Last Chance for Women to Save Big on Long-Term Care Premiums - State of South Carolina No Longer Offering Women the Same Low Rate as Men Due to Gender-Based Pricing
Chapin, SC (PRWEB) October 22, 2013 -- If you are a female resident in the state of South Carolina that could benefit from or is considering owning a long-term care policy, applying today is a wise choice. On Friday, November 8th at midnight, Genworth Financial, the largest holder of long-term care policies in the U.S., will institute a gender-based pricing system, which means women will no longer be offered the same low cost on premiums that men can and will receive. In fact, premiums for women will be about 60% higher if you apply for a policy after November 8th.
“The decision to offer gender-based pricing in South Carolina has been in the works for some time now,” states Harry Crosby, Managing Director of Certified Senior Solutions Specialist and author of “Long Term Care…The Complete Guide.” “Actually, the premiums for long-term care insurance in most states, including North Carolina, have already been adjusted to charge women higher prices.”
Up until now, insurers have offered premiums based on a unisex-pricing system. According to research conducted by the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance, data shows that “about two thirds of benefits paid are paid for claims made by women, and that in 2012, the long-term care insurance industry paid out a projected $7 billion in benefits.” Because women have a far greater chance of using their coverage, and as the amount of claims made per year rapidly increases, the Department of Insurance considered the need to approve a sex-distinct pricing system logical and the rate increase would ensure that adequate funds are available to pay for future claims.
Crosby, who is considered to be an industry expert and has more than a thousand clients across the state of South Carolina including friends and family members, is urging for women of all ages, race and marital status, to lock in on the unisex rates sooner than later. “It does not pay to wait to buy LTC insurance,” claims the twenty-year veteran. “Each year that passes, the cost of care goes up, making new policies more expensive. The premiums just get higher the older you get.”
Other changes that will also take effect in the 4th quarter of 2013 are that the new policies will reduce the maximum issue age from 79 to 75, friends and family members will no longer be allowed to be used as home health aides in the new Genworth policy. Mutual of Omaha LTC and John Hancock have also elected to switch to gender-distinct pricing for their policies moving forward.
If you would like to make an appointment to speak with industry expert, Harry Crosby about setting up a long-term care policy before this premium change takes effect, or if you would like more information about the growing need and costs of long-term care, please call (866) 231-7526 ext. 1 or email at Harry(at)CertifiedSeniorSolutions(dot)com.
Harry Crosby, Certified Senior Solutions Specialist, http://www.CertifiedSeniorSolutions.com, +1 803-932-2719, [email protected]
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