What do I appear for inside a great business? You understand which you must buy long-term care insurance, but where should you appear and which organization ought to you consider? Plenty of advisers either sell 1 company's policy, or they only sell several policies a year, or truthfully, they truly do not know. So what do you look for within a great company?
We've all heard that any insurance coverage policy is only as great because the company standing behind it, but what does that mean? It signifies that the business need to meet the standards of a superb and superior rating. To be able to accomplish a rating like this a business must meet certain specifications. Appear for:
Financially sound businesses Committed companies with a large client base Claims paying background Length of time selling LTC insurance History of rate increases
They all sort of blend into one an additional, but let's look at them in detail:
Financially Sound Companies Check their ratings with the organizations that rate the strength of insurance companies. Generally you can get a great flavor of the company's monetary strength by looking at their A.M. Best rating. If you would like to back up your findings, you are able to by looking at Normal & Poor, Moody's, Fitch, Duff & Phelps or Weiss Research, A.M. Greatest usually gives a very good overview in the companies strength and the businesses don't have to join the rating service to be able to be rated.
Exactly where do I get this? Updates are published monthly, quarterly and annually and can be found in any public library. In addition, you'll be able to usually find the ratings on each company's web site. Do this first and then ask your agent.
Committed Businesses Using a Large Client Base "The theory of huge numbers" works here. The larger the client base the better buffer you have against rate increases. As claims come in the companies need to financially spread these over their client base. If larger claims come in than forecasted then the business has to decide whether to absorb this into its projected cost of business or to pass this along to policy holders in the form of a premium rate increase. Organizations who have made a commitment to this line of business normally do not raise premiums. A smaller, uncommitted business may be more inclined to do this.
Where do I get this? The company web site must have their policyholder information readily available. Also the agent representing the business ought to have their marketing materials, approved by the state where you live, that give policyholder information. In addition, you are able to get more information from the rating agencies, A.M. Best etc.
Claims Paying History Sometimes an excellent monetary rating may not tell the whole story. Some organizations with excellent ratings have been known to deny or delay paying claims in health insurance coverage. If they use that same practice in other areas, then there is a great chance it will do so for long-term care insurance coverage claims. Also, it is important to ask how many claims have been paid since they started selling LTC insurance coverage.
Exactly where do I get this? Call your state insurance coverage department for information on the complaints filed about specific organizations. If this isn't available then sometimes you need to use your own judgment based on size and reputation from the business. A well-known business is less likely to risk bad publicity for this type of action.
Length Of Time Selling LTC Insurance The Organization that you choose ought to have been selling long term care insurance since the early'90's. If they haven't then they probably have not been in the business extended enough to have experienced enough claims. Without good claims experience then a business can't tell if they have set their premium rates correctly. You do not want a organization to find out that they set them wrong to begin with and you are the recipient of a "rate adjustment".
Exactly where do I get this? Once again should you appear at the same sources from the above items you will find this information. The state approved company marketing materials will have this information as well as an informed LTC insurance coverage agent. History Of Rate Increases Any organization that has ever had a rate increase to its existing clients ought to not be a organization for primary consideration. There are always exceptions to this especially when it comes to health issues and the need for coverage from a business that specializes in these problems.
Exactly where do I get this? You can always contact your state department of insurance and ask them, or ask your agent. However, a sure fire way to do it is to ask your agent for the first page from the long-term care insurance coverage personal worksheet for that particular organization. This is a part of their application and will always show their rate increase background.
Finally! Now we know what to appear for in a great company. The ideal business will be very large and financially sound. It will have a lot of long-term care insurance clients and will have sold these policies since the early'90's. In addition it will not have any complaints with your state insurance department concerning the payment of claims. And finally, the ideal business will have a great reputation and will not have ever raised rates to their existing clients in any state.
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