| Insurance companies determine long term care insurance rates based
on factors including:
Your Age: Younger applicants have lower long term
care insurance rates.
Your Health: The condition of your health at the
time the policy is issued affects your long term care insurance
rates. Long term care insurance costs are higher if there are health
problems. Long term care insurance companies may ask for permission
to examine your current medical records, or take a physical exam.
Answer all health questions as truthfully and thoroughly as possible.
If a company learns you did not fully disclose your health status
on the application, it could refuse to pay your claim or cancel
your policy.
Elimination Period: Longer elimination period
will lower your long term care insurance rate.
Benefit amount and duration: A long term care
policy paying $50 a day for three years will cost less than one
paying $100 a day for five years.
Other factors: Adding optional benefits will increase
your long term care insurance rates. Also long term care costs vary
depending on the state and location you live in.
Premium increases
Individuals cannot be singled out for a rate increase, regardless
of the number or amount of claims the insured person made or any
change in health. Insurance companies can raise the premiums on
policies that do not have fixed rates, but only if they increase
the premiums on all policies in your "rate class." Your
rate class may be based on your age, where you live, and your health
status at the time you purchased your long-term care policy. Once
your rate class is established, however, deteriorating health may
not change your class or affect your individual premium.
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