Financial advisors have some ‘splainin to do…

Some financial advisors who sold long-term careinsurance to clients may have some explaining to do. For the first time,  Genworth Financial Inc.  (GNW), the largest provider ofindividual long-term care insurance, or LTCI, has said it will raise premiumsfor existing customers. Genworth, which said previously that it projectedpremiums would remain static for life, filed in all 50 states last month forpremium increases of 8% to 12% on most of its policies.   For advisors who sold the policies and didn’t warn clients of future premiumincreases, the news “can certainly put an advisor in an uncomfortable situation,” says Jason Abosch, an associate at FranklinMorris.  Advisors like Abosch say advisors who sell LTCI products should be warningclients that the policies’ pricing is unpredictable and more than likely to riseagain, regardless of what insurers routinely say. Advisors who don’t providesuch warnings can risk losing clients’ trust when insurers like Genworth do infact raise premiums.  Genworth’s move raises fears of a return to the darker days of the past 15years, when many insurers raised premiums rapidly; some went further, sellingoff policies and exiting the business altogether.

Source/more:  http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200709251248DOWJONESDJONLINE000523_FORTUNE5.htm