Long-Term Care Insurance Options
Long-Term Care Insurance: You Have Options
By: Janet Arrowood
The latest offerings provide more coverage and the ability to pick and choose what types of coverage you’ll need.
There was a time in the not-too-distant past when choosing a long-term care insurance plan was simple–because there was only one option: a nursing-home-only plan modeled after Medicare LTC coverage. Today, you can choose your coverage and its terms from a plethora of options. But, with all of these choices, careful evaluation of LTC policies is more critical than ever.
Study Reveals What Americans Pay for Long-term Care Insurance
What individuals pay for long-term care insurance can range significantly from about $700 a year to as over $13,000 per year according to a study from the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance.
Not Buying Long-Term Care Insurance Can Be a Costly Mistake
No long-term-care insurance? Uh-oh
You probably don’t need another bill to pay. But skipping this protection could destroy your finances, even long before you’re old, or vaporize your kids’ inheritances.
Continue reading this article HERE.
Do you know the difference between “inbound marketing” and “outbound marketing”?
they now have the capability to evaluate the products and services they need on their own. As a result, businesses are transforming their marketing efforts to focus more on inbound programs that allow customers to find them. (ie…social media marketing) The State of Inbound Marketing report shows that businesses that more aggressively do this are capturing leads more effectively. Given the digital nature of inbound marketing, the marginal cost per customer acquisition is typically close to zero, meaning that as buyers continue to shift how they make purchasing, the cost/lead for a given business will continue to decrease. HubSpot did a great study- click here to download the full report:
http://www.hubspot.com/Portals/53/docs/resellers/reports/state_of_inbound_marketing.pdf Great Stuff! Valerie VanBooven
Posted via email from Marketing Elder Care and Marketing Senior Services
From FreshNetworks, Great Article on Social media for small businesses 3: Blogging and building your brand
Many small businesses are unsure about what to put on their website beyond their services team and contact details. They know they need a website but don’t always have the time, resources or content to add to it on a regular basis. It can be daunting for them, and the website can quickly become out of date. Too many websites for small businesses can date and look stale. And this is easy to recitfy.
Blogging is a useful tool for any business. It can help you to show your expertise on a topic. It can provide a less formal way for you to share your thoughts, experiences and ideas. And it can allow you an easy and versatile way to add up-to-date content and thoughts to any website. For any small business this can be a useful tool.
Imagine you run a small chain of hairdressing salons. You are busy, as all small business owners are, but understand the importance of your online presence to attract new customers to walk through your doors. Any organisation, however small, will have things that it is passionate about, and things that it can talk about in social media. In your role as owner of these hairdressing salons, you spend your time split between working in store and visiting suppliers, competitors and events and trade shows where you see the latest techniques and the latest products. Rather than have a simple, and soon dated, website that just states where your salon are and when they are open, you could use blogging to share these experiences and to share your passion for hairdressing.
You could blog each week about the latest trends, you could encourage a trainee in one salon to write about their experiences, you could review new products or highlight new haircuts. Writing a blog is easy for any business, it just needs structure. Our salon could include a review every Monday, highlight new trends on a Wednesday and have a trainee’s diary on a Friday. Every week. Easily and quickly you can start adding 1,000-2,000 words of relevant and interesting content being added to your site each week. Rich in keywords that will help people find your site more easily (and so lead to more people visiting your salons). And showing your thought-leadership and knowledge in the market.
For many small businesses, blogs are a tool that can help them punch above their weight. The content, themes and information that they share can lead them to be thought of as much larger or much more established than they really are. Blogging provides an easy way for organisations to share their thoughts and their content. And people will respect you for this.
