Consumer interest in long-term-care insurance has increased, according to a survey conducted by John Hancock Life Insurance Co.
The Boston unit of Toronto's Manulife Financial Corp. released its survey of insurance agents and brokers Tuesday; 85% of the respondents reported an increase in consumer interest over the last few years, and 95% said they would be asked about it more frequently in the future.
In addition, 98% of the respondents said the insurance is a critical component of a comprehensive financial plan.
Agents and brokers said the top reasons clients want long-term-care insurance are to avoid being a burden on their families, and having experience with a family member who needed long-term care.
The No. 1 obstacle to selling the insurance, according to those surveyed, is that clients consider it too expensive. The No. 2 obstacle is that many clients do not see the need for such insurance.
In response to some of these challenges, John Hancock said, it has developed Leading Edge, a policy with features designed to reduce the expense and complexity of buying long-term-care insurance.
Nearly all the survey respondents said they are currently selling long-term-care insurance said or are interested in selling it or developing a partnership with someone selling it.
Overall, 84% of the respondents said already were involved in selling the policies, and 14% said they wanted to begin selling or developing a partnership with a long-term-care insurance specialist. Only 2% said they were not interested in selling long-term care insurance at all.
John Hancock is one of the largest providers of long-term-care insurance, with more than a million clients and $1.4 billion of premiums in force.
