2024 Long-Term Care Insurance Claims Data

A just-published report from the Connecticut Partnership for Long-Term Care Insurance can provide some valuable insights explains Jesse Slome, director of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance.

“Thankfully Connecticut remains the only state that publishes current and highly relevant data regarding long-term care insurance,” declares Jesse Slome, AALTCI director. “Information is essential to educating people about the value of this protection and reasons to consider it as part of their longevity planning. And 2024 long term care insurance claims data is unbelievably helpful to those marketing this valuable protection.”

According to Slome, the data looked at some 37,201 policies in force. “For me, the key data I look for is claimant data,” Slome explains. “People want to know if owning long-term care insurance pays. By pays, they mean, do insurers pay benefits, at what ages and how much?”

“Of the 6,878 total claimants, 60 percent represented care by a home health aide or a home visit by skilled nursing,” Slome points out. “Only 34 percent of claims were for nursing home and 29 percent for assisted living. I like to share with reporters and consumers that this is really nursing home avoidance protection and the numbers validate that.”

2024 Claims Data

Number of Policyholders who have qualified to receive benefit payments: 6,878

Gender of Claimant:  59% Female – 41 % Male

Marital Status:  51% Married – 41% Not Married – 8% Unknown

Average Age at Policy Purchase:  64

Age at Time of Claim:  Mean: 81     (Range 31  to 103)

Amount Paid To Date: Least ($19) – Most ($2,647,545)

Type of Service (top categories only)
Home Health Aide – 53%
Nursing Home – 27%
Assisted Living Facility – 29%
Skilled Nursing (Home Visit) 7%

Data from CT Partnership for Long-Term Care statistical report published September 16, 2024.

The post Latest Data for 2024 Long Term Care Insurance Claims appeared first on American Association for Long Term Care Insurance.

“Women are more likely to need long-term care because they generally live longer lives,” explains Jesse Slome, AALTCI’s director. “Among women, 61% are likely to develop a chronic disability often simply due to living a long life.”

The Association director was sharing data about long-term care need and length of paid long-term care services with senior specialists who help educate consumers about the risk and need.

“Some 51 percent of women age 65 and over will need paid long-term care before they die,” Slome shared. “Meanwhile only 39 percent of men age 65 or older will need such care.”

Married people are less likely to need paid long-term care services Slome reported. “Again, it’s 51 percent of unmarried people over age 65 who will require paid long-term care in their lifetime,” Slome shared. “Whereas it’s only 43 percent for married people, part of which is likely that the healthier spouse becomes the caregiver.”

The long-term care insurance expert and advocate noted that long-term care insurance planning was off the radar during the pandemic. “We have a new generation of men and women entering the long-term care planning sweet spot. “They need information including facts and figures to understand the potential future financial risk they face,” Slome added.

To read the latest long-term care need data go to https://www.aaltci.org/long-term-care-need/.

The American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (AALTCI) https://www.aaltci.org advocates for the importance of planning and supports insurance professionals who market both traditional and hybrid LTC solutions. Access comprehensive long-term care insurance statistics and data at https://www.aaltci.org/long-term-care-insurance/learning-center/ltcfacts-2024.php.

The post Women Are More Likely To Need Paid Long-Term Care Services appeared first on American Association for Long Term Care Insurance.

“If you live a long life the chances are very high that you’ll eventually require care,” explains Jesse Slome, director of the long-term care insurance organization. ”When long-term care services are needed most people depend on family members or loved ones, while others have to pay from their retirement savings or income. A small percentage of people today have purchased long-term care insurance to pay for their care.”

Long-term care insurance policies were first introduced in the 1980s and now protect several million aging Americans’ “You must secure this insurance protection when you are still able to health qualify,” stresses Slome. The ideal time to apply is between ages 55 and 65, the long-term care insurance expert points out.

“You are buying protection for your future,” Slome explains. “While some people start using their policy benefits relatively soon after buying, typically as a result of an accident or illness, most won’t qualify for policy benefits for a number of years.”

According to data just released by the Association, just over a quarter (27%) of new long-term care insurance claims begin when policyholders are between ages 80 and 84. For the first time, the organization was able to compare data for traditional long-term care insurance as well as linked-benefit long-term care. The latter typically consists of life insurance or annuities that can also provide a long-term care benefit.

