By: Melissa Barnickel at Baygroup Insurance Ken Burns’ 2016 documentary on cancer titled, Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies, speaks to the fear that a cancer diagnosis strikes in the hearts of all. And this begs the question, if cancer is the emperor, what can then be said about other debilitating conditions such as dementia? Whatever comparison comes to mind, I think we can all agree that like a cancer diagnosis, a dementia prognosis can be terrifying— emotionally, and often financially, not only for the patient but also for everyone who loves them and even for society at large. Awareness […]

By: Melissa Barnickel at Baygroup Insurance Did you hear the one about the couple who’d saved every penny for years to fulfill their dream of traveling the world once they’d retired? But then one of them unexpectedly passed, so the travel during retirement never happened? It’s not a joke. In fact, in today’s world the sudden, unexpected decline of a spouse cutting short long-laid retirement plans is so common that almost everyone knows someone who’s experienced a similar tragic turn of events. But what if, instead of death, it’s actually long-term care of a loved one that changes your once-solid […]

By: Melissa Barnickel at Baygroup Insurance It is my pleasure to report highlights from the 2019 Milliman Long Term Care Insurance Survey, which was published in the July 2019 issue of Broker World magazine. This gold standard report for agents has been published for 21 consecutive years and focuses on stand-alone long term care insurance.   New Sales in 2018 The 15 carriers surveyed reported sales of 56,288 policies (including certificates—the term “policies” will be used in this article to cover both items), with new annualized premium of $171,537,644. This represents a 13.1% drop in the number of policies and a […]

By:  Melissa Barnickle of Baygroup Insurance The first buyers of automobiles had only one choice: a black Model T. Decades ago, the first people buying long term care insurance faced a similar situation— there weren’t many choices. But with an apology to our feline friends, these days one could say that, when it comes to solving the problem of long term care financing, there’s more than one way to skin a cat.   For starters, there’s traditional long term care insurance (LTCI). The product has many varieties, including facility only, home care only, shared care for 2 insureds, among other variations. […]