What's New at StrateCision

Major Enhancement of LTC Advisor Plus!

Comparing policies in LTC Advisor Plus has just become much easier and more useful. The latest update includes a new function called "Key Feature" that greatly simplifies the process of choosing features on which to compare policies.

Subscribers to LTC Advisor and LTC Advisor Plus know that policies can be compared on any or all of over 100 different features and benefits, and that this allows policies to be broken down into bite-size pieces and compared in an apples to apples grid or table. However, finding the features that really differentiate among the policies you are comparing can be labor intensive and time consuming.

Now you can skip the search for features to show and just press the Key Benefits button. This will select only those features that have been labeled "Key" for at least one of the policies you are comparing. Then when you show the comparison grid, press the button "Show Key Features" and the cells containing key features will light up in the highlight color. In a few seconds you have created a meaningful comparison of your policies that calls attention to the relative strengths of each plan.

How are Key Features determined? We studied the policy database to identify features that are not commonly included in LTC plans, but if included would add value to a policy.
Examples:

Are premiums waived within 30 days of receiving home care benefits?
Are homemaker services covered without conditions?
Is care for mental disorders covered in all settings?
Can the full policy benefits be used anywhere in the world without restrictions?

The complete list of criteria for Key Features is in the Help section of LTC Advisor Plus.

What if I disagree with the criteria and want to assign my own Key Features? Go to it! You can unKey any feature you don't think is Key, and add ones you do consider Key. You can replace any or all of the Key Feature designations and Advisor Plus will remember your choices and use them in the future instead of the original ones. After all, LTC Advisor Plus is your program to customize and use in ways that work for you.

So if you have been alert enought to already have Advisor Plus, download the updates and start using this powerful new feature. If not, maybe it's time for you to look into the new Industry Standard for comparing LTC policies.

The new LTC Advisor Plus can be ordered by calling us at 781 453 1938, or print out an Order Form and fax it in. If you have a current subscription to LTC Advisor, we will credit the unused part of your subscription toward your purchase of LTC Advisor Plus.

It's time to put this powerful new tool to work for you!

New online quoter for LTCI prospects

Many agents have asked us whether our web-based quoting program, LTC WebQuote, can be licensed for use by their clients and prospects. These agents have their own websites, and want to provide an online tool for their prospects to find out what LTC insurance will cost.

Although technically this is not a problem, the regulatory issues in showing consumers actual quotes for specific policies are enormous. Each carrier whose policies are quoted or compared would have to file sample comparisons with states whose residents would see the quotes. Up to now, this has discouraged us from making online consumer quotes available.

However, we now have a way to show prospects the likely cost of a policy with specific benefits, given their age, marital status, and state of residence. Our solution is an easy-to-use web page where the prospect enters this information and chooses desired benefits. The site then searches 10-15 representative policies and finds the premium for the chosen benefits for each policy. It then shows the prospect the lowest, highest, and median premium from the sample, giving them a good idea of the cost for the benefits they want.

If you have a website for your prospects, and would like to embed this quoting tool in it so they can check prices for themselves, give us a call or send email to SALES@LTCA.COM.

To try out the web page, click this link: See Consumer Quote Page

Percentile Ratings

Responding to requests by several agents, we have added an additional financial rating to the 4 already included in LTC Advisor, and also a summary percentile showing the average rating for each carrier. This is calculated by first ranking all LTC carriers according to one rating, with the highest rated carrier at the top of the list and the lowest rated at the bottom. The carriers are then assigned percentiles according to their position on the list, showing what percentage of carriers rank lower for that rating. We then calculate percentiles the same way for each of the other 4 ratings. Then the percentiles for each carrier are averaged over the 5 financial rating systems to get the average percentile for each carrier.

Users familiar with the Comdex rating may recognize this approach. compare Percentile Rating with Comdex

Let us know if you find this new statistic useful (email ). We think it simplifies the comparison of financial stability of LTC carriers considerably.

Looking for a job in Beautiful New England?

As everyone knows, Boston is the home of the world champion Red Sox, the awesome New England Patriots, the Swan Boats, clam chowdah, and most importantly, StrateCision.

StrateCision is recruiting to fill 2-3 jobs at our home office in Needham, MA. If you live in the Land of the Bean and the Cod and are savvy on LTCI and looking for a new venue to express your creativity in this fast-moving field, get in touch. Or if you know someone who meets that description, get them in touch with us.

We need people to answer the phone, talk to customers, explain how our software works (and what to do when it doesn't - a rare event), help abstract new policies, get into marketing and sales, and other things we may not have even thought of yet.

