I’m getting older. You’re getting older. Your clients are getting older. Such is life! But, perhaps more important from a planning perspective, we are all living longer than previous generations. As such, you may counsel your clients to take various steps, including delaying retirement, deferring social security benefits, withdrawing savings at a lower rate, or considering more retirement-focused products.

Simon Sinek is an author known for popularizing the concept of “Start with Why.” (It’s also the title of his first book.) In short, it’s a way of thinking and communicating that inspires people to take action, such as purchasing a product. Talking only about the how and the what of a product is a recipe for inaction, because without the why, there is no compelling reason to buy.

This post originally appeared on the blog in October 2014.

Conventional financial planning wisdom suggests that high-net-worth individuals should consider self-insuring for long-term care expenses. Surprising, perhaps, but there's some truth to the idea. For select clients, it makes sense to self-insure for LTC, although it's certainly not right for every wealthy client.

Long-term care planning can be a controversial topic, generating enthusiastic discussion and debate among advisors. Given the increasing length and cost of extended care, however, it's also one of few ways to protect clients' retirement assets from long-term care risk.

Most advisors have discussions with their clients every day about the state of the markets, their portfolios, or their retirement plans. These usually positive interactions serve to reinforce your value as your clients' trusted financial professional.

But when was the last time you had a positive, satisfying insurance conversation? For that matter, when was the last time you had any conversation about risk management?