Benefits Selling. November 2004. BenefitsSellingMag.com

INDUSTRY INSIDERS >> By Margie Barrie and Carroll S. Stuart

Care giving influence emerges

Q: At a recent long term care conference, I heard a speaker mention the impact care giving will have on sales in the group/worksite market. Do you agree? If so, what statistics and supportive information can you provide? E.H., Boston, Mass.

A: We definitely agree. As a broker/agent, it is important you make employers aware of the potential impact care giving is going to have on them and on their work force. It is equally important that you offer a professional, viable solution to this impending problem – a worksite LTCI plan.

Former First Lady Rosalind Carter said it well: "There are only four kinds of people in this world. Those who have been caregivers. Those who currently are caregivers. Those who will be caregivers. Those who will need caregivers."

Care giving might be the most common experience Americans share.

A good deal of research on care giving has emerged as a result of studies done by the MetLife Mature Market Institute, headed by Dr. Sandra Timmermann. The government also has studied this problem and included caregiver responsibilities as a qualifying event for the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. While a step in the right direction for the employee, it does not solve the dilemma.

There are 34 million Americans providing care to older family members. Today, one out of eight employees is caring for an aging parent. One in four American households is involved in care giving. Elder care will replace child care as the top dependent care need in this century, as one out of three workers will be caring for an aging parent.

What’s involved in being a caregiver? The average caregiver provides 18 hours of care per week, but 20 percent of caregivers provide at least 40 hours of care per week. The average length of caregiving is 4.3 years, while the average age of care recipients is between 50 and 75 years old. The typical caregiver is a 46-yearold woman who has at least some college education and provides more than 20 hours of care each week to her mother.

Next month’s column will take a closer look at how this trend affects the workplace.

CARROLL STUART, CLU, CHFC, CMFC, CLTC, LTCP, HAS WORKED AS NATIONAL DIRECTOR OF LTCI GROUP MARKETS FOR TRANSAMERICA LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, AND VICE PRESIDENT OF GROUP MARKETING AND SALES AT A LARGE EAST COAST LTCI BROKERAGE AGENCY. CURRENTLY, CARROLL IS CHAIRPERSON FOR THE 5TH ANNUAL INTERCOMPANY SOCIETY OF ACTUARIES LONG TERM CARE CONFERENCE. SHE CAN BE REACHED AT CARROLLCARROLL@COMCAST.NET

MARGIE BARRIE, AUTHOR OF THE BOOK 50 WAYS TO BOOST YOUR LTCI SALES, IS PRESIDENT OF MARGIE BARRIE & ASSOCIATES, AN LTC CONSULTING FIRM, AND A PRINCIPAL OF LTC SALES TRAINING SOLUTIONS, A COMPANY SPECIALIZING IN AGENT EDUCATION AND TRAINING. MARGIE CAN BE REACHED AT MARGIEBARRIE@COMCAST.NET.