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A significant savings opportunity when couples purchase long-term care insurance protection is about to disappear.
Insurance companies continually change how they price policies. At one time, insurers charged men and women equal amounts for identical long-term care insurance protection. Starting around 2013, this policy changed as insurers found that women were far more likely to need care and utilize the benefits. Today, women pay anywhere from 20% to 40% more than men.
As an inducement for couples to both purchase coverage, insurers have offered spousal or partner discounts. These typically amount to a 30% savings when both partners apply and are insured or 15% when only one spouse is covered.
As an inducement for couples to both purchase long-term care insurance, discounts of up to 30 percent have been available. Leading insurers offer significant discounts for married couples or partners, explains Jesse Slome, director of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (AALTCI). The discount can reduce the premium cost by as much as 30 percent when both spouses apply. When only one spouse is insured the discount will still yield a 15 percent savings.
According to AALTCI, the spousal or partner discount is being reduced or disappearing. As insurers file new policies for state approval, the new discount is 15 percent when both spouses have policies or just five percent when only one spouse is insured, Slome explains.
The nation s long-term care insurers paid out $11.6 Billion in 2020, an increase over prior years according to the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (AALTCI). Every year benefit payouts grow to individuals needing care and purchased long-term care insurance for that very real risk, reports Jesse Slome, AALTCI s director.  The $11.6 billion paid in 2020 represents an increase of $600 million over the total 2019 claim benefits paid and a significant increase from the $8.65 billion paid out five years earlier in 2016.
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, typically a life insurance policy that can also provide payout for qualifying long-term care needs.
There continues to be a significant spread in pricing for long-term care insurance according to the 2021annual price index released by the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (AALTCI).“The costs for virtually identical coverage can be significant,” states Jesse Slome, director of the long-term care insurance organization. The organization just
The latest annual price index for long-term care insurance for purchase at age 55 was released by the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (AALTCI)."Covid and the changing economic environment calls for consumers to take a different approach to their long-term care insurance planning," states Jesse Slome, director of the