With Genworth introducing their latest LTC product this month (Flex 3), it means that almost every major carrier now has new, refreshed pricing with the most conservative actuarial assumptions.
Based on that, what does it cost to get approximately $1,000,000 of shared LTC benefit for a couple? Let's look at four of the leading carriers to see what their premiums are for a shared benefit plan of about $1,000,000. These premiums are based on $300/day, 5 year benefit period, 90 day elimination period, shared benefit riders, and the most commonly issued underwriting class.
First, here are combined couples' annual premiums with 3% automatic compound inflation rider:
| Age |
Carrier 1 ($547K of benefit each partner) |
Carrier 2 ($547K of benefit each partner) |
Carrier 3 ($547K of benefit each partner) |
Carrier 4 ($500K of benefit each partner) |
| 40 |
$6,284 |
$5,812 | $7,022 | $7,598 |
| 50 | $7,944 | $7,709 | $8,524 | $9,154 |
| 60 | $11,128 | $10,362 | $11,019 | $11,739 |
And here are combined couples' annual premiums with either no automatic inflation or guaranteed purchase options
|
Age |
Carrier 1 ($547K of benefit each partner) |
Carrier 2
($547K of benefit each partner) |
Carrier 3
($547K of benefit each partner) |
Carrier 4 ($500K of benefit each partner) |
|
40 |
$5,264 | $2,809 | $3,188 | $3,432 |
|
50 |
$5,458 | $3,893 | $4,089 | $4,140 |
|
60 |
$7,070 | $6,318 | $6,561 | $6,055 |
What do you think? Buy automatic inflation or go with a guaranteed purchase option? Feel free to comment below.
Of course, with the average premium purchased for long-term care insurance being $5,000 per couple annually, a better comparison might be "how big a pool of money can you get for $5,000?" That comparison will be coming up next week on this blog.