Long-Term Care Insurance has changed dramatically since the 1990’s when the vast majority of were sold. As the number of insurers offering stand alone policies has declined, a new breed of policies that combines either life insurance or an annuity with a rider allowing the owner to accelerate benefits in order to pay for the cost of long-term care.
125: Number of insurers offering standalone long-term care policies, 2000.
Fewer than 15: Number of insurers offering standalone long-term care policies, 2014.
380,000: Number of individual long-term care insurance policies sold, 1990.
129,000: Number of individual long-term care insurance policies sold, 2014.
72,736: Number of hybrid life/long-term care policies sold to individuals, 2009.
305,068: Number of hybrid life/long-term care policies sold to individuals, 2013.
4.5 million: Number of individuals with long-term care insurance coverage, 2000.
7.25 million: Number of individuals with long-term care insurance coverage, 2014.
$1.98 trillion: Maximum potential benefit of all long-term care policies in force today.
$1.87 billion: Annual claims on long-term care insurance policies, 2000.
$9.2 billion: Annual claims on long-term care insurance policies, 2017.
$1,677: Average annual premium, long-term care policies being sold, 2000.
$2,772: Average annual premium, long-term care policies being sold, 2015.
Source: 75 Must-Know Statistics About Long-Term Care: 2018 Edition
What You Need to Know About Safe Deposit Boxes
The bank boxes are best for storing documents and valuables that you usually don’t need on short notice. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation says “good candidates” include originals of birth certificates, property deeds, car titles as well as paper United States savings bonds that haven’t been converted into electronic versions (availability of paper savings bonds is limited these days).
Buy Less Stuff – How online shopping and cheap prices are turning Americans into hoarders.