Featured News

EssentialLTC Available in California

The National Guardian Life Insurance Company (NGL) EssentialLTC Long-Term Care insurance product is now available in California effective July 6, 2020. Click here to read the complete news release.

“The comprehensive features available with NGL’s long term care product offer the residents of California another Long-Term Care insurance option as they evaluate their coverage needs. Including an affordable Long-Term Care insurance policy in their financial planning portfolio can provide peace of mind and help to protect families against the financial and emotional consequences of a long term care event,” said Joe Guyotte, NGL National Sales Manager, Individual Products.

EssentialLTC Features Include:

• Lifetime benefits
• Joint policies and premiums
• Shared Benefit Amount Rider with third pool benefits
• 1035 Exchange eligible
• Flexible premium payment options, including single premium payment or 10-year premium payment

Click here to login to the Agent Resource Center and download the EssentialLTC Product Introduction Guide. Click here for the EssentialLTC Product Feature Availability (state variation listing).

New and Improved Rate Calculator Available

NGL is excited to release their new, easy-to-use EssentialLTC rate calculator. It was designed as a way to quickly run a quote and see the value proposition of the plan. Click here to start using the new rate calculator. Don’t forget to bookmark the link so you can easily use it in the future.

Rate Calculator Features:

• 1-page quick quote output that can be given to your prospect
• No login required to use rate calculator
• Optimized for mobile device or tablet use
• Provides on-screen images as you input the plan design

Please note: The rate calculator was not designed to be a full illustration or to replace the need for the illustration.

Given the industry’s historically low interest rate environment, and that insurance products with guarantees tend to be more sensitive to macroeconomic trends, Lincoln is making prudent and responsible business decisions to adjust the pricing of our products.

Effective June 15, 2020, Lincoln Financial implemented pricing increases to all products in the Lincoln MoneyGuard solutions suite. Adjustments on flex-pay designs will see a pricing increase of approximately 15%. Single-pay designs will see a pricing increase of approximately 20%.

Additionally, Return of Premium (ROP) on Lincoln MoneyGuard® II in California is being updated to bring consistency across the MoneyGuard product suite. The Basic ROP option will be 70%. The Vested ROP option will begin at 70% and grade up to 100% over six years.

As a leader in the hybrid long-term care marketplace, Lincoln remains steadfastly committed to developing and providing your clients with best-in-class products

It is important to note that no changes will be made to the contract language, forms, compensation or benefits provided.

How This Change Impacts Your Business

• For applications to qualify for the current pricing, a projection of values and the completed application Part 1 must be signed, dated and received in good order by Lincoln’s home office by Friday, June 26, 2020.
• For pending or issued business, after June 15, 2020, Lincoln will accept requests with a revised projection of values to change to new pricing.
• For placed business, normal internal replacement guidelines apply. Rewrites will not be accepted.
• All pending business must be issued, or 1035 exchanges initiated (where applicable), on or before August 28, 2020.
• As of June 15, 2020, Lincoln DesignItSM and WinFlex will be updated to reflect the new rates. During the transition period both current and new rates can be run.

Standard MoneyGuard Rules Apply During This Transition

• Ensure that you are appropriately credentialed. Clients of advisors who are not properly credentialed to solicit business when the paperwork is submitted will be subject to the premium rates in effect on the date when the advisor becomes properly credentialed and resubmits the paperwork.
• Remember that once an application is submitted, the Personal History Interview (PHI) must be completed within 60 days of submission. In addition, the case must be placed within 90 days of the PHI. If these conditions are not met, the case will be closed out. If a case is reopened, a new Part 1 must be submitted, and the case will be subject to the product available at that time.
• NY Reg 187: Please note that effective February 1, 2020, financial professionals are now required to complete two pre-sale training courses prior to soliciting new business or servicing existing business in New York. Specifically, the trainings include: 1) NY Regulation 187 Best Interests Training; AND 2) Carrier Specific Product Training

You will not need to retake these trainings if you have already completed them (this rate change does not require any additional product training). In accordance with NY Regulation 187, the enhanced documentation and suitability review are still required before policy issue.

Securian Financial is committed to building secure tomorrows by doing the right thing today. To deliver on this promise and in response to the historically low interest rate environment, Securian Financial will implement the following product updates to SecureCare in all Compact states and South Dakota on July 18, 2020. These updates will be implemented in other states as they are approved. Please note: these changes impact new business only, there are no changes to in-force policies. There is no change to the product structure, contract language, forms, compensation or types of benefits provided.

Pricing Update

Given the extremely low interest rate environment and historic volatility in the markets, increasing premiums is a necessary step to ensure policyholders are protected and to maintain the long-term vitality of the product. The pricing updates were carefully selected to ensure SecureCare remains highly competitive in the linked-benefit space.
For new business only, expect premiums to increase an average of:
• Single-pay: 13.5%
• 5- and 7-pay: 10.5%
• 10- and 15-pay: 7%

Payment Durations Extended to Age 80

Securian Financial is dedicated to providing your business and the people we serve together with flexible and practical solutions for long-term care, which is why the maximum payment age is being increased from 75 to 80 years old. Please note: due to COVID-19, SecureCare policies are only being issued to applicants age 70 and younger until at least September 15, 2020.

