When companies decided that LTC was going to make them lots and lots of money, they rushed in without thinking thru what was going to happen. Most bet that they would have experience (their term for claims and the like) similar to life insurance - many folks would stop paying and drop their insurance and folks would die without making a claim.
What they found was that many people who bought LTC coverage were older (duh! like that should have been a surprise) and thus had made an informed choice to get and keep the insurance. Then the claims started to come in (on the heels of the financial crisis no less) and they were paying out money at a furious rate. They were not happy.
Most companies stopped writing new policies. Most started to try to find ways to change how much they charged. The problem was that they were usually locked into the rate structure either forever or for long periods of time. Many went crying to state insurance regulators who were sometime sympathetic and sometimes told them that they had to stick with the policy they had written.
A lot of the current increases (last 5 years or so) are the result of the long periods of time that their policies specified before they could raise the rates ("And you can't be hit with a rate increase during the lifetime of my dog Spot!"). So... the rates are going up.
If you call and complain, they may offer you amended terms like smaller increase in exchange for a reduced cost of living clause or reduced coverage.
You can try complaining to the state insurance commissioner (here or in the state where you bought the policy. It may or may not help, but at least you can get some theraputic venting done.
Be very very careful about asking an insurance agent for advice (Would you really ask a car salesman if you should buy a new car?). More than likely, they will suggest that you change to a policy they happen to have. More than likely that policy will restart the clock at zero for any waiting period for claims (often 3 years or more) and you will really have a problem if you need it before then.
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