An aging workforce means company CEOs, presidents and VPs are searching for coverage once they cross the 65-year-old Rubicon – and that is creating a whole new market that is growing exponentially for insurers.
“A lot of the company disability insurance on executives that have turned 65 simply doesn’t cover them anymore,” says Michael Taylor, vice president of sales with Hunter McCorquodale. “They want to keep working, and the employer wants to insure them – so they are calling us."
Hunter McCorquodale started in the specialty risk life space in 1997, later joining with Simmlands Insurance Services in 2010, a niche property and casualty wholesaler. It was a move that mirrors the booming demographic of baby boomers who have hit, or are now hitting, retirement age, he says.
“This has been growing at an exponential rate since 2005,” Taylor told Insurance Business. “You have a bunch of people turning 65 and they aren’t matching the demographic of the coverage that is out there. The regular market won’t cover it.”
And it isn't just CEOs turning 65 that are in need of better insurance coverage.
An aging population means clients are already looking for additional coverage to pay for more years of long-term or home care, as 64,000 are expected to be over the age of 100 by the year 2056.
The average price of a private room in a nursing home is approaching $90,000, and the average premium of long-term care policies have gone up 20 per cent. Studies show that one-third of retirement-age people will never incur any nursing-care costs, while 6 per cent of retirees will incur care costs of $100,000 or more in their lifetime, and 2 per cent will face $250,000 or more in care costs.
