LTC Insurance - 40% rate increase

[dave 911]

WTF.
We signed up for Long Term Care insurance a few years ago when my company announced they were discontinuing offering it through Prudential. We bought policies for my wife and I, and have been putting ~$300/mo into it for the last several years. With dementia on my side of the family and longevity on hers it felt/feels like a good move.

But then we get a letter yesterday from Prudential saying the rates are going up a whopping 40%, so our $300/mo will turn into $420/mo. They're calling it a 'class increase' that basically affects everyone with this type of policy, and that of course they could raise rates again if needed.

I'm going to call them to understand the 'contingent non-forfeiture provision'.

But this investment isn't looking as good as it did. We've got a couple years worth of payments under out belt, but we have 60 days now to decide if it's time to cut and run...$420/mo for the next 30 years isn't chump change, especially after we retire.

Anyone here have LTC insurance? Thoughts from the trust here?

[flatbutt]

I dropped my Prudential LTC policy when they cut yearly max benefits to $35,000 . Plus there were continual issues with payments. I'd pay, they'd send me a refund saying I overpaid then send a warning for non-payment. It was nuts.

I don't have LTC insurance now since my current disability puts me into a very high cost class. fug-it I'll drive the Duc off of the Palisades if it come to that.

[motion]

I feel for ya, Dave. That sucks to have put that money in and now face the prospect of walking away from it.

My wife and I have talked about this. Neither of us are going to spend our last days bed-ridden and immobile. Life is for living.

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by motion

I feel for ya, Dave. That sucks to have put that money in and now face the prospect of walking away from it.

My wife and I have talked about this. Neither of us are going to spend our last days bed-ridden and immobile. Life is for living.

yup

[recycled sixtie]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

I dropped my Prudential LTC policy when they cut yearly max benefits to $35,000 . Plus there were continual issues with payments. I'd pay, they'd send me a refund saying I overpaid then send a warning for non-payment. It was nuts.

I don't have LTC insurance now since my current disability puts me into a very high cost class. fug-it I'll drive the Duc off of the Palisades if it come to that.

+1

My mother was fiercely independent. She lived the last 10 years of her life in group homes and passed away at 94. She spent approximately $240,000 on rent/fees in those 10 years. Did not want to live with us. Although not bed ridden until the last year when she broke her hip she fared pretty well without LTC insurance.

15 years ago I listened to the spiel from an insurance agent wanting $700/month for LTC insurance. I declined. Yes Duc off the Palisades is the better route!

[bpu699]

This is why you have kids... to help you in advanced age if you need it... Thats how it was done for millenia...

All this LTC krap is a new development... You are prepaying to be housed in a NH and taken care of by strangers, as your kids protect their inheritance...

Silly...

Also, if you needed it, you can get a live in nanny for $40,000 a year... A much better option...

[recycled sixtie]

Originally Posted by bpu699

This is why you have kids... to help you in advanced age if you need it... Thats how it was done for millenia...

All this LTC krap is a new development... You are prepaying to be housed in a NH and taken care of by strangers, as your kids protect their inheritance...

Silly...

Also, if you needed it, you can get a live in nanny for $40,000 a year... A much better option...

I would not expect my daughter and son in law to look after us. It sounds good in principle but for instance my mother and mother in law could have lived in our house quite happily but my father in law was trouble. When he was in hospital for a problem he said take me to your home. I said to my wife if he moves in I am gone....

In my fil's younger days there were 3 generations under one roof. You don't see it as much anymore.

[LakeCleElum]

Opt out.....My mother paid into it for many, many years.......The companies kept getting bought out and changing names. She is now 88 years old and has Alzheimers to the point she doesn't know my name.

The policy is worthless as the current company has no assets..State Insurance Commission involved and told me the same thing........I write a check of $4K a month (out of my mothers funds) for her to live with my sister out of state. Sister is a nurse and provides better care than a home at twice the price. Mothers brother died of Alzheimers last year and he was only affected for a few yrs before it did him in.

What was I talking about again?

[Evans, Marv]

The LTC situation reminds me of the current one with drug companies raising drug costs, although I understand the costs for everything associated with LTC are continually rising. Years ago I had a LTC policy which was capped at $24K/yr. and only covered a few years. I opted out realizing I would be on the hook for maybe twice that in addition and probably live a lot longer than a few years under normal conditions. With such a large portion of the population aging, this is going to become a huge problem in the future and burden lots of families. Being decently old now, I had a talk with my doc a couple of years ago telling him I wanted control in the case life tipped over into the bad side of things. We have a plan.

[recycled sixtie]

Originally Posted by LakeCleElum

Opt out.....My mother paid into it for many, many years.......The companies kept getting bought out and changing names. She is now 88 years old and has Alzheimers to the point she doesn't know my name.

The policy is worthless as the current company has no assets..State Insurance Commission involved and told me the same thing........I write a check of $4K a month for her to live with my sister out of state. Sister is a nurse and provides better care than a home at twice the price. Mothers brother died of Alzheimers last year and he was only affected for a few yrs before it did him in.

What was I talking about again?

LC you are a gentleman and your sister is an angel. I think a person has to self insure for this situation . Well done.

[A930Rocket]

I have a plan that doesn't require LTC.

[rockfan4]

My mother had LTC Insurance and it helped, but did not cover everything. For the OP, did the policy say it would cover everything, or a specific amount per day? My mother's policy was limited to a dollar value per day after 90 days in a nursing home, and while when she signed up I'm sure that amount would have more than covered everything, by the time she needed it, after 20 years of inflation and rising costs, it covered only 1/2 of the nursing home bill.

She also had a Medicare Part D supplemental plan to help with meds, but she would burn through the normal yearly coverage by March, and then be responsible for almost the entire prescription bill until October when another limit was met and they again paid most of the bill for the remainder of the year. Typical prescription bills were about $600/month between March and October.

Everybody reading this - do you have your advance care directives planned out? Does everyone in your family, and your doctor, know your wishes? Work this out while you can, and don't leave it to your kids or Power of Attorney to decide later.

[Dantilla]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

... Prudential ... there were continual issues with payments. I'd pay, they'd send me a refund saying I overpaid then send a warning for non-payment. It was nuts.

We had multiple life insurance policies with Prudential to protect some business interests. Same story as above.

Bookkeeper would write one check for all policies, and list each policy number on the check. After many problems, I had the bookkeeper write separate checks for each policy. No better. Overpayment notices, and cancellation notices for non-payment.

We left Prudential, and all is well. We're saving a bit due to less expensive rates, and not a single goof-up on the billing.

[ckelly78z]

I don't have LTC insurance, but for the last three years, I opted for critical illness insurance, and accident insurance through my employer for An additional weekly fee $20.00. I started thinking about it after suffering through an earlier car accident, and several bouts of cancer, that we did just fine without the special insurance in the past. We are now saving the $80-$100 a month to use for our future.

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by ckelly78z

I don't have LTC insurance, but for the last three years, I opted for critical illness insurance, and accident insurance through my employer for An additional weekly fee $20.00. I started thinking about it after suffering through an earlier car accident, and several bouts of cancer, that we did just fine without the special insurance in the past. We are now saving the $80-$100 a month to use for our future.

The Prudential was what my employer subsidized for me...and subsequently dropped. I picked it up on my own and thats when the problems started.