California LTC Rate Guide Shows A Few Companies Made Most Increase Requests

NU Online News Service, June 1, 11:35 a.m. – The California Department of Insurance has posted a long-awaited publication, the Long-Term Care Insurance Company Rate and History Guide, on its Web site, at http://www.insurance.ca.gov/docs/fs-ltc.htm

The 71-page rate guide lists every LTC insurance carrier doing business in California, and every LTC insurance rate increase requested in every U.S. state since Jan. 1, 1990. The guide gives information about eight carriers still in the market that have requested 2,437 rate increases during the period reviewed, and 35 carriers still in the market that have requested no increases.

Conseco Inc., Carmel, Ind., and a subsidiary, Pioneer Life Insurance Company, account for 73% of the rate increase requests listed. Most of the requests were made in the early and mid-1990s, before regulators and consumer groups began complaining about LTC rate increases.