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January 30, 2014 at 11:05 AM
Insurers have been using gender-distinct prices for long-term care coverage for a few months now, and as you would expect, the cost for men is going down, while couples and women are paying more, according to the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance.
AALTCI on Tuesday released an index of prices that consumers can expect to pay for “good,” “better” and “best” long-term care coverage.
A single 55-year-old man can get good coverage, which provides a certain amount of benefits that can be supplemented with other savings and income, for an average $925 per year. AALTCI found the range of prices for that level of coverage to be between $915 and $1,200.
Better coverage, which AALTCI described as coverage that a consumer can buy and add to later, would cost $1,045 per year, but the organization noted that this option was rare among providers.
The best coverage is a policy where benefits grow at 3% compounded annually and would run a 55-year-old man $1,765 per year, down nearly 15% from $2,065 in 2013.
It’s important to note that the 2013 average for best coverage was determined using unisex rates, so it’s the same rate a single 55-year-old woman would have paid last year. Genworth was the first to launch gender-distinct pricing on its long-term care products in April 2013, followed later by Transamerica, John Hancock and Mutual of Omaha.
After gender-distinct pricing rolled out, the average price for the best coverage for a single 55-year-old woman increased almost 12% to $2,307. Prices for coverage at the good and better levels are higher than the prices for men, too, at $1,225 and $1,350 respectively.