Sincerely,
Valerie VanBooven
Posted via email from Marketing Elder Care and Marketing Senior Services
Here’s what I just sent out a few minutes ago…
Video 2 is all about Squidoo. Click on this link to view them both- you must be a member and you must be logged in to see this content. http://serioussocialmedia.com/ members/contact-us-3/advanced- tutorials-strategies/ To log in go to:
http://serioussocialmedia.com/ members/wp-login.php
Username: XXXXXX
Password: XXXXXX
Thanks and look for more items, interaction, and webinars coming soon! Sincerely,
Valerie VanBooven
Serious Social Media.com
http://www.serioussocialmedia. com Need help or have a question?:
LTC Expert Publications Customer Support:
(Includes all of our programs and services) Website: http://ltcexpert.zendesk.com/
Email: support@ltcexpert.zendesk.com Call Us: 888-404-1513
Fax: 800-661-0675 Schedule your own appointment to speak with Valerie by clicking on this link.
(or copy and paste into your browser). http://www.schedulicity.com/ MakeReservation.aspx?business= LEPXCN
Posted via email from Marketing Elder Care and Marketing Senior Services
Don’t you hate it when people change their phone numbers? I do.
)LTC Expert Publications Customer Support:
(Includes all of our programs and services)
Website: http://ltcexpert.zendesk.com/
Email:support@ltcexpert.zendesk.com
Call Us: 888-404-1513
Fax: 800-661-0675
Schedule your own appointment to speak with Valerie by clicking on this link.
(or copy and paste into your browser).
http://www.schedulicity.com/ MakeReservation.aspx?business= LEPXCN
Posted via email from Marketing Elder Care and Marketing Senior Services
Now YOU can make MONEY with YOUR Twitter posts!
Excited Sokule Squeeker http://www.sokule.com/vvanbooven Yes, I am a paid affiliate and the links in this post are my affiliate links! Get Yours.
Posted via email from Marketing Elder Care and Marketing Senior Services
FINRA Issues Guidance to Firms, Brokers on Communications with Public Through Social Networking Web Sites
This seems like kind of a "given" but at least they were forward enough to issue a statement…..
Washington, DC — The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) today issued guidance to securities firms and brokers regarding the use of social networking Web sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and blogs to communicate with the public.
The guidance in Regulatory Notice 10-06, which is presented in Q&A format, clarifies the responsibilities of firms to supervise the use of social networking sites to ensure that recommendations are suitable and their customers are not misled. The Notice also addresses the recordkeeping and other responsibilities of firms.
"Social networking sites and blogs raise new regulatory challenges, particularly in the areas of supervision, advertising and books and records requirements," said FINRA Chairman and CEO Rick Ketchum. "Our goal in issuing this Notice is to ensure that firms and brokers use social networking sites in an appropriate manner."
The Notice emphasizes that each firm must develop its own policies and procedures — in the context of its own particular business model and compliance and supervisory programs — designed to ensure that the firm and its personnel are complying with all applicable regulatory requirements when using social networking sites. Some technology providers are developing systems that are intended to enable firms to retain records of communications made through social networking sites. As the Notice states, however, "FINRA does not endorse any particular technology to keep such records, nor are we certain that adequate technology currently exists."
Regulatory Notice 10-06 is a response to the expressed need for guidance explaining how FINRA rules governing communications with the public, recordkeeping and supervision apply to social networking sites. FINRA has previously issued guidance on the application of communications regulations to Internet communications in its Guide to the Internet for Registered Representatives, as well as in numerous podcasts.
In developing the Regulatory Notice, the FINRA staff was informed by its own experience in applying FNRA rules to electronic communications, by its conversations with experts in social networking technology, and by the work of a Social Networking Task Force composed of compliance and other representatives of 14 firms.
FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, is the largest non-governmental regulator for all securities firms doing business in the United States. Created in 2007 through the consolidation of NASD and NYSE Member Regulation, FINRA is dedicated to investor protection and market integrity through effective and efficient regulation and complementary compliance and technology-based services. FINRA touches virtually every aspect of the securities business – from registering and educating industry participants to examining securities firms; writing rules; enforcing those rules and the federal securities laws; informing and educating the investing public; providing trade reporting and other industry utilities; and administering the largest dispute resolution forum for investors and registered firms.
