Long-Term Care Insurance Rate History
The California Department of Insurance (CDI) collects rate increase information on long-term care (LTC) insurance in California and other states for the current year and nine (9) preceding years. LTC rate history information is reported by licensed insurers writing new (active) or maintaining (inactive) long-term care insurance in the state of California.
If you are a consumer or member of the public that would like to view the rate increase history reports, please use our Long-Term Care Rate History Application.
List of Field Names and Policy Key Coding for Long-Term Care Rate History Reports
Long-Term Care (LTC) Active Company List:
- Bankers Life And Casualty Company - NAIC 61263
- Genworth Life Insurance Company - NAIC 70025
- Knights Of Columbus - NAIC 58033: The company reported that they do not have LTC rate increase history.
- Mutual Of Omaha - NAIC 71412
- National Guardian Life Insurance Company - NAIC 66583: The company reported that they do not have LTC rate increase history.
- New York Life Insurance Company - NAIC 66915
- Northwestern Long Term Care Insurance Company - NAIC 69000
- Thrivent Financial - NAIC 56014: The company reported that they do not have LTC rate increase history.
Important Issues to Consider:
Remember that rate increases are not a sign of a "bad' policy, and the absence of a rate increase is not a sign of a "good" policy. Conversely, just because a company has not had any rate increases does not mean that it never will raise its rates.
Rate increases are a function of a very complicated process companies use to try to limit risk of paying out more benefits than the premiums they collect. Some companies screen people very carefully rejecting anyone who might have a pre-existing health condition. This "screening process" is called medical underwriting. Companies may also price their policies very conservatively to avoid any future increases, and their premiums may be higher as a result. Other companies may do neither of these things.
You may want to consider how carefully a company "underwrites" applicants. While it may be harder to get coverage from a company that uses strict underwriting, the risk of later rate increases may be less.
If you have a health condition and a company agrees to issue you a policy anyway, you may want to plan for later increases if you buy from one of these companies. Your agent can tell you all about medical underwriting by the companies you are considering.
Remember, when you buy long-term care insurance you should expect to keep it for the rest of your life. You need to choose a premium you will be able to afford to pay each year, far into the future.
When you decide how much premium you can afford to pay, it's a good rule of thumb to build into your calculation and planning an extra amount of 10 to 20 percent as a cushion against the shock of future increases. If there is no increase later you won't have lost anything.
Be sure to question your agent about rate increases before you complete an application. You can also write a letter to the company and ask them the same questions, then keep the company's letter with your policy if you decide to buy it.
If you are a consumer or member of the public with an insurance inquiry or a complaint or you received a rate increase and you want to have the matter reviewed by the Department, please call our Consumer Hotline (1-800-927-4357) or visit the department's Getting Help page. Our dedicated insurance experts are available to assist you.
