LTC Without The Nursing Home
To be sure, during a crisis most people are focused on short-term survival, not long-term planning. But there is a specific link between LTC and the coronavirus.

"One of the items that is repeated constantly on our current news cycle is the number of elderly individuals who are dying from Covid-19, especially due to outbreaks in nursing homes," Zovistoski said. LTC insurance is often used to pay for nursing-home care, he noted, yet some policies allow policyholders to receive long-term care at home instead, which most people prefer.

"LTC professionals need to educate potential clients even more about the home health-care benefit features within the policies," said Zovistoski. "The ultimate goal will be to keep clients in their homes, and out of the nursing homes, as long as possible."

Zovistoski also mentioned there are other ways clients can save money even if premiums rise. Some, he said, have opted to reduce the benefits within the policy —such as automatic coverage increases to keep up with inflation—in an attempt to keep premiums relatively fixed."

Will The End Of The Bull Market Affect LTC Insurance?
Still, the end of the 11-year bull market, and the concurrent low interest rates, could impact the LTC insurance market. In a press release, Jesse Slome, the AALTCI director, theorized that many hybrid policies had been sold in recent years by "stockbrokers and financial planners who found it easy to move their client's money from one asset to a linked-benefit product." He doubted many brokers will be calling their clients now, after recent portfolio declines.

At the same time, clients who are worried about asset declines may become attracted to stand-alone policies because they are usually more affordable in the short run.

On the other hand, market fluctuations may make no difference. LTC decisions tend to be motivated more by emotion than logic. "The majority of the reasons clients have or do not have interest in [LTC] products rests within emotion, education, or need," said Zovistoski. "The emotional aspect is probably the greatest force to compel someone to consider the product."

Sitting Tight
For the time being, Kimberly Foss, president and founder of Empyrion Wealth Management in Roseville, Calif., said most clients are sitting tight and not making any changes. "If the financial doldrums go on much longer," she said, "some may start reassessing their expenses and those in current good health may start taking a look at the premiums as a way to save money."

"It’s too early in the game for people to be thinking a whole lot about long-term anything," she added. "But as the market volatility subsides, and especially when life returns to a more normal pace, I expect that traditional LTC insurance policies will come back onto the radar for more clients."

As of recently, one leading provider of standalone LTC insurance is seeing no movement in clients' purchasing decisions, though there has been an uptick in curiosity.