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HIAA: LTC Sales Keep Growing

By Staff Writer

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NU Online News Service, Feb. 3, 5:17 p.m. – More than 1.4 million Americans bought long-term care insurance policies between 1999 and 2001, according to results of a survey by the Health Insurance Association of America, Washington.

The total number of LTC insurance policies sold has reached 8.3 million, and about 70% of all individual LTC policies ever sold remain in force, the HIAA says.

The survey also found that LTC insurers paid out $839 million in benefits in 2001, and that the typical cost was roughly the same in 2001 as in 1999, after controlling for factors such as the benefit design chosen and the entry-age of the policyholder.

A basic policy bought in 2001 at age 65 cost $996 a year, down from $1,002 in 1999. But a policy with similar daily coverage as well as inflation protection and nonforfeiture benefits cost $2,261 in 2001, up from $2,130 two years earlier.

Meanwhile, on the group side, 4,700 employers are now offering LTC insurance programs, the HIAA says.