Rep Orientation

Calm. Clarify. Compare.

Your job is not to sell. The policyholder may be frustrated because the letter was unexpected. Start by making them feel heard, then help them understand what their policy may do under each option.

Calm the moment

Let the caller speak. Acknowledge any emotions, being careful not to judge the increase itself. Then, move to what you can do for them.

Clarify the goal

Ask what the policyholder most wants the policy to protect: savings, family, or care quality.

Walk through the options

Use the numbers to show what changes, what stays the same, and what it costs. Show how numbers relate to their goals, being careful not to give advice.

Rep confidence rules

✓Use plain English.

✓Pause after every number.

✓Ask permission before moving forward.

✓Repeat the policyholder's concern back to them.

✓Never argue with frustration.

✓Never promise or predict future claim approval.

✓Never say an option is best for everyone, or for this caller. Never recommend.

✓Always pair disclosures with their topic.

✓Escalate when the question requires a licensed or state-specific answer.

Call stage map

The guided call walks the policyholder through these stages in order.

1Understand Goals
2Target Care Scenario
3Compare Options
4Recap & Next Steps

Key phrases to lean on

"I hear you — a rate increase like this can feel really frustrating."
"My job today is to walk you through your options and answer your questions. The decision is entirely yours to make."
"Let's slow down for a moment. I want to make sure I'm explaining this clearly."
"There isn't one best option for everyone. I can give you the facts on each one, and the decision is yours to make."
"We encourage you to talk this over with a family member, friend, or advisor before deciding."

Never say this

✕"This is still a great deal."
✕"You should keep the policy."
✕"You should pick this option."
✕"Your claim will definitely be paid."
✕"Don't worry about it."
✕"This option is best for everyone."

Plain-English definitions

Use these wordings when a policyholder asks what a term means.

Long-term care: Help with daily activities — bathing, dressing, eating, mobility — when someone can no longer do them safely on their own. It is not the same as medical care.
Home care: Paid caregivers who come to the home to help with daily activities.
Assisted living: A residential community that provides housing plus help with daily activities and some medical oversight.
Nursing home: A facility that provides 24-hour skilled nursing care for people with significant medical or cognitive needs.
Elimination period: A waiting period, like a deductible measured in days of care rather than dollars, that must be satisfied before policy benefits begin paying.
Reimbursement: The policy pays back eligible care expenses up to its limits, rather than sending a flat monthly check.
Benefit pool: The total lifetime dollars the policy can pay toward eligible care.
Monthly benefit: The maximum amount the policy will reimburse for eligible care in a given month.
BIO rider (Benefit Increase Option): A policy feature that increases the benefit amount over time to help offset rising care costs.
Rate action: A change to a policy's premium, filed with state insurance departments and communicated to policyholders by letter.
Reduced benefit option (RBO): An alternative offered in the rate action letter that adjusts benefits in exchange for a lower premium than the full increase.
Out-of-pocket gap: The portion of estimated care costs in a scenario that exceeds what the policy is projected to pay. This is an estimate based on the scenario's assumptions, not a measure of actual future costs.
Self-funding: Paying for care directly from savings, income, or family contribution, without policy support.

Common questions & answers

Review before your first call. Approved language by category.

commonWhy is Genworth raising my premium?›

I understand why that is frustrating. Premium increases can happen when claims across a group of policies are expected to cost more or last longer than was assumed when those policies were originally priced. I want to be clear that this increase is not based on your individual health, age, or claims history. It reflects expected future claims across a large group of similar policies, and any increase has to be allowed by your state's insurance department. Today, my role is to help you understand your choices and what each one could mean for your coverage.

commonWhat happens to all the money I've paid in?›

The premiums you've paid have kept your coverage active this whole time, which means that the policy's protection has been there for you since the day it was issued and will stay with you as long as the policy remains active.

complianceWill this policy definitely pay if I need care?›

Your policy spells out exactly when benefits become payable. Generally, that's when you need help with a certain number of daily activities, like bathing or dressing, or if you have a cognitive impairment. Claims are evaluated against those policy terms at the time you need care. I can't promise a future claim decision today, but I can show you exactly what your policy's requirements are and we can walk through how your coverage could help if a qualifying care event occurs.

definitionsWhat is an elimination period?›

An elimination period is the number of days of care you receive before your policy begins paying benefits. Your policy has a 90-day elimination period, so generally you would receive care for 90 days and costs during that time would typically be out of pocket, before your benefits begin. The exact rules for how those days are counted are in your policy, and we can walk through how your policy's elimination period works.

definitionsWhat does reimbursement mean?›

Reimbursement means the policy generally pays back eligible care expenses up to the policy's limits, rather than automatically sending you the full benefit amount no matter what you spend.

complianceWhat happens if I stop paying?›

This is very important to understand before doing anything. If premium payments simply stop, the policy would eventually lapse after the grace period and the coverage would end. If your policy qualifies, there may be an option where you stop paying premiums and keep a reduced, paid-up benefit based on the premiums you've already paid. Whether that's available depends on your specific policy and your state, so let's walk through what applies to you. Before you decide anything, we encourage you to talk it over with a trusted family member, friend, or advisor.

complianceShould I keep the policy?›

I cannot make that decision for you. What I can do is make sure you have the full picture: what each option would cost in premium, what it could pay toward care, and what costs might fall outside the policy. We encourage you to talk it through with a trusted family member, friend, or advisor and to keep in mind your own financial, health, and family situation as you decide.

complianceWhich option is best?›

There isn't a one best option for everyone, and I'm not able to recommend one for you. The options differ in what they cost, what they pay toward care, and how long benefits could last, and how much weight to give each of those is a personal decision. What I can help with is to give you all the facts of each option, and even help you model how they might play out in different care scenarios you may be concerned about, so you have what you need to make an informed decision that aligns with your planning goals. We encourage you to talk it through with a trusted family member, friend, or advisor and to keep in mind your own financial, health, and family situation as you decide.

commonCan I talk to my child or advisor?›

Absolutely. We encourage everyone to talk with a trusted family member, friend, or advisor before making any decision. I can put together a written summary of what we looked at today, with the figures for each option, so you have it in front of you for that conversation.

commonThis is too expensive.›

I hear you, and I can help you find options to lower your premiums. I want to be upfront that those options work by reducing the policy's future benefits in some way, such as a lower benefit amount, a shorter benefit period, or slower benefit growth, which can mean that longer or more expensive future care costs may not receive as much payout from the policy. In contrast, shorter or less expensive care events could have the potential for a similar payout even with reduced benefits for scenarios where you otherwise would have been overinsured and been left with excess unused benefit at the end of your long-term care event. There's no rush here, and we can go through each option slowly so you can see what it costs and provides more clearly, and how it may pay out under different scenarios.

commonI do not understand any of this.›

That is completely okay. This is complicated, and you're not expected to absorb all of this at once. Let's slow down. The simple version is that your premium is going up and your letter gives you choices. You can keep your coverage as it is and pay the new premium, or you can adjust your coverage to bring the premium down. My job is to explain what each choice would mean for you. We'll make sure to take it step by step and remember: nothing changes today, and nothing changes at all without your written approval. And I can send you a written summary afterward so you can go over it with someone you trust. How does that sound?