If this sounds like a good opportunity, it is. To find out more, contact us at . Emailing a resume and your thoughts on how you can contribute would be a good start.

Switch to Vista?

Agents are asking whether our programs work with Windows Vista, Microsoft's latest version of Windows. We have tested our programs with Vista Home Premium, Vista for Business, and Vista Ultimate.

The general answer is that our programs work with Vista. Significantly more problems arise than with Windows XP, but we have in most cases been able to help users run our programs successfully. Additional problems can occur with 64bit Vista.

Since Vista's introduction, Microsoft has published several updates that improve its ability to run applications. So if you have Vista, make sure you get all the available updates and service packs offered by Microsoft. Also make sure you create a user account that is different from the administrative account that comes with Vista. All applications should be installed into a user account, since the administrative account has special security protection that can interfere with application programs.

If you don't currently have Vista and need to buy a new computer, we suggest finding one with Windows XP installed. If you have to move to Vista, we suggest the Business Version, which may be less problematic running business applications. Also we would avoid any 64bit version of Vista at this time.

Withdrawn Policies

Some users of LTC Quote Plus have asked to see older policies that are no longer being sold, because they may want to show a client how a policy they hold differs from current plans. Other users prefer that withdrawn policies not appear in the list.

To respond to both preferences, we have added to Quote Plus and LTC WebQuote the option to see withdrawn policies. In Quote Plus in the main window, click Setup. Options, then click Show withdrawn policies. You will then see policies that have been withdrawn in the client's state. These will have a (W) after their name to indicate they are withdrawn. To suppress withdrawn policies, click the option again to uncheck it.

LTC WebQuote users can click the checkbox near the bottom of the Agent page to see withdrawn policies.

Note that not all policies that were ever present in LTC Quote will be shown. However going forward, policies withdrawn after 4/1/06 should continue to be available for an extended period.

Change to order line

Our toll-free number, 800-792-6662, formerly used as an order line, has been converted to an information line for those with general questions about StrateCision and its products. Now that online ordering is available (see next section) it seemed no longer necessary to use the expensive (and often inaccurate) order-taking service we have been using.

Customers will no longer be able to call in orders on the 800 number, but can order on this website, using the link near the top of the home page. Those not wanting to use the online form can mail or fax in their orders, or call our main office and order with a credit card.

We believe this change will result in improved order processing. If you have comments or suggestions about our new info line, please email or otherwise communicate them to us. It is fairly easy to expand the information offered on the toll-free line.

Online Ordering

We have added online ordering to this site. You can now order new or renewal licenses for LTC Advisor, Quote, and Quote Plus. Click the Order Online link to bring up the order form. Note that this is a secure form, as indicated by the Thawte certificate and the padlock at the bottom right of your browser window. It is therefore safe to enter credit card and other financial information into this form.

For those who are uneasy about ordering over the Internet, you can still download and print the regular paper form by clicking the Order form link. You can fill out and fax or mail this form to us if you are more comfortable with this method. Either way, you get the same great industry standard software, but you'll probably get it a little faster if you use the online order form.

Conference Call Training Sessions

StrateCision occasionally runs training sessions for LTC Advisor and LTC Quote Plus by way of conference calls. These typically last about an hour and are scheduled 2-4 weeks in advance. If you would like to know about these sessions in order to listen in or train your employees, contact us at to learn more.

Using LTC Quote or Quote Plus for Applications

Subscribers are reminded that StrateCision's software tools are third party products, and should not be used to print proposals for application submissions. The carrier's software or approved forms should be used for this purpose.

Can you help get new policies?

Subscribers often ask us to include specific policies not currently in LTC Advisor or LTC Quote, and these requests are recorded. A policy may not be included for any of several reasons, including:

Small market share, little interest
Limited geographic distribution
Not an actual LTC integrated plan
Difficult to get information on plan

Regarding the last item, some companies do not want their plans included in comparison software, and thus will not send us descriptions of their plans. Others are willing to have their benefits compared in LTC Advisor, but do not want their premiums compared with other plans, and thus will not supply rate tables.

Most of these companies are minor players in the LTC marketplace, but sometimes a plan of general interest is not available to us. The information is on file in various state insurance departments, and available to the general public. However StrateCision does not have the resources to go to each of these departments and study the filings.

In these cases our subscribers may be able to get rate tables and other descriptions for us to abstract, and we appreciate this assistance. If you have data on plans not in LTC Advisor or LTC Quote, that you think are of general interest, we'd like to talk to you. Complete confidentiality is assured!