Interesting, the big insurance carriers are tackling “Aging in Place“. Guess they want to mitigate trip and fall hazards before they become a reality! What is their motivation to help their customers remain in their communities for longer? Maybe when folks move to a senior community, their insurance premiums drop? Nevertheless, both the Hartford and MetLife have gerontologists on staff who are working to understand their market. And, as a result, two sets of reports have come out in the last year. Links to both of these reports can be found on the 21st Century Care Solutions web site.
The most recent reports were published by the Hartford insurance company with support from MIT’s Age Lab. These reports are entitled: Simple Solutions: Practical Ideas and Products to Enhance Independent Living and Modern Ideas, Modern Living: Taking the Next Step in Home Design and Planning for the Lifestyle You Want. The Hartford has done an excellent job in leading boomers, older adults, and those who care about them through a logical and detailed thought process of how to retrofit their homes so that they can “age in place”. The documents focus primarily on standard Universal Design concepts and do a very thorough job in that department. They provide a myriad of resources from which to draw upon and I will certainly keep a copy of it around my office as a resource.
It is interesting to compare the Hartford documents with the recent “Aging in Place 2.0” documents put out by the Metropolitan Life Mature Market Institute. The MetLife documents cover much more ground — they create an entire model for “aging in place” and in addition to addressing the home design issue, also takes into account connections to the world outside the home, including community resources, technology, and transportation and community infrastructure. Overall,I am a proponent of the MetLife’s holistic approach, but can also appreciate the details and large number of ideas provided by the Hartford regarding home modifications. Considered together, the two are more powerful than the sum of their parts.
21st Century Care Solutions 