John Hancock Increases Long Term Care Rates by 90%

[Crabcake Johnny]

All I know is this:

Some carriers have excuses while others seem to sail along without issues. I can point to health carriers in my state. Some are just fine...always. Others have constant excuses for everything - constant product changes and rate increases.

I don't know LTC. But I do see the same patter of certain carriers seeminly doing fine while John Hancock "MUST" impose a 90% rate increase in Illinois and "MUST" impose a 40% increase in MD.

So the question is not why Hancock needs to file their huge increase, it's why certain other carriers don't. Question - are there other LTC carriers who are not filing a 90% increase in IL? If not, why.

I don't believe savvy agents should simply gobble up company-generated press releases and take it as "oh, ok then."

 

[csalter]

I am the original poster who Mr. Ed said to, "expect increases of 60-90 per cent".

I must say that when I read the articles stating that John Hancock raised rates by 90% I appreciated his information. It let me know as a consumer that I may need to definitely use the 10 pay or up to 65 payment options.

I am thinking this because when I retire I cannot afford to have a 90 per cent increase on a fixed income. If it is paid off then the rates cannot increase, correct?

 

[billberry12]

"it is paid off then the rates cannot increase, correct"

Yes, you are absolutly correct.

 

[tlmarketing]

I am the original poster who Mr. Ed said to, "expect increases of 60-90 per cent".

I must say that when I read the articles stating that John Hancock raised rates by 90% I appreciated his information. It let me know as a consumer that I may need to definitely use the 10 pay or up to 65 payment options.

I am thinking this because when I retire I cannot afford to have a 90 per cent increase on a fixed income. If it is paid off then the rates cannot increase, correct?

It was actually me who posted the info on 60-90% increases and that's exactly what's happened here in PA...90% increase in premiums for someone now living on a fixed income.....

while insurance companies and agents have said in the past that premiums are not guaranteed and may increase, you can ask any ltc expert if 90% was what they had in mind for future premium increases and I'm sure their answer was No.

 

[somarco]

while insurance companies and agents have said in the past that premiums are not guaranteed and may increase, you can ask any ltc expert if 90% was what they had in mind for future premium increases and I'm sure their answer was No.

So, just what is your area and level of expertise?

 

[tlmarketing]

So, just what is your area and level of expertise?

Copyright infringement....does your 15,101 posts with the Peanuts icon as your logo constitute 15,101 separate instances of copyright infringement?

 

[Guest]

So, just what is your area and level of expertise?

Perhaps you will tell us what your level is? It's a fair question to ask, even though it is irrelevant.

 

[tlmarketing]

Perhaps you will tell us what your level is? It's a fair question to ask, even though it is irrelevant.

My expertise is life insurance and lead generation for life insurance....my ltc comments are based on some actual personal experiences with JH LTC.

 

[somarco]

my ltc comments are based on some actual personal experiences with JH LTC.

So in other words, you have no clue how LTCi blocks are rated or managed.

Thanks for telling me what I already suspected.

 

[Arthur Rudnick]

I am hard pressed to believe that it has taken them over 20 years to spot the utilization and lapse rate trends in this product.

If you read my earlier post, it was stated that although LTCi has been available for sale since the late 70s, if I had to make an educated guess, 90% of all policies were sold post-1995.

Those healthy 60-65 year olds (and they had to be healthy in order to purchase a policy) are now 80-85 and are just starting to file claims.

So, after 20 years, claims are just starting to pile in now. Everything up until now has been guess-work by the actuaries.
As previously stated, all of the early actuarial assumptions were wrong.

Does a new long-term care insurance policy purchased in 2012 cost the same that a new long-term care insurance policy cost in 2002?

No, it costs much more. Rates increase every 3 or 4 years when new policy series are introduced.
Also, 10 years ago, one could get away with selling $150/day in benefits. Costs for LTC services have increased 50%-75% in the past 10 years, so now $200+/day are the norm.