“New York Approves China Oceanwide-Genworth Deal,” by Allison Bell, ThinkAdvisor “Genworth Financial Inc. announced Monday that it has cleared a major obstacle toward selling itself to China Oceanwide Holdings Group Co. Ltd. The Richmond, Virginia-based insurer said it has received approval from the New York State Department of Financial Services to transfer control of a New York-based subsidiary, Genworth Life Insurance Company of New York, to China Oceanwide. Now that New York state regulators have approved the deal, ‘the transaction has received all required U.S. insurance regulatory approvals,’ Genworth said in the approval announcement.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President,
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“Long-Term Care Insurance Claims Rise 12%: AALTCI,” by Allison Bell, ThinkAdvisor “Long-term care insurance (LTCI) providers paid about $10.3 billion in U.S. long-term care claims in 2018, or about 12% more than they paid in 2016, according to the American Association for Long Term Care Insurance. … The number of people on claim rose 2.7% between 2017 and 2018, to 303,000, according to AALTCI. The average claim per person on claim increased 9%, to an average of about $34,000 per person, according to ThinkAdvisor calculations based on AALTCI data. In 2017, the claim total was 6.4% higher than in 2016, the number of people on claim was
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“When Older American Households Fall Short,” by Darwin Bayston, ThinkAdvisor “After reviewing data from all five of these surveys, the research team published a report finding that roughly half of older American households are likely to face a shortfall in the retirement income they will need. The percentage of retirees at risk ranged from 42% to 60%, depending on the income definitions applied, in the various statistical models used by researchers. … The research team’s report provides new scientific evidence that financial advisors would be well-served to consider and should prompt all of us to challenge ourselves with this question:
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“Costs of New Long-Term Care Insurance Policies Vary Considerably,” ElderLawAnswers.com “We’ve all heard the advice ‘It pays to shop around,’ but this has never been more true than with the current market for long-term care insurance.  According to the latest industry figures, the spread between the lowest and highest cost for virtually identical coverage was as high as 243 percent. ‘This is the largest spread I can recall in recent years,’ said Jesse Slome, director of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (AALTCI), an industry group that issues an annual Long Term Care Insurance Price Index. ‘It’s rare to see
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“People Still Need a Way to Pay for Long-Term Care: Idea File,” by Allison Bell, ThinkAdvisor “Vince Bodnar, the chair of the Long Term Care Think Tank at the Society of Actuaries, has this idea: Someone ought to figure out more ways insurers can help people protect themselves against long-term care (LTC) risk. … Bodnar said in an interview that the SOA Long Term Care Think Tank has helped to develop two LTC finance concepts that appear to have broad appeal. One is the ‘life stage’ concept. A life stage product would term life coverage when an insured was young, then provide
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“Some LTCI Issuers Count More on Future Rate Hikes Than Others: S&P,” by Allison Bell, ThinkAdvisor “If state insurance regulators started rejecting too many long-term care insurance (LTCI) rate increase requests, that could cause serious reserving problems for some U.S. LTCI issuers, according to a new report from S&P Global Ratings. … Eight insurers  with large blocks of LTCI policies on their books have assumed, when they set their LTCI reserves, that they will get permission from state insurance regulators to implement future LTCI premium increases with a total value of about $12 billion, according to S&P analyst figures.” LTC Comment
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“Long-Term Care Insurance Issuers Face a Form Tsunami: Idea File,” by Allison Bell, ThinkAdvisor “Millions of Americans still have long-term care insurance (LTCI) policies in force, and hundreds of thousands of the LTCI policyholders are eventually going to file claims. Someone will have to pay the claims. Peter Goldstein, the chief executive officer of LTCG, has an idea about LTCI claims. Everyone had better recognize that paying benefits according to the terms of the policies will be complicated.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): Congratulations to Center friend Peter Goldstein, CEO of corporate member
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“Countdown to Retirement: 10 Years Away,” by Eileen Ambrose and Sandra Block, Kiplinger “You could pay the bills out of pocket (in other words, self-insure) if you have the assets. Or consider long-term-care insurance. Consumers often worry that premiums will skyrocket over time or that they will buy the insurance and never use it, says John Ryan, a CFP with Ryan Insurance Strategy Consultants in Greenwood Village, Colo. People who bought policies decades ago were shocked to see steep increases later. But today’s policies are more accurately priced—meaning premiums are higher—than those issued back then, and actuaries are not forecasting
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“LTC insurance industry is ‘imploding’ as new numbers show chasm in costs for private plans,” by Marty Stempniak, McKnight’s LTC News “While long-term care insurance options continue to diminish, a new industry report finds a huge spread in costs for virtually identical coverage plans. The American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance on Monday released its 2019 price index. It notes that a couple in their mid-50s purchasing such coverage can expect to pay an average annual premium of about $3,000 for combined benefits of $770,000, if they start needing care at age 85. Director Jesse Slome noted the gap between
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“Older Americans worried about insurance coverage, health costs as they approach retirement,” by Rose Meltzer, Fierce Healthcare “A sizable percentage of Americans between the ages of 50 and 64 are worried about their healthcare coverage as they head toward retirement, according to a new poll from the University of Michigan. Although some of these concerns include things people can’t directly control, such as policy changes, many are focused on maintaining current coverage provided through an employer while reducing personal healthcare expenses. … About a quarter (27%) of respondents fear they won’t be able to afford their insurance over the next
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