Individual long term care insurance sales edged into positive numbers for the first time in four years in the first quarter of 2007, with a 2 percent gain in premium over the same period last year. Policies continued to slip, with a 2 percent decline for the period.
Total premium for the quarter was $149.3 million, with 70,164 policies sold. While it is too soon to call it a trend, the first-quarter performance "reflects a new reality for LTCI," said Jennifer Douglas, LIMRA associate scientist and author of the report. "Growth expectations based solely on an illusionary reading of demographics have been replaced with a realistic assessment of the market's potential and its challenges."
Douglas said LTCI companies are creating new products to attract a broader market and are for the most part embracing the new partnership opportunities and training requirements that many states are adopting.
