Long-term care insurance has been a difficult product to sell for some time, and recent events have called its marketability further into question. With several prominent insurers, including Prudential and MetLife, announcing decisions to stop signing new LTCI policies, and with the federal government's decision last year to halt implementation of its own health care reform-based voluntary program—the CLASS Act—the future for the entire issue of long-term care insurance—at first glance—looks grim.

After a second look, though, there are glimmers of promise, and a reason to believe LTCI—especially voluntary LTCi—will present real opportunities for sales, while offering real hope for millions of Americans who might need the protection it provides or the peace of mind it affords. In fact, as a matter of simple arithmetic, it makes sense for agents and brokers to keep the long-term care benefit in play. 

Consider this: Out of a population of more than 300 million, roughly 8 million have LTCI right now. The potential for new customers is simply a mathematical fact, particularly when considering the reality that Medicaid-funded long-term care is unsustainable. And keep in mind the U.S. population is aging dramatically, and is set to pick up the aging pace further in the next few years thanks to more than 78 million baby boomers. As a growing number of individuals confront the need for long-term care, and as more of their adult children begin paying for it, the perceived value and pressing importance of insurance will automatically increase.