Part of our guide: Long-Term Care Insurance: Costs, Options and Planning →
The best way to start a long-term care conversation is to skip the product and ask one question: “What’s your plan for extended care?” Then listen. Most clients will never raise long-term care on their own, so advisors who bring it up early, patiently and with the focus on family rather than dollars help far more people plan while they can still qualify.
Key takeaways
- Only a small share of Americans own long-term care coverage, and most clients are simply never asked.
- Open with “What’s your plan for extended care?” and let the client lead.
- Talk about the people at risk (spouse, kids) before costs or odds.
- Solve for care at home first. Even partial coverage reduces the draw on retirement savings.
- Expect a series of conversations, not a one-call close.
Why advisors need to raise long-term care first
Industry estimates suggest only about 1 in 10 Americans over 40 own any long-term care coverage, and that share has changed little in two decades. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services projects that 56% of Americans turning 65 will develop a serious long-term care need (ASPE, 2022).
The people who call an advisor on their own tend to fall into two groups: former caregivers who have lived through it, and people whose health has already changed. The first group is motivated but small. The second group often can’t qualify. Everyone else, the healthy and insurable clients in your book, is waiting for you to bring it up.
Ask one question: “What’s your plan for extended care?”
Notice what this question leaves out: insurance, premiums and products. It asks about the client’s plan. Every client already has one. By default, it’s paying out of pocket and relying on family. They just haven’t looked at how it would work.
When a client answers with “What do you mean by extended care?”, they’ve opened the door to a conversation. Have simple definitions ready: what care is, where it usually happens and when it starts. Most care is delivered at home, not in a nursing home, and most people want to stay home as long as possible.
A long-term care policy isn’t the plan. It’s what pays for the plan. The plan itself protects the people around the person who needs care: their spouse, their children, and the income the healthy spouse depends on.
Lead with family, not dollars or odds
Leading with the cost of care or the odds of needing it usually starts a debate. A more useful question is “If you needed care, who would really pay the price?” Four follow-up questions help a client build their own plan:
- Where would you want to receive care?
- Who would take care of you day to day?
- What would that mean for the people providing care?
- How will you protect them from those costs?
For clients with children, ask what role the kids would play. Most say they don’t want their children taking care of them. The gentle follow-up: without a plan, what choice will the kids have?
Handle “It won’t happen to me” with longevity
Rather than arguing statistics, connect to something clients already believe. Their retirement projections likely run to age 90 or beyond. Ask, “If you live to 85 or 90, isn’t it reasonable you could need some care along the way?” Most people agree. From there you’re planning for a consequence, not debating a risk.
Solve for home care first
For couples, long-term care is a first-to-need-care problem: the cost of care lands on top of normal living expenses while both spouses are still living. Part-time help, eight hours a day, five days a week, at about $35 an hour comes to roughly $6,000 a month. Local rates vary, so check the CareScout Cost of Care Survey for your area.
Coverage doesn’t have to be all or nothing. In a simple illustration, a $5,000 monthly benefit against $10,000 of monthly care cuts the draw on savings in half, which helps protect income for the healthy spouse. See our long-term care planning page for the solutions SRS works with, including traditional, hybrid life/LTC, annuity-based and short-term care.
Download the one-page advisor guide. Keep the opening question, the four plan-building questions and responses to common pushback handy for your next review. Get the free PDF →
Long-term care conversation questions
How do I bring up long-term care with a client who doesn’t want to talk about it?
Ask “What’s your plan for extended care?” and listen. If they aren’t ready, offer something to review at home with their spouse and bring it up again at the next review. It’s often a series of conversations.
What should I say when a client wants to self-insure?
Point out that paying out of pocket is already their default plan, then run the numbers together: projected care costs, the effect on retirement income, and the role family members would play.
Should I use statistics to show clients the risk?
Use them sparingly. Statistics tend to start debates with clients who haven’t been caregivers. Connecting care needs to the long life their retirement plan already assumes is usually more persuasive.
Does a long-term care policy need to cover the full cost of care?
No. A partial benefit can still meaningfully reduce the monthly draw on savings and help protect income for a surviving spouse.
Reviewed by Tim Fuller on 2026-11-04
Tim Fuller
President, SRS Inc.
Tim leads SRS Inc., a full-service IMO (Independent Marketing Organization) and BGA (Brokerage General Agency), connecting independent financial professionals with life, annuity, disability income, and long-term care solutions from 60+ carrier partners.
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