Description: Despite a clear need and demographics which should be favorable to LTCI growth, the market remains stalled due to lack of understanding on the consumer side, and uncertainty on carriers' side. The 3 key risk areas for carriers are morbidity, terminations, and investment earnings. Financial market innovations which can address these include: repackaging risks as derivative securities, interest rate swaps and options, and inflation swaps.

Description: An insurance company selling LTCI today would do far better to address some important financial needs by taking the aspirin of improving modeling and pricing, and not the morphine of shutting down the business line entirely. The aspirin can consist of two strategies: First, integrate the projections of the asset portfolio and the claims liabilities when testing the sensitivity of assumptions or stochastically modeling the product. Second, establish a separate asset portfolio for LTCI products, and make sure it has a strong, well-defined, well-documented Investment Policy Statement. An Investment Policy Statement will enable pricing actuaries and investment departments to work together with the same goals and objectives.