“Each year the nation’s long-term care insurance companies pay out billions in benefits to seniors with this valuable coverage,” adds Craig Matesky, President and CEO of ACACIA Insurance Services. “Today, there are multiple long-term care insurance options that are affordable and more important will cover you for home care, assisted living, nursing home or memory care.”

Access the latest 2024 long-term care insurance statistics and data on the Association’s website at https://www.aaltci.org/long-term-care-insurance/learning-center/ltcfacts-2024.php.

The American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (AALTCI) advocates for the importance of planning and supports insurance professionals who market both traditional and hybrid LTC solutions. Jesse Slome is director and also directs the American Association for Medicare Supplement Insurance.

The post New Report Reveals Ages When Claims Begin For Long-Term Care Insurance appeared first on American Association for Long Term Care Insurance.

“Mutual of Omaha, Northwestern Mutual and New York Life all reported more covered lives than a decade ago,” shares Jesse Slome, director of the long-term care insurance organization. “Unfortunately, companies that were once leaders in the industry have long ceased offering new policies and, as a result, their lives in force have decreased over the same period.”

According to Slome and analysis reported in 2023, Mutual of Omaha and Northwestern Mutual both had 100,000 additional covered lives compared to what they reported in 2013. The largest company in terms of covered long-term care insurance lives, Genworth a top long-term care insurance provider, reported about 200,000 fewer lives in force for the same period.

“It is important for consumers as well as insurance professionals to understand that even when a company ceases offering new policies, existing policies stay on the books and are serviced when claims are filed,” Slome adds. “The past decade has definitely been difficult for some insurers offering traditional long-term care insurance. But, it is important to recognize that some insurers have reported growth.”

For example, Slome notes that Mutual of Omaha which had 110,664 lives in force as reported in 2013, reported 212,213 lives a decade later. “Some may view this as slow growth but it’s quite the contrary,” Slome explains. “While long-term care planning is something every aging American should undertake, long-term care insurance is a viable option for a specific and rather small segment of the overall population.”

Top Long-Term Care Insurance Companies Report – See Complete Data

Access the complete data regarding leading long-term care insurers lives in force at https://www.aaltci.org/long-term-care-insurance/learning-center/ltcfacts-2024.php#LongTermCareInsurers-Lives.

The American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (AALTCI) advocates for the importance of planning and supports insurance professionals who market both traditional and hybrid LTC solutions. Access the latest long-term care insurance statistics at https://www.aaltci.org/long-term-care-insurance/learning-center/ltcfacts-2024.php.

The post Three Top Long-Term Care Insurance Companies Grew Over Past Decade appeared first on American Association for Long Term Care Insurance.

“Claim benefit payouts for policyholders with traditional long-term care insurance coverage have grown from 2020 when insurers paid out $11.6 Billion,” reports Jesse Slome, AALTCI’s director.  “The increase in benefit payouts was expected by the insurers.”

According to AALTCI’s Slome, the amount reported represents claims paid for individuals with traditional or health-based long-term care insurance.  “Data for linked-benefit policies is hard to calculate,” the long-term care insurance expert explains. “First, policies tend to need years before claims are paid to aging policyholders. In addition, there are so many different variations of these policies,” Slome acknowledges.

For 2023, the Association reports that benefits were paid to about 353,000 policyholders. “This represents a nominal increase over the prior year,” Slome shares. For 2022 AALTCI reported benefits were paid to 345,000 claimants. During the calendar-year 2020, AALTCI data reported 325,000 policyholders received claim benefits.

“Long-term care insurance benefits are mostly paid to individuals who receive benefits for qualifying care in their own home or in an assisted living facility,” Slome points out. “Benefits also are paid when policyholders require care in skilled nursing home settings.”

The AALTCI data is gathered and corroborated with leading industry actuaries including historical average annual growth rates from the last 10 years from companies’ year-end reporting data.

Access the 2024 Long-Term Care insurance Price Index and other current data and statistics at the Association’s website. The organization reports industry costs for individuals and couples at ages 55, 60 and 65. Go to https://www.aaltci.org/long-term-care-insurance/learning-center/ltcfacts-2024.php.

The American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (AALTCI) advocates for the importance of long-term care planning. Since 1998 AALTCI has supported insurance professionals who market both traditional and hybrid long-term care solutions.  To access information, go to https://www.aaltci.org or call the organization at 818-597-3227.

