For those of you currently doing business with URL, thank you very much. We understand you have many options when placing your business, and we truly appreciate you choosing URL Insurance Group. We take pride in our dedication to your success. For those of you who are new to URL, I want to extend a warm welcome.

URL is a full-service national broker that specializes in single-premium life, fixed and indexed annuities, traditional life insurance, employee benefits, and group health plans. In addition, we have a senior division that offers Medicare Supplement and Medicare Advantage solutions. After the webinar, I encourage you to visit our website at www.urlinsgroup.com to explore other ways we may be able to support your business.

I’d also like to briefly mention our Orion platform. Orion allows agents to place business in areas they may not typically work in. For example, if you are a Medicare agent during open enrollment and a long-term care, annuity, or life insurance opportunity arises, but you don’t have the time or the proper state licensing, you can reach out to us. We treat it like a warm lead. We contact your client, complete the sale, and compensate you accordingly. This ensures no opportunities are left on the table and allows you to help every client who comes your way.

It is my pleasure to introduce today’s presenter, Jess Delio. Jess is a Regional Vice President with Nationwide and an expert in long-term care solutions. She will be leading today’s presentation. Nationwide is a premier carrier in the long-term care space, particularly with their CareMatters solutions, and I’ll let Jess walk through those details.

You will find handouts available on the right side of your screen. If you have questions during the presentation, please enter them into the Q&A section, and we will address them as we go. Jess, I’ll turn it over to you.

Thank you, Jason, and thank you all for joining us today. I love this topic because long-term care planning is both critically important and often underserved in many practices. Baby boomers are increasingly recognizing the need for this protection, and you are in a great position to start these conversations.

Today, we’ll discuss ways to initiate these conversations, address common objections, and tailor solutions to different client profiles within your book of business. Before we begin, I want to note that I am not a CPA or an attorney. However, Nationwide does have an advanced consulting group made up of CPAs and attorneys who are available to you. I strongly recommend involving them, as well as your clients’ advisors, when working on live cases.

Our agenda today includes an overview of the shifting long-term care marketplace, common objections clients raise, and how to classify clients into tiers to make these conversations easier. We’ll also discuss how to customize strategies for each tier and conclude with ideas on how to fund these solutions.

Historically, traditional long-term care insurance followed a “use it or lose it” model, similar to auto or homeowners insurance. Premiums could increase, and if no claim was made, clients received no benefit. Over time, premium increases caused many clients to move away from these products. In response, hybrid solutions—such as life insurance with long-term care riders and linked-benefit products—have grown significantly. These solutions provide death benefits, cash value, and long-term care coverage, offering clients more flexibility and value.

Statistically, approximately 52 percent of individuals will experience a long-term care event in their lifetime, yet only about 8 percent of people over age 55 currently have coverage. This represents a significant opportunity for advisors to educate clients and provide meaningful solutions. While these statistics are useful for us as professionals, they are generally not effective tools in client conversations and should be used carefully.

One challenge we face is that many clients equate long-term care with nursing homes. This perception limits the conversation and creates resistance. Instead, we should frame long-term care as an event, not a place, and focus on planning for care at home, which is where most claims occur.

To better address objections, I recommend grouping clients into three tiers: middle-class clients, affluent clients without estate tax exposure, and high-net-worth clients with estate tax concerns. Each group has different consequences to consider, and using the word “consequences” rather than “risk” often leads to more productive conversations.

For middle-class clients, the focus should be on planning. Where do they want to receive care? Who do they want providing it? Have they discussed this with their children, and is it documented? Without a written plan, families often experience conflict during a care event. Once the plan is established, the funding conversation becomes much easier.

Many middle-class clients already have assets earmarked for care, such as annuities or CDs. By repositioning these assets into life insurance or linked-benefit products with long-term care riders, we can significantly increase leverage while still preserving benefits for beneficiaries if care is never needed.

Affluent clients often believe they can self-fund long-term care. While they may have the assets, the timing of a care event can be problematic, especially during market downturns. These clients understand market volatility, having lived through events like the dot-com crash and the 2008 financial crisis. The conversation here centers on protecting portfolios and ensuring liquidity at the worst possible times.

For high-net-worth clients, the issue is not affordability but efficiency. Setting aside large sums for care within the estate can result in substantial estate taxes if care is never needed. This is what we refer to as the cost of getting lucky. By using indemnity-based long-term care solutions owned by irrevocable life insurance trusts, clients can remove assets from the taxable estate while still maintaining access to funds for care through properly structured loans.

These strategies require coordination with attorneys and CPAs, but when implemented correctly, they can significantly reduce estate taxes while providing flexible long-term care funding. In some scenarios, the net cost of implementing these strategies can be surprisingly low when tax savings are factored in.

The biggest challenge clients often raise is funding these solutions. The key is uncovering assets they already have, such as underused annuities, CDs, excess Social Security income, inheritances, or other idle funds. In many cases, we are simply repositioning assets rather than asking clients to take on new financial burdens.

To summarize, classifying clients into tiers helps guide your conversations. Focus on planning first, then funding. Avoid statistics and fear-based messaging. Emphasize consequences, flexibility, and win-win outcomes. Look for opportunities to reposition existing assets and create leverage through insurance solutions.

With that, I’ll turn things back over to Jason.

Thank you, Jess. That was excellent. For those who may not know, November is Long-Term Care Awareness Month, making this an ideal time to begin these conversations with your clients. If you need additional materials or support, please feel free to reach out to me. My contact information will be included with the presentation materials, which will be sent to everyone who attended today.

We also have another webinar scheduled for next Wednesday that will focus on lifetime long-term care benefits. I encourage you to attend. The challenge I’ll leave you with today is simple: have the conversation. You can’t help clients or make sales if you don’t ask the questions.

Thank you again to Jess and the Nationwide team for their continued partnership, and thank you all for joining us today. Have a great Thanksgiving, and take care.