NEW YORK – The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (Guardian) announced Friday it will halt sales of its proprietary long-term care insurance product by the end of 2011.
According to Gordon Dinsmore, president of Berkshire Life Insurance Company of America (Berkshire), the Guardian subsidiary that underwrites and issues its long-term care insurance (LTCI) policy, "We entered into the LTCI market very prudently, deliberately maintaining a small presence to ensure that Guardian's Financial Representatives had a comprehensive portfolio of products to address the changing needs of their clients. Our decision to transition out of the market was made after an extensive review of the business and will allow Guardian to focus on its core life and disability income insurance business."
Dinsmore also sought to assure the company's existing LTCI policyholders of its commitment to uphold its promises to them.
"We have always viewed this insurance as something that alleviated the emotional impact of a family member needing long-term care, not just the financial burden," he said. "Accordingly, we will ensure that our existing clients continue to receive a high level of service, especially when they need it most," adding that, like its parent company, Berkshire has received high ratings for financial strength from A.M. Best and Standard & Poor's.
The company's LTCI policies are guaranteed renewable, Dinsmore noted, meaning that coverage cannot be canceled as long as premiums are paid on time. In addition, existing LTCI policyholders will be able to continue to make changes to their coverage, per the terms of their contract, for the life of their policy.
"While it is our intent to continue to make the current product available for the remainder of 2011, circumstances could arise that may require us to reevaluate our plans and discontinue sales before year end," he said.
Back in November, MetLife announced that it would halt the sale of new LTCI coverage at the end of 2010 after citing "financial challenges" in the business. In September 2010, John Hancock Life Insurance Company announced an average 40% rate hike for most of its in-force LTC policies.
For more information about Guardian visit www.GuardianLife.com. For more information about Berkshire visit www.BerkshireLife.com.
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.