AALTCI finds drop in prices for new LTCI policies

The cost of typical new stand-alone long-term care insurance (LTCI) policies has increased only modestly for single women in the past year, and it’s decreased for single men and couples.

The American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (AALTCI) has reported that finding in its 2016 LTCI rate report.

When AALTCI conducts the LTCI rate surveys, it assumes that the standard policy has a $150 daily benefit at inception, provides three years of benefits, comes with a 90-day elimination period, and offers 5 percent simple inflation protection.

• For a healthy 55-year-old single woman who lives in Tennessee, the average annual cost of a mid-level policy has fallen to $1,490 this year, up 7.2 percent from AALTCI’s 2015 average. This year, prices for the mid-level coverage range from a low of $1,100 to a high of $1,880.

• For a comparable 55-year-old man, the 2016 average cost coverage is $1,015, with a range of $873 to $1,081. The 2016 average is 4.2 percent lower than the 2015 average.

• For a Tennessee couple with two 60-year-old spouses, both in standard health, the 2016 average is $2,010, with a range of $1,835 to $2,225. The 2016 average is 7.4 percent lower than the 2015 average.

Last year, AALTCI found that prices for new, mid-level LTCI had increased about 15 percent for single men, but were holding steady for single women.

In 2014, many LTCI issuers were shifting toward charging men and women different prices, and drifting away from unisex rates. The average cost of new coverage rose more than 10 percent for single women that year but fell, more than 10 percent for single men.

AALTCI Executive Director Jesse Slome said in a statement about the 2016 survey findings that the factors leading to lower prices for men and couples varied from carrier to carrier.

“You had some high-cost providers exit the market, and you had some that readjusted policy pricing,” Slome said.