Boomer Watch: Parental Medical History Now Influencing The Long-term Care Insurance Cost

As baby  boomer near the retirement years, another issue they face is the crisis on the increasing cost of long-term care supports and services. We all know about the statistics that 70% of people aged 65 and older will be needing long-term care at some point in their lives.

One of the most viable ways to protect you from the devastating effects of long-term care is through long-term care insurance. However, ltci is one of the most risky product in the market and one of the most ignored. There are lots of issues to be address including underwriting, pricing and risks. It is difficult the price ltci due to its uncertainty and a lot of factors need to be considered.

Policy holders are advised to tailor a coverage based on finances, health and current living situation. You also get to decide if you are going to purchase more or less coverage based on your family's health history.

To date, insurers are starting to rate application based on the medical history of the applicant's parents. Genworth already issued a field bulletin to brokers and agents.

“Currently, diagnostic genetic information that is found in obtained medical records, which has a relationship to an applicant’s risk, may be used in underwriting,” said Ray Dinstel, chief underwriter with Genworth. “Such histories will impact an applicant’s ability to receive the best rate categories.”

So when you are dealing with agents not asking about your parent's medical history, you should be wary of them, because they can now use it against you and make a reason not to pay your claims.