The post Paid Long-Term Care Insurance Claims Increased In 2023 appeared first on American Association for Long Term Care Insurance.

Click to access 2024 Long term care insurance statistics

The annual Long-Term Care Insurance Price Index was pre-released today by the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance.

“People have many misconceptions about long-term care insurance and we post data to help them better understand what can be a confusing topic,” states Jesse Slome, director of the long-term care insurance organization.

The 2024 Long-Term Care Insurance Price Index is the organization’s annual compilation of costs for both traditional and linked benefit long-term care insurance.

“First, prices for traditional long-term care insurance can vary significantly depending on which insurance company you select,” Slome points out. “You generally only buy this protection once so selecting the right insurer is of upmost importance.”

The long-term care insurance expert pointed out that the vast majority of long-term care coverage purchased in 2023 consisted of linked-benefit policies. “Consumers like the ‘don’t use it – don’t lose it’ aspect of a life plus LTC policy,” Slome agrees. “But it’s not like this comes without a cost.” The 2024 Price Index attempts to compare premium costs for virtually equal coverage under both options.

The 2024 Long-Term Care Insurance Price Index along with other statistics and data can be accessed via the Association’s website at https://www.aaltci.org/long-term-care-insurance/learning-center/ltcfacts-2024.php.

The American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (AALTCI) advocates for the importance of planning and supports insurance professionals who market both traditional and hybrid LTC solutions. Jesse Slome is recognized as a leading long-term care insurance expert at https://www.aaltci.org/for_media/.

To learn more or to connect with long-term care insurance specialists visit the organization’s website or call 818-597-3227.

The post 2024 Long-Term Care Insurance Price Index Published appeared first on American Association for Long Term Care Insurance.

“Inflation is not the cause of rate increases,” cites Jesse Slome, director of the organization. “There are a variety of factors that make it necessary for insurers to raise rates on older long-term care policies. We wanted a current resource that provides consumers with updated and relevant information.”

According to Slome, insurers have been filing rate increase requests on certain classes of older policies. “The largest requests are associated with policies that included unlimited or lifetime benefits as well as those with a 5 percent compounded inflation growth factor.”

The Association’s website reports that 29% of rate increases were between 10 and 19% with 31% between 20 and 29%. “We do hear of significantly larger requests,” Slome notes. “We understand that people are upset when they are notified about rate increases but there are always options to mitigate the circumstances.”

The long-term care Association reports the between 50 and 60% of policyholders chose to pay the increase and keep their original policy provisions. “Clearly they are older and realize the value of what they purchased as well as the fact that they likely could no longer obtain long-term care insurance at any price,” Slome explains.

To learn more about long-term care insurance rate increases visit the Association’s updated information center.

The American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (AALTCI) advocates for the importance of long-term care planning and supports insurance professionals who market both traditional and hybrid long-term care solutions.  To connect to a specialist for long-term care insurance costs call 818-597-3227.

The post Long-Term Care Insurance Rate Increase Data Shared By Association appeared first on American Association for Long Term Care Insurance.

“More than 201,000 residents and staff of long-term care facilities died from Covid, about 23 percent of all deaths which is a staggering number,” declares Jesse Slome, director of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance.  ”People never wanted to go to nursing homes and Covid is only making people more aware that this is not a desirable option.”

“When care is needed, people want to remain in their own home, something the long-term care insurance industry has known for decades,” Slome admits.  “But everything associated with the product category focuses on skilled care with home care listed as a secondary benefit that is included.  Try selling that something people don’t want and, oh yes, charging a whole lot of money for it.”

Nursing Home Avoidance Protection

Instead, the long-term care insurance expert has advocated positioning long-term care insurance as ‘nursing home avoidance protection.’  “You buy this coverage for the very simple reason that you do not want to go into a nursing home,” he states.  “In fact, I wish State regulators would allow individuals to buy home care insurance protection with minimal benefits for skilled care, similar to what some short-term care policies permit.”

Slome points to the failed Washington Cares program as an example.  “While there were flaws in the effort, the State clearly understood the desire and need for a benefit that paid for home care,” Slome explains.  “Long-term care facilities do everything they can to safely serve individuals and I am confident will continue to do so.”

“If long-term care insurance is to ever become a viable option for more than a very small percentage of individuals, things need to change,” Slome advocates.  “Part of that change I believe needs to be a re-branding of the category and Covid certainly provides a great opportunity to do that.”

