First Quarter LIMRA Data

[billberry12]

2011 First Quarter LIMRA data* has been released and Genworth led in both number of lives and annualized new premium in 1Q 2011. Number of lives were up 44% from 13,923 in 1Q 2010 to 20,013 in 1Q 2011. Annualized new premium was up 47% from $30,786,362 in 1Q 2010 to $45,272,056** in 1Q 2011.

Also in the top 5 for Annualized New Premium in 1Q 2011 (listed alphabetically) were John Hancock Financial Services, Mutual of Omaha, Northwestern Long Term Care, and Prudential Long Term Care.

 

[VolAgent]

So, we're talking probably less than 200,000 lives a quarter. Less than 800,000 people buy LTCi a year?

 

[billberry12]

I don't know the answer to that one.
Bill

 

[VolAgent]

Top dog sold only 20,000 lives in a quarter. That is maybe 100k for the top five. Maybe double that for the industry. No wonder companies are ditching LTC as a line.

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

I was talking to a major lead provider (one of the top 3) who's coming on my site for a new ad program and was talking about a LTC section we're building - mentioning they could also offer LTC leads.

They told me they tried LTC leads and ditched it. In a nutshell, not enough people online looking for quotes.

Using Google's keyword tool, an exact search for "long term care quotes" is 320 per month and 22,000 per month for "long term care insurance. That's just over 400 searches per day per state. Next to nothing.

 

[Mr_Ed]

Top dog sold only 20,000 lives in a quarter. That is maybe 100k for the top five. Maybe double that for the industry. No wonder companies are ditching LTC as a line.

Exactly.
The main reason some companies have stopped selling LTCi is because they were selling only a few thousand policies per year. There's no way to even cover the overhead expenses with the first year's premium, let alone commissions, variable expenses, reserves, etc...

New lives have totaled about 300,000 each year for the past several years.
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I was talking to a major lead provider (one of the top 3) who's coming on my site for a new ad program and was talking about a LTC section we're building - mentioning they could also offer LTC leads.

They told me they tried LTC leads and ditched it. In a nutshell, not enough people online looking for quotes.

Using Google's keyword tool, an exact search for "long term care quotes" is 320 per month and 22,000 per month for "long term care insurance. That's just over 400 searches per day per state. Next to nothing.

Why do you think I sell LTCi in 44 states. There's never a shortage of leads when you can sell anywhere in the country.

nadm
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Top dog sold only 20,000 lives in a quarter. That is maybe 100k for the top five. Maybe double that for the industry. No wonder companies are ditching LTC as a line.

Keep in mind that the difference between selling LTCi and medical insurance is that individual medical policies have an extremely high lapse rate. LTCi has a lapse rate that approaches zero. LTCi is a once in a lifetime purchase. People buy it and never get rid of it.

The resulting passive income makes LTCi one of the best insurance products to sell.

 

[VolAgent]

Exactly.
The main reason some companies have stopped selling LTCi is because they were selling only a few thousand policies per year. There's no way to even cover the overhead expenses with the first year's premium, let alone commissions, variable expenses, reserves, etc...

New lives have totaled about 300,000 each year for the past several years.
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Why do you think I sell LTCi in 44 states. There's never a shortage of leads when you can sell anywhere in the country.

nadm
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Keep in mind that the difference between selling LTCi and medical insurance is that individual medical policies have an extremely high lapse rate. LTCi has a lapse rate that approaches zero. LTCi is a once in a lifetime purchase. People buy it and never get rid of it.

The resulting passive income makes LTCi one of the best insurance products to sell.

As long as companies keep issuing policies. Anyone know how many life policies are issued by the top company in a year? Sure, there is vastly more lapsing and replacement in life, but I bet it dwarfs LTCi by orders of magnitude even after you account for replacements.

 

[Mr_Ed]

As long as companies keep issuing policies.

That's a ridiculous statement.

 

[VolAgent]

That's a ridiculous statement.

Why, you just admitted yourself the numbers aren't there. There are just so many negatives. Lack of business to keep costs down, and rising claims. Has a major company recently added a LTCi line? I'm not saying claims along is going to kill it, but if they run high and you can't write enough new business, it makes little sense to keep writing new policies at a certain point.

You really believe Genworth is happy writing 80,000 lives a year long term? Its a brokerage company, its not like Northwestern or Mass Mutual or Guardian who is doing it to complete a line for career agents.

 

[billberry12]

All good points my friends. That's why I posted the info. Where do we go from here??