Multi-Life Long-Term Care Insurance Offers Big Benefits to Business Owners

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Richfield, Minn. (PRWEB) April 09, 2012 – More and more business owners today are investing in multi-life long term care programs for their employees due to the tremendous advantages of offering this type of coverage. “One of the fastest growing areas in Long Term Care Insurance (LTCI) is the multi-life or worksite market,” said Paul Daugs, Multi-Life LTCI Specialist at Newman Long Term Care in Richfield, Minn. “The increased demand has meant adding resources, including a new informational guide on the topic.”

This news comes on the tail of recent industry announcements of large group LTCI carriers exiting from the market. In November 2010, MetLife announced that it would suspend sales of their group and individual products. In February of this year, Unum announced that they would also leave the group market (Unum exited the individual LTCI market several years ago). The new dynamics of the LTCI market have created a shift from true group to voluntary multi-life solutions.

Daugs believes that MetLife and Unum’s decisions have actually focused a spotlight on the problems around long term care planning. “We still have a robust individual marketplace, where people are continuing to seek out solutions to the long term care problem. Employer-sponsored programs are a great way for companies to respond to the benefit demands of their workforce in a very cost-effective manner.”

Due to the rapid growth in multi-life long term care insurance, Newman Long Term Care has dedicated staff and resources to work this market exclusively. As a multi-life product specialist, Daugs works closely with brokers and businesses to address their long term care needs.

Many businesses, including medical clinics, are using LTCI benefits to attract and keep qualified professionals thanks to selectability features, according to Daugs. Selectability refers to the HIPAA-accepted benefit status that allows companies to choose who receives long term care benefits.

“This creates a huge opportunity for businesses to reward their top talent with a benefit that they are not required by law to provide to all employees,” Daugs said. “Essentially, this is an individualized employee benefit, which allows an employee to choose whether they want to participate at all, and if so, to select what benefit levels they want.”

Since Long Term Care Insurance can be provided as an employer-paid benefit, a voluntary employee paid benefit or a combination of both, companies can use long-term care insurance as an effective retention tool without paying a dime for it themselves. Many business owners have allowed their key employees to use their annual bonuses to fund premiums.

With multi-life programs, long-term care insurance can be a win-win for both employers and employees. The IRS allows certain tax perks for businesses that buy this type of coverage. Premiums for tax-qualified policies paid for employees and their spouses are 100 percent deductible as a business expense. Additionally, employees receive benefits from the policy tax-free.

“This is the only benefit I know of where the employer can deduct the cost and the employees receive both the premiums and the benefits on claim tax-free,” Daugs said. “In other words, this might be the most tax-advantaged benefit on the market today.”

To help employers start exploring this option, Newman Long Term Care is offering business owners and human resource professionals the new 12-page booklet “What Every Business Needs to Know About Worksite Long Term Care Insurance” full of valuable information. The free booklet includes concise information on the following topics: How long term care insurance closes a gap in benefits and retirement plans; Why awareness of long term care is on the rise among employees; What long term care costs; Benefit of worksite LTCI plans, including tax advantages and portability; Key person and carve-out long term care insurance. The booklet is available by contacting Newman Long Term Care at 800-625-9267.

About Newman Long Term Care

Founded in 1990, Newman Long Term Care has focused exclusively on long-term care insurance for more than two decades. The Minnesota-based firm is a national leader in the industry and currently sells long-term care insurance in all 50 states. For more information about Newman Long Term Care, visit Newman Long Term Care

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