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The insurance company sent a notice that her premiums will go up ~ $ 350 a month more after these current services are no longer needed. Does this sound unfair or even illegal ?

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Is it a Genworth LTC policy? They are kinda the big player for LTC and have done this across the board for policies the last year or so.

Just as an aside many, many of the players in LTC policies - especially the older policies - have gotten out of the market as the revenues from them are just not profitable. The costs of care have increased so much that now it is hard to make a profit so it's hard for the consumer to get a new policy that actually pays well without a lot of qualifiers. My mom's NH just flat will not take LTC policies for payment as the reporting required for them to get paid is just not worth it - they would rather deal with Medicaid than an insurance company.

So you need to carefully read her policy. Basically they can IF your state insurance commissioner has approved their request to do so. For some states, if the insurance commissioner won't approve the increase, they just shut down working at all in the state. Not to sound harsh but you probably don't have any choice either pay or cancel. At 5K to 15K a month for private pay for NH, an extra $ 350 to provide for care is a bargain.
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What do you mean by "current services"?
Yes, I agree with igloo. If her current premium plus $350 is less than the cost of AL or SNF, it's a no-brainer.
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The increase in long-term care insurance premium is regulated, if you can afford the premium increase, you may at least customize your policy. According to infolongtermcare.org, long-term care insurance can be tailored so you can afford the premium increase, like lessening the benefit period or benefit amount. A $350 increase in your premium wouldn't hurt as bad as incurring large out of pocket expenses for the cost of care. Remember that it would cost you larger amount of money if you cancel your policy and get a new one, because the increase in your long-term care insurance premiums is based on your age when you apply for ltci and not your current age.
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A lot of companies are increasing their premiums nowadays due to several factors. First, these companies underestimated the number of people who will keep their policies. Second, they didn't expect that the cost of long-term care will increase. Third, they made bad investments. All of these things resulted into the price hikes because companies no longer have enough funds to pay for claims. This is clearly unfair because the companies were the ones who made the mistake but it's the policyholders who are paying for these mistakes.

My only advice is this, look up the ratings of long term care insurance companies first before purchasing this can help in finding a company that can meet your expectations when you file for claims, provides high quality products and services, and financially stable.

You can still keep your insurance and pay more affordable premiums but only if you're willing to make some adjustments like by making your benefit period longer and by limiting your benefit amount. But make sure that you can still benefit from your policy before making any changes.
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LTC policies offer options to reduce premiums. Ask them what they offer.
Most of the time. You can eliminate the inflation rider, which adds 3 - 5% a year to daily benefits and really by her age has done it;s job. You can reduce the total benefits either in years or dollars to reduce benefits. You can reduce daily benefits if she doesn't need as much to meet her requirements and her income makes up the difference. Finally you can request a paid up policy to date if what they provide is worthwhile. Marion J S.Certified Senior Needs Planner
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My Mom is using her LTC right now. It is working out beautifully. Problem is she runs out of it in February. She only took it out for 3 years. She is in Assisted Living.
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When you buy long-term care insurance, you should anticipate future premium increase, but if your budget can no longer handle the increase, streamline your policy. If you are going to compare the cost of ltc against the cost of young ltci, you will be able to identify which will benefit you, ltci may cost you up to $7,000/year, but the current cost of services is around $30,000-$50,000/year (this is for homemaker services only) so keeping your policy is substantially cheaper. You can always reach out to the agent or someone in the insurance company and discussed it with them, you may be given the option to lower your long-term care insurance policy features. Although it may be a challenge to your finances, these increases keep insurers stable to be around to pay your benefits decades into the future.
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