Long-term care insurance, a popular benefitwith employers for many years, is undergoing a rapid transition atthe worksite. Gone are the days of a broad one-size-fits-all groupplan with guaranteed issue coverage. Those plans were designed forease of enrollment but often had compromises. Today, the focus ison plan customization and targeting offerings tied to retirementplanning, including new life/long-term care offerings.

We know why baby boomers are interested in planning for LTC andbuying LTC insurance. Many have dealt with an aging family memberwho needed expensive care and ended up reliant on others.

Others boomers are well-educated on the cost of care and itsimpact on a retirement plan. They want to plan for LTC but don'tknow how to get started and are skeptical of insurance carrierpromises.

Enter the worksite LTC sale. Several carriers offer worksiteplans using the same basic product chassis as their broad marketindividual coverage. Buying LTC through the worksite continues tooffer several advantages over buying coverage individually:

• Unisex pricing at the employer may offer better premiums thanindividual coverage, especially for woman
• Worksite plans often offer premium discounts
• In some cases underwriting concessions are available
• List bill payroll deduction may be an option
• Employees with HSAs can use balances to pay premiums

Another market is the employer-paid executive market, as LTCinsurance is a unique tax-advantaged benefit. For example, Ccorporations can deduct the premium for only a selected class,while premiums paid aren't considered compensation and benefits arereceived tax free.

These policies offer high LTC benefit limits, up to $1 millionof coverage with full underwriting or $400,000 with “simplified”underwriting.

These highly customizable plans used to be difficult to enrollbecause paper applications and on-site enrollment meetings wererequired. Today, with e-applications, webinars and on-demandeducational tools, employees can select and view plans on theirterms.

After they've done a little research, they can then consult withcall centers staffed with LTC planning specialists who can walkthem through the buying process in a low-sales pressureenvironment. Additionally, these experts can help withspouse/partner enrollments as well.

What group can be expected to buy LTC insurance? The most likelycandidates are highly educated boomer employees and executives whohave assets to protect. There is a strong correlation between401(k) participation and the purchase of LTC insurance. People overthe age of 40 with incomes above $50,000 and 401(k) balances above$100,000 are the target market. Expect forward-thinking employersand benefit brokers to use these buyer characteristics to maketargeted offerings to this group, and expect that private healthcare exchanges will also have plan options available.

What about younger or less affluent employees who may not beinterested in the pure protection of traditional LTC? The good newsis several worksite carriers offer universal life insurance withLTC riders. These products allow the underinsured and those with alack of savings to do three things: Protect families against thecost of a premature death; build up cash-value life insurance; andprovide meaningful living benefits if LTC needs strike early.

Finally, it's the age of specialization. There are several groupLTC experts who do a great job of partnering with employers andbenefit brokers to create a custom plan of LTC protection. And,like any other benefit option, it can be tweaked on a periodicbasis to use the latest and greatest insurance products.