Quote:
Originally Posted by NJblue
For those who have LTC insurance, what safeguards are there that the premiums won't rise to the point that they are unaffordable or at least so high that had you known that they would have become so high you never would have purchased the policy? My fear with policies of this sort is that you could pay the premiums for 20 years without missing a single one, but at some point the premiums may become so high that you decide to give it up - and watch all of your premiums paid go down the drain. The insurance companies know that you are loathe to watch this happen and hence are fairly free to raise your rate to whatever they want and the captive market will have little recourse but to pay up.
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Your concerns are valid. A major reason I went with Hancock was they had been in the business a long time and never had a premium increase. They can only increase rates with approval and it must be for an entire class (I'm not completely clear how a class is defined). A year or so ago, Hancock requested an large increase (40% ?). My renewal in Nov didn't change but I don't know about next time.
When I bought, long term affordability was obviously a consideration. And I assumed they had enough experience to set premiums properly. Surprise, they screw up and the customer pays.
Basically, it sucks that they can go back on a legal agreement. It's a one sided contract. But that's the system. It's like those credit card updates you get in the mail all the time. You signed a contract but they keep sending new fine print every time they want to change terms. It's a joke.