Latest Payout Stats from LTCI Carriers

The American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (AALTCI), Westlake Village, Calif., has published LTCI benefits statistics in a report based on its 2011 industry survey.  Ten carriers participated in the survey:

• In 2011, they paid $6.6 billion out to a total of about U.S. 200,000 policyholders.
• The insured with the biggest open claim is a woman who bought a policy when she was 43, went on claim 3 years later, and at last report, had been receiving benefits for more than 14 years. She paid $881 in premiums per year for 3 years before the waiver of premium feature was activated.
• The man with the second largest known open claim paid annual premiums of $3,374 for 3 years, went on claim, and now has received $1.2 million in benefits for over 6 years.
•  The 5 most common claims are for 1) Alzheimer’s disease, 2) stroke, 3) arthritis, 4) circulatory issues and 5) accident or injury.
• About 8,000,000 U.S. residents now have private LTCI coverage

When one considers that the estimated 2011 population of the U.S. is 311,800,000, that last statistic is truly disappointing.  Currently, between 30%-40% of all U. S. long-term care is paid for by Medicaid (Medical), the federal portion of which is estimated to become insolvent by 2018.  That means that the majority of LTC costs is likely to be laid at the feet of each state’s Department of Health in 2019 or 2020 unless reforms take place now.