Thirteen Percent Increase In Long Term Care Insurance Benefits Paid
Los Angeles, CA., February 6, 2014 – Long term care insurance companies paid nearly $7.5 billion in claim benefits to 273,000 individuals in 2013 according to a just-released report from the American Association for Long Term Care Insurance (AALTCI).
“Total benefit payments increased by 13 percent and the number of long term care insurance policyholders on claim grew 3.4 percent,” explains Jesse Slome, director of the national trade group. Insurers paid $6.6 billion to some 264,000 policyholders in 2012.
“The increase in claimants and benefits paid was expected,” Slome notes. “As policyholders age, they start to need care and qualify for benefits.” Over seven million Americans own a traditional long-term care insurance policy purchased either on an individual basis or through an employer or membership organization.
According to the Association’s study of claimants, some two thirds of all newly-opened long term care insurance claims paid for care in the home (51.0%) or in an assisted living community setting (18.5%). “Today a long term care insurance policy is really nursing home avoidance protection,” Slome suggests. Some 30.5 percent of newly opened claims in 2012 begin in a skilled nursing home setting reports AALTCI.
“Claim payments will continue to increase as more people purchase long-term care insurance policies and older policyholders reach their 70s and 80s,” Slome notes. A prior AALTCI analysis (released August 5, 2013) projected that insurers would likely pay $15 billion in 2023 and $34 billion in long-term care benefit payments in 2033 when today’s 60 year olds reach their 80s.
For more information or to connect with a designated long term care insurance professional, call the Association at (818) 597-3227 or visit the organization’s website at www.aaltci.org.
