Faegre Drinker held its fifth Long-Term Care Insurance Summit in Chicago this fall. The event kicked off on October 18 with an informal, fun, and engaging social get-together, while the overall format for the interactive meeting was selective, informative, and fast-moving. Carrol Golden, Executive Director of the Specialty Centers at the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA), shares a recap of the event.
The first day, Faegre Drinker Partner Steve Serfass shared welcome remarks and introduced Peter Lucas, CEO of Davies, and John Sieb, Business Head and COO – Long Term Care at Prudential and invited them to share their views about the most significant issues and opportunities facing the LTCi community today. Peter urged that while embracing new concepts and insights, the industry should not lose focus on the basics of good policy and claim administration, and he also addressed the importance of creating attractive career paths and opportunities for young and mid-level professionals while mentoring them to become the next generation of leaders. As he discussed the importance of proactive block management, John stressed three strategic pillars: data and analytics, digital TP and claims management.
Steve also moderated a second engaging panel focused on significant regulatory issues and opportunities in the LTCi industry. The panel included Doug Slape, retired Deputy Commissioner from the Texas Department of Insurance; Jan Graeber, who previously worked at the Texas Department of Insurance and is now senior actuary at the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI); and Shawna Meyer, President and CEO of North American Life and Health. The panel focused on the regulatory community’s take on the current efforts of the LTCi community to improve the wellness of policyholders, as well as regulators’ views on best approaches to ensure compliance with applicable law as wellness initiatives continue to take shape and move forward.
Following the opening sessions, attendees engaged in small groups discussions with an opportunity to share their thoughts with the larger group. This interactive format, followed throughout the meeting, led to valuable exchanges among attendees.
Wellness has become a buzzword in the LTC industry. After lunch and networking, Fred Garsson, partner at Saul Ewing LLP, presented on rebating and its relationship to long-term care insurance wellness programs. The session introduced wellness as the main topic for the following few presentations.
The first wellness-focused panel provided an overview of wellness programs, noting that they are largely focused on pre-insurance-claim intervention but that services can be provided to healthy, at-risk, and on-claim populations alike. Information shared included ground covered by the LTCi community toward amassing data as to the efficacy of various wellness/aging in place approaches a well as where the community is heading. The panel engaged in an interactive discussion on data analytics and the prospects for improved policyholder engagement and outcomes using wellness initiatives. Char Hu, CEO of The Helper Bees, moderated this multifaceted and insightful session on the state of wellness programs in the LTCi market today. John Palmer, chief innovation officer at GE, discussed company considerations for reinsurers, and Rhett Weiland, VP, Long Term Care Claims Strategy at Prudential Financial, described his company’s approach to creating data lakes and data visualization to interpret results. Robert Eaton, principal and consulting actuary from Milliman, discussed wellness program study design and various approaches to analyzing program results. The session was followed by small group discussions and a sharing of ideas with the larger group.
The second panel, “Future of Wellness in LTCi: Untapped Potential,” was moderated by Faegre Drinker Partner Nolan Tully. Panelists shared examples of wellness initiatives, including engagement initiatives, support wellness interventions, and care wellness programs. These initiatives and others under development are likely to play a significant part of the LTCi conversation for years to come.
Day one closed with an interactive group discussion led by Matthew Capell, Chief Product Officer at LTCG, followed by an outstanding reception and dinner.
Day two began with a two-part session about litigation that the industry can expect as wellness initiatives mature, with panelists exploring what carriers and vendors can do to reduce the risk/incidence of such litigation and position their companies to defeat any litigation that arises. The first session featured Amy Kline, partner at Saul Ewing and Faegre Drinker associate Steve Brogan, who focused on rate increases and claims. Part two included panelists Christie Conway, senior VP, operations & LTC client services at AssuriCare; Jeff Ferrand, VP of fraud services at LTCG; and Faegre Drinker associate Jessica Gallagher discussing examples of and information about anti-fraud litigation.
Next up on the agenda was a discussion about a newer development in LTCi coverage: publicly funded long-term care programs. Stephanie Moench, senior manager at Oliver Wyman, and Carroll Golden, Executive Director of NAIFA, reviewed the Washington Cares Trust and the feasibility study in progress in California being conducted by the CA Long-Term Care Insurance Task Force. The discussion, led by Faegre Drinker partner Chris Petillo, also touched on the potential impact of current public option proposals, studies, or programs under consideration by various states and how such options may create opportunities and challenges for insurers.
The theme of newer developments was carried forward in the next panel discussion with Loida Abraha, chief commercial officer of Reframe; Courtney Colby, senior counsel at Thrivent; Maureen Lillis, COO of Independent Living Systems; and Ramona Neal, President of Living Benefit Review. They discussed where the industry may see LTCi products and LTC services headed. From new product to new health care initiatives and improved advisor training, the industry is seeing renewed interest in providing additional options and wider distribution of LTCi choices. The necessity of thorough and in-depth advisor/agent education will be essential to the successful distribution of new product.
The Summit closed with comments from Faegre Drinker Partner Nolan Tully, who likened the conference to a pre-cursor to the annual ILTCI Conference held in the spring. Steve Schoonveld, chair of the 2023 conference (March 12-15, 2023), provided a quick glimpse of what to expect in Denver, with conference organizers planning for record attendance.
Given the brain trust in attendance during the two days, the open debates, the professional diversity of the attendees, the exchanges of ideas and concepts, we rest assured industry professionals are determined to support and engage in a brighter LTCi future.
Carroll Golden serves as the Executive Director of the Specialty Centers at the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA). NAIFA is supported by sponsors dedicated to distributors, advisors, and agents interested in gaining expertise and informed responses for consumer issues related to long-term care, advanced planning practices, employee and executive benefits and talent development.
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