(Image: USFWS)
Even many state insurance regulators, and consumer advocates with a formal role at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), have a hard time understanding some of the terms related to life insurance provisions that can be used to pay for long-term care (LTC) services.
That confusion came up in October, when members of the NAIC's Senior Issues Task Force were completing their work on a proposed update of the Shopper's Guide to Long-Term Care Insurance.
The NAIC is a group for insurance regulators. It cannot normally change states' insurance laws or regulations itself, but states often start with NAIC models when developing their own laws and regulations.
The LTC shopper's guide model is one of several insurance consumer guide models the NAIC has developed in an effort to help consumers understand how insurance products work.
The guide was developed in 1999. It was last updated in 2013.
Members of the Senior Issues Task Force have been working on a new update for months.
On Oct. 29, during a conference call meeting, members of the task force talked about a section of the guide update draft that talks about life-LTC hybrids. Regulators from California proposed a new version of that section. California regulators want the guide to inform consumers about the extra costs and potential pitfalls involved associated with life-LTC hybrids.
