Prudential Bites the Dust

[Crabcake Johnny]

MetLife to End Sales of Long-Term-Care Insurance - WSJ.com - older article but a good one.

 

[Arthur Rudnick]

"Gotta feel sorry for their clients - we all know what's coming down the pike".

Pru had a "re-pricing" last year. Made some benefit changes on new policies going forward and increased rates on both existing policyholders and new product going forward.

Of course that doesn't mean that there won't be another rate hike down the road for existing policyholders.

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

.....on closed block of business? Are you kidding? Just wait a few years.

 

[Chuckles21]

that's not true.
pru was never one of the more competitively priced products. they were usually mid-to-high end range.
of course they were a lot more competitive than "the mutuals" you're referring to.

even with an in-force rate increase they'd still pay less than if they'd bought one of the policies from "the mutuals" you're referring to.

NADM,

You still don't seem to understand peoples mindset on this matter. First off I am not saying that selling them a lower price point product is a bad thing, at least you are getting them coverage. Take a 55 year old couple in good health that buys from (pick your non-mutual). They might pay 50% less up front, but may not have a need for this care for 25 years. In those 25 years they may see let's say 2-3 price increases during that time frame. So after the second they are paying about equal to the mutual's price and after that more.

Now let's look at people's mindset in general in retirement. The goal is to limit or at least know what their expenses are going to be because they are starting to take out from those retirement accounts and don't want to deplete them. So although they paid more up front they at least know what that bill is going to be each year (yes the mutual's could increase rates as well, but let's use history for now) and NWM starts to pay a dividend in the 5th year reducing that premium in those important retirement years(again not guaranteed but let's use history).

Neither policy is bad for the client. They just have to realize the trade off between the two and what each could possibly mean for them down the line. I personally would rather pay a little more and have more of a cushion, but my neighbor might rather take on more of a risk of increasing premiums.

 

[Mr_Ed]

NADM,

You still don't seem to understand peoples mindset on this matter. First off I am not saying that selling them a lower price point product is a bad thing, at least you are getting them coverage. Take a 55 year old couple in good health that buys from (pick your non-mutual). They might pay 50% less up front, but may not have a need for this care for 25 years. In those 25 years they may see let's say 2-3 price increases during that time frame. So after the second they are paying about equal to the mutual's price and after that more.

Now let's look at people's mindset in general in retirement. The goal is to limit or at least know what their expenses are going to be because they are starting to take out from those retirement accounts and don't want to deplete them. So although they paid more up front they at least know what that bill is going to be each year (yes the mutual's could increase rates as well, but let's use history for now) and NWM starts to pay a dividend in the 5th year reducing that premium in those important retirement years(again not guaranteed but let's use history).

Neither policy is bad for the client. They just have to realize the trade off between the two and what each could possibly mean for them down the line. I personally would rather pay a little more and have more of a cushion, but my neighbor might rather take on more of a risk of increasing premiums.

do the math.
your math is way off.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

MetLife to End Sales of Long-Term-Care Insurance - WSJ.com - older article but a good one.

i found this on google.
interesting perspective.

Headline: IBM stops selling computers–future of computer industry in doubt! « LTCShop.com



nadm

 

[Chuckles21]

do the math.
your math is way off.

nadm

Good rebuttal, really drove your point of view home.

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

An article about how great the LTCi market is written by the "ltcshop.com" Great source.

 

[VolAgent]

Can you reference a non-agent saying how great the LTCi market is right now? Perhaps a press release announcing a carrier is going to offer a traditional, non hybrid, LTCi product?

 

[TriciaS]

Just curious what was Pru's pricing like compared to the rest of the industry? Say Male and Female both 55 and good health.

Personally, when I did apples to apples I thought they were a little higher. They "rarely" gave preferred (I don't like using never, but I never saw it) and their service was horrible in every way.

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

Can you reference a non-agent saying how great the LTCi market is right now? Perhaps a press release announcing a carrier is going to offer a traditional, non hybrid, LTCi product?

Maybe some of the agent touting just how fantastic this market is should call Prudential and let them know they're making a huge mistake.