Ultimately, Securian Financial’s historical approach to smart growth and strong enterprise risk management keeps us well-positioned to manage these uncertain times and remain a top competitor in the linked-benefit space.

Key Dates

• Monday, July 6, 2020: illustration software will be updated to reflect new pricing.
• Friday, July 17, 2020: applications must be signed, in good order and received by Securian Financial’s home office or submitted via eApp by 3 p.m. CT to receive the old rates.
• Saturday, July 18, 2020: SecureCare Universal Life’s new pricing and extension of payments to age 80 will be implemented in the Compact states1 and South Dakota

Mutual of Omaha Announces LTC Issue Age Restriction Lifted in Select States

From the Desk of Marty Johnson, Vice President, Individual Underwriting, Mutual of Omaha

As the stay-at-home orders begin to lift and local businesses start to reopen, we are happy to announce that Mutual of Omaha is also lifting some restrictions on LTC applications where the ability to obtain face-to-face interviews has improved.

With this good news, beginning June 15, 2020, Mutual of Omaha will accept LTC applications for clients age 65 and over in the following states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Mutual of Omaha will continue to evaluate lifting the restrictions for additional states. Until then, all remaining states will continue to follow the temporary guidelines and processes outlined in Mutual of Omaha’s previous temporary underwriting guideline communication.

In addition, underwriters will initiate the scheduling of face-to-face assessments for LTC applicants age 65 and over after medical records have been received, reviewed and they are favorable for insurability. This will ensure we are only requesting face-to-face assessments on individuals who are indeed insurable, subject to the completed assessment. This avoids the inconvenience of going through an assessment during this difficult time, only to be deemed uninsurable based on the medical records. This will also provide additional communication touchpoints with the producer during the underwriting process as each step is completed.

Please refer to Frequently Asked Questions or the MutualCare Solutions Underwriting Guide for any questions you may have.

A note from the desk of Marty Johnson, VP Individual Underwriting with Mutual of Omaha.

State government social distancing responses change daily, and it is increasingly difficult to know which of our distribution partners have the ability to maintain back office support for policy receipt and delivery. We also understand that any back-office support you have available today may be forced to discontinue tomorrow as the situation continues to evolve. Therefore, as an interim solution, we will begin mailing all LTC insurance policies direct to our customers effective Tuesday, April 21, 2020.

This change is being implemented with the best interests of our customers and distribution partners in mind to ensure timely policy delivery to our customers in this ever-changing environment. We ask that you work with us to adapt to this new delivery process in the short term as we continue to explore other delivery solutions. However, respecting your business model is important to us. If this change will significantly impact your business, please contact your Sales Director immediately to request an exception to this process. Please know that this may take 48-72 hours to be effective.

We have received several requests to email pdfs of the policy output in lieu of having an e-delivery option. Currently, we are not able to offer widespread emailing of policies; however, we are exploring this option. Policy delivery updates on our products will be provided as they are available.

Updated LTC Policy Output Procedures

Beginning April 21, 2020, all LTC insurance policies with or without delivery requirements will be mailed directly to the policyholder. Your agency and producers will not receive a copy.

• An email will be sent to your office contact at time of policy issue listing any needed delivery requirements. A copy of the delivery requirements will not be attached.
• All delivery requirements will be included in the policy output package.
• Case Monitoring will reflect all outstanding and received delivery requirements.
• Options to send back delivery requirements include:
  • By mail: A return envelope will be included for the customer to return to our home office.
  • By fax: 1-888-539-6272.
  • By email: epsupport@ltcg.com Note: Please reference the FAQ on how to send emails securely.

A note from the desk of Marty Johnson, VP Individual Underwriting with Mutual of Omaha.

Throughout the rapidly evolving pandemic, Mutual of Omaha has been continuously evaluating our underwriting and new business practices to support business continuity, deliver a consistently high level of service, and maintain our financial strength.

As a result, effective Thursday, April 16, 2020, we are implementing a temporary change. We will not be accepting LTC applications for individuals age 65 and older. All LTC cases not already approved or issued will be postponed and processed as an incomplete application.

We will continue to prequalify applicants 64 and younger. The prequalification will be good for 60 days. If the health of the client changes or the prequalification is past 60 days, you will need to prequalify the applicant again.

Below are some important reminders:

• The temporary changes above are in addition to the guidance on COVID-19 announced on March 24th.
• If the proposed insured or any member of his or her household has traveled or resided outside of the United States within the past 30 days, the application will be postponed until 30 days following their return.
• If the proposed insured or any member of his or her household has come into close contact with anyone known to the insured to have tested positive for COVID-19, the application will be postponed until 30 days following their exposure.
• In addition, anyone testing positive for the COVID-19 virus or those who have been hospitalized or quarantined for the virus will have their application postponed for a minimum of 90 days.

Thank you for your flexibility and understanding as we all continue to adapt to changing conditions. We hope to be able to return to normal as soon as possible.

– Marty Johnson, VP Individual Underwriting with Mutual of Omaha