For more information, please visit our Web site at www.finra.org.
Posted via email from Marketing Elder Care and Marketing Senior Services
Long Term Care Insurance – Answers to Common Questions
This article can be found at http://longtermcareinsurance.org/longtermcareinsurance.html
Will You need Long Term Care?
It’s hard to believe, but the estimated risk for needing Long Term Care continues to climb with each passing year. Now, the Federal government estimates that each individual has a 70% chance of needing Long Term Care in their lifetime. Recent studies reveal that if you are 60 years old you have more than a 60% chance of needing long term care. If you are over 65 years old, your chances of needing care goes up to 70%.
Who Is More At Risk for Needing Long Term Care?
Your age, marital status, gender, lifestyle and, to some extent, your family health history all play a part in the possibility of needing long term care.
According to insurance actuarials, you are more at risk if you:
* are older
* are a woman
* are single
* have a poor diet
* don’t exercise regularly
* smoke
* have a family history of Alzheimer’s, stroke, arthritis, or other degenerative diseases.
* Also, physical activities that can cause severe accidents should be included as a definite risk.
The Long Term Care Cycle
91% of Americans surveyed said they would prefer receiving Long Term Care at home. Indeed, of those needing care only 5% are in Skilled Nursing Facilites.
12% are in Assisted Living Facilities and more than
80% are receiving Home Care
Therefore, it isn’t a surprise that most Long Term Care starts at home with the help of family or friends until the caregiving burden becomes a too much of a hardship. The next step might be to hire a paid caregiver to help with care duties in the home. Yet many people can’t afford such a luxury, even if they hire unskilled, unlicensed, unsupervised “grey market” caregivers. As care needs increase the next care setting of preference is Assisted Living Facilities, as they are more like hotels than the hospital-type setting of a Skilled Nursing Facility. Most people do everything in their power to stay out of nursing homes, which is one reason why the average nursing home stay is only 2.5 years.
While most Americans suspect that they might need long term care “sometime” in the future, many underestimate care costs and falsely assume that Medicare or their health insurance will pay for extended care. They will not. Medicare will only pay for a short time and only under specific, limited circumstances. The only governement agencies that pay for Long Term Care are Medicaid and the Veteran’s Administration. Both are notorious for their lack of care quality and poor quality of life for their residents.
Boomers’ Mindset
Boomers have been raised to expect a decent quality of life and the freedom to make their own choices. They cherish independence, pleasure and, as they have matured, the joys of family and friends.
As a generation, Boomers were not raised to expect or shoulder sacrifice, although they can and do rise to the occasion. For most, the mere thought of a loved one enduring the extraordinary burden and sacrifice of day-to-day caregiving is enough to motivate Boomers to protect themselves and their families.
The value of Long Term Care insurance is that it:
1) supports independence by providing the ability to pay for Home Care and Assisted Living costs. It give people choices.
2) protects loved ones from the burdens of caregiving.
Long Term Care insurance should be called “nursing home and family caregiving prevention insurance”, and for these benefits alone it is worth its price.
Either having LTC insurance or paying for care costs out-of-pocket allows you to choose where to receive care, even when caregiving needs increase. However, Long Term Care insurance is less expensive in the long-run.
When Should I Buy Long Term Care Insurance?
The sooner the better! LTC insurance premiums go up in price as you get older, although once you buy a policy your premiums do not rise due to aging or health. For years, financial planners were telling their clients to wait until age 65, but this is no longer considered sound advice. The Federal and State Partnership Programs encourage people to buy as early as age 40, mostly to increase the financial security of the programs, but also to ensure that people do not become a burden on Welfare/Medicaid if they get sick or injured at an early age and need long term care.
If you can afford the premium for years to come, buy now to protect yourself and your family.
