Goodbye Guardian

[Arthur Rudnick]

It was announced today that Guardian is exiting the LTCi business as of 12/31/2011.

However, according to the company, "circumstances could arise which may require us to re-evaluate our plans and discontinue sales before year end".

 

[VolAgent]

Sounds like a threat to the career force. "Sell this or we're dropping it." Anyone know what their new premium is for LTCi?

 

[CALTCAgent]

It was announced today that Guardian is exiting the LTCi business as of 12/31/2011.

However, according to the company, "circumstances could arise which may require us to re-evaluate our plans and discontinue sales before year end".

Why wait a year?

 

[scagnt83]

Another one bites the dust...

I would bet that they are waiting a year out of loyalty to their career agents; when your captive and have a sales pipeline and the product your marketing is taken away, it makes for a sticky situation

 

[BNTRS]

I was wondering how long this would take to leak.

I've been waiting for this announcement for months, based on the way the LTC market has developed and the not so insignificant increases in costs (read insurance company potential losses) I figured they'd bow out in the not to distant future.

Sounds like a threat to the career force. "Sell this or we're dropping it."

I'd suggest not likely. Berkshire (Guardian doesn't issue any of the LTC, and it was only loosely tied to Berkshire at that) always seemed like a strange company to hold this product. In fact if sales picked up on this they'd probably close the product down even quicker. They are extremely skiddish about picking up too much business outside of the life and DI areana. They intentionally deisgned the VA to be a second class product to be used as a complement to other VA's in an investment portfolio.

I would bet that they are waiting a year out of loyalty to their career agents; when your captive and have a sales pipeline and the product your marketing is taken away, it makes for a sticky situation

Kind of true. It's not that their career agents are stuck selling just their LTC, in fact most don't, and there was never an initiative out of Guardian to change this. There is no major Guardian LTC producer. And it's certainly not a highly coveted broker product.

I think it's about time one of the major mutuals admited they aren't aswesome when it comes to this product and simply bowed out.

Guardian is really making some changes this year, a few weeks ago they bowed out of the group health insurance market as well. Of course, not many people even knew they were in that market, so it wasn't a wildly exciting announcement.

 

[crimsontideagent]

Sounds like a threat to the career force. "Sell this or we're dropping it." Anyone know what their new premium is for LTCi?

Solid premium. Dang, just quoted a $400/mo premium. better get it in now.
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Ok, outside of Mass - which now scares me cause of the mutual statement and some other info - who are the top 3 LTC carriers you would look to?

 

[Brantley]

Wow...I didn't even know they had a LTC product. Traditional LTC coverage has never been the success that most of the carriers thought it would be. As a matter of fact, I recently had a GA tell me that if his LTC wasn't paid-up, he would opt for something more like Lincoln Moneyguard or the new LTC rider available through West Coast. That statement said a lot to me as he is a 40 plus year veteran of the industry.

 

[Mr_Ed]

Wow...I didn't even know they had a LTC product. Traditional LTC coverage has never been the success that most of the carriers thought it would be. As a matter of fact, I recently had a GA tell me that if his LTC wasn't paid-up, he would opt for something more like Lincoln Moneyguard or the new LTC rider available through West Coast. That statement said a lot to me as he is a 40 plus year veteran of the industry.

the combo products are not the future of LTCi.

 

[Brantley]

the combo products are not the future of LTCi.

So what is the future of LTCi in your opinion? Honestly, I've never had much success in selling it but I'm not expert in LTCi either.

 

[Mr_Ed]

So what is the future of LTCi in your opinion? Honestly, I've never had much success in selling it but I'm not expert in LTCi either.

traditional LTC insurance.