Long Term Care Insurance Policy Premiums are determined by your age, type of policy you choose, daily benefit amount to be paid, number of years the policy will pay benefits, the number of days after you qualify for the benefits before the company will start to pay benefits, and your choice of inflation protection. Over the years the LTCI premiums can increase. At the time of buying a LTCI policy, the agent should provide you a Personal Worksheet which shows among other details if the company has had rate increases since 1990. This sheet also informs you in which states and by how much the rates increased.

The California Department of Insurance website lists the rate increases for every company that sells LTCI. California passed legislation in 2000, making it difficult for LTC insurance companies to increase future premiums. Beginning 2006, it became mandatory for companies filing for premium increases over a certain amount to offer their policy holders the choice of stop paying their premium and keep the benefits equal to the total amount of premiums already paid. Generally only a small amount of care will be financed by the total amount of premiums you have already paid and just because of a premium increase you were unable to pay, you will not lose all your benefits.

To find out what your options are if your rate increases, contact the CDI online. By reducing some of the benefits of your policy you have the right to negotiate with your company for lower premiums. This option or a similar option may be offered by few companies subject of a class-action law suit as part of the settlement agreement. If you have received notice of premium increase or you need to lower your premium contact your local Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP) office online or at 1-800-434-0222.