because of health issues and, in other cases, some people just don’t have the money in their budgets to afford the annual premiums of those policies. If a client doesn’t qualify for one of these reasons, this is an opportunity for advisors to pivot and start the conversation about other options, like Short-Term Home Health Care.
Similarly, with existing clients, advisors want to always be doing what’s in the best interest of those clients. When meeting with clients for annual reviews, Short-Term Home Health Care is something new to talk about and to consider as part of a client’s overall plan or depending on their changing circumstances. Medicare reviews with clients are another good time to discuss this product. Unlike Medicare, Short-Term Home Health Care does not require prior hospitalization to qualify for home health care coverage.
Conclusion
At a time when so many of us are stuck in our homes, advisors should take the opportunity to connect with clients and prospects about products and strategies they maybe haven’t discussed before. GTL’s Short-Term Home Health Care Insurance is a unique product with a very appealing purpose. Especially for clients who know they want to retire in place and receive that extra help in their own home, this product is usually a no-brainer.
As advisors sell more of this product, they can also expect to pick up significant annual income from it. Short-Term Home Health Care does pay a nice up-front commission and it also pays residual commissions. So, as you continue to build these up with more clients, it’s going to give you that income on a monthly basis after that initial, first-year commission.
For more details on this product and how to discuss it with your clients, listen to the full podcast episode here.
