LONG TERM CARE 19
California Department of Insurance
Protecting California Consumers
Toll Free 800-927-HELP
Choosing An Insurance Company
An insurance company’s financial
standing and track record are important in choosing a long-term
care insurance policy. Consumers should consider the rate
increase data included on this website along with several
other important factors.
Financial Standing
A company’s size and ratings are important factors to take
into consideration when making your long- term care insurance
choice. While an A+ rating is no guarantee the company will
remain in business or not increase their premiums, companies
with superior ratings are more likely to have the ability
to pay future claims. The rating services you should look
to include:
A.M. Best
(908) 439-2200
Standard & Poors(212) 438-2000
Moody’s (212) 553-0377
Fitch Financial (800) 753-4824
Weiss Ratings, Inc.(800) 289-9222
A.M. Best rates all long-term
care insurance companies. Most carriers have ratings from
one or more of the other services listed. These ratings will
reflect the company’s size (amount of assets and surplus).
Ask your agent to provide you with the most recent rating
statistics.
Underwriting Philosophy Don’t be discouraged by a company
that carefully evaluates your health. Long-term care
insurance companies that use firm and consistent underwriting
standards should, over the long run, have more stable premiums.
This is because they are careful about the risks they accept
and likely to have more predictable claims results.
Don’t be misled by the names attached to a company’s underwriting
classes(such as preferred, standard, substandard).
You will not always qualify for a company’s “preferred” rate
class. What is important is that the company carefully reviews
your health history, the results of your telephone interview
and/or a face-to-face
assessment and then makes an offer of insurance based on those
results. “Easy-issue” offers mean that a company may be issuing
insurance to people who already have serious health conditions
and will definitely need long-term care. Such a practice can
in turn lead to higher premiums for everyone who bought insurance
from that company.
Group And Self-Insured Plans
Long-term care insurance offered on a group basis which is
self-insured does not necessarily have the same strict consumer
protection provisions that apply to individual long-term care
insurance. Work with a qualified long-term care insurance
agent to determine your priorities so that you can make the
best choice for your long-term care insurance needs. You Get
What You Pay For.
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