Over ten million people have purchased long term care insurance, primarily to cover healthcare expenses that may occur in old age or during catastrophic illness.
Up until now, this insurance usually treated men and women equally. Policy price depended on health status and age, not gender.
But this year, long term care insurance companies have indicated that they are going to start charging women more for their policies. One of the first companies to introduce this new type of pricing is Genworth Financial Inc., purported to be the largest seller of insurance in the United States. Their goal is to reflect statistical realities. Women live longer than men and prepare more effectively for their futures by buying long term care policies.
According to Genworth, two thirds of its long term care payouts go to women, even though, in 2011, women only bought about 57% of its policies. Women live longer than men and have higher rates of disability and chronic health problems.
So this spring, if their proposed plan is approved by regulatory agencies, Genworth will introduce gender specific policy pricing. For women, that will boost the cost of a new policy by 20 to 40%, depending on age and benefit package selected.
A Genworth spokesperson said that the new pricing will only affect women applying on their own. Lower rates will still be offered to married couples who purchase joint coverage and the changes won’t affect current policy holders.
For more information about long term care, go to www.diesmart.com.