Covid Deaths Data

The data comes from a just-published study from the Kaiser Family Foundation.  According to the report, residents and staff of long-term care facilities accounted for 201,000 Covid deaths.  That amounted to about 23 percent of all deaths (680,000).  The report acknowledged the number could be even higher due to under-reporting.  At the inception of the pandemic, nearly half of all deaths occurred in long-term care facilities.

The American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (AALTCI) advocates for the importance of long-term care planning and supports insurance professionals who market both traditional and hybrid LTC solutions.  To access the latest long-term care insurance statistics regarding need and insurance, visit the Association’s Data Center at www/aaltci.org/LTCFacts-2022/.

To obtain long-term care insurance costs from a long-term care insurance specialist call the organization at 818-597-3227 or visit their website www.aaltci.org.

The post Covid Deaths Should Prompt Rebranding Of Long-Term Care Insurance appeared first on American Association for Long Term Care Insurance.

“Take note if you doubt the value of long-term care insurance protection or question whether insurers are paying claimants,” reports Jesse Slome, AALTCI’s director.   “The amount of claim benefits paid to policyholders grew by approximately $700 million compared to the 2020 payout.”

Claims Paid 2021

According to the Association’s annual report of claims paid, the $12.3 billion paid represents an increase of $2 billion over the total claim benefits paid by the industry in 2018.

“Claim benefits were paid to some 336,000 policyholders,” Slome shares.  “Some claims amount to small amounts and some can be significant, totally over $1 million,” the expert explains.  “Even if you do a simple calculation, the average claim amount paid out for the year would equal $36,600.  And, claims can last for several years.”   The number of individuals paid during 2021 grew by roughly 11,000 compared to the prior year.

The amount reported represents claims for those owning traditional or health-based long-term care insurance.  The Association report does not include data for those who have purchased a linked-benefit policy.  These include life insurance or annuity policies that can also provide payout for qualifying long-term care needs.

Data on long-term care insurance claims paid 2021 along with other current long-term care insurance statistics can be accessed on the Association’s website.  To see 2020 statistical reports, go to www.aaltci.org/LTCFacts-2022.

The American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance advocates for the importance of long-term care planning.   The organization connects consumers with knowledgeable professionals who are independent advisors.  These specialists can provide information along with long-term care insurance quotes and policy comparisons for both traditional and linked benefit long-term care insurance options.

The post Claims Paid 2021 By Long-Term Care Insurers Grew By $700 Million appeared first on American Association for Long Term Care Insurance.

“With so many couples, there’s often one spouse who is resistant, usually the husband,” explains Jesse Slome, director of the long-term care insurance organization.  “This new information will help those who have doubts understand the significant consequences and the benefits of this important protection.”

Slome was sharing data from a recently released study by Milliman Actuarial.  “When one spouse has a long-term care claim, the odds of a claim by the second spouse is four times higher than would normally be expected,” Slome shared with a group of long-term care insurance sales professionals.  Data comes from Milliman’s “Is Your Spouse Contagious” study.

Access the Milliman Couple Claims Report

Click here for the couple claims information.

“Following the death of a spouse who has been on a long-term care insurance claim, the odds of the second spouse needing long-term care within a year triples,” Slome adds.  “You tell that to all the recalcitrant husbands who tell their wives, don’t worry honey, I’ll never need care but you get some if you like.”

The Association director speaking to the group of long-term care insurance professionals noted that the Milliman analysis examined a pool of 50,000 long-term care insurance claims before the Covid-19 pandemic.

2021 Long-Term Care Insurance Statistics

See the latest long-term care insurance statistics and data posted by the Association.

“The need by the second or the surviving spouse was for both home care as well as facility care,” Slome pointed out.  “Consumers need to understand that long-term care insurance provides benefits.  And, that when insurers lower spousal discounts, as many are, there is a reason.”  The Association recently reported that insurers were reducing available spousal discounts when both partners obtain coverage from 30 percent to 15 percent.

The American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (AALTCI) advocates for the importance of planning and supports insurance professionals who market both traditional and hybrid LTC solutions.   To obtain long-term care insurance costs call the organization at 818-597-3227 or visit their website at www.aaltci.org.

The post New Long-Term Care Insurance Couple Claims Data Should Be Shared appeared first on American Association for Long Term Care Insurance.