Despite the challenging landscape for long-term care insurance in recent years, the corporate or worksite marketplace segment continues to provide a significant opportunity for benefits brokers and advisors to assist clients and grow their businesses. Most recently, LTCI carriers were offering voluntary LTCI programs to mid-sized and larger employers using guaranteed issue or GI underwriting.

Even groups with as few as three members could qualify for simplified issue underwritten policies. However, these opportunities and offerings have changed.

Low lapse rates, a challenging regulatory environment, record-low interest rates and worse-than-expected claims experience have had an impact. Over the past eight years, we've seen numerous in-force rate actions and fewer carriers in the marketplace, despite the fact that the need for this planning as well as corporate/worksite interest in LTC solutions continues to grow.