Scoop! Long-term care rate hike for ladies

The Washington Post recently published this story: "Long-term care insurance plans call for some women to pay more than men" while Forbes followed with this one, "Long-term care insurance becoming tougher for women to purchase."

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Brag alert -- we scooped them by several days with our report on this topic.

So, aside from friendly competitive bragging rights, what's the issue here? 

Rates for women  for long-term care insurance could increase by 20 to 40 percent as insurers move toward charging separate rates for men and women, according to the American Association for Long Term Care Insurance.

Two of the titans in the LTCI industry -- Genworth and John Hancock -- have submitted state rate filings to start charging different rates for men and women.

"There's a window of opportunity to lock in lower rates, and that window is closing," association director Jesse Slome says. "Especially for single women ages 55 to 65, this is a good time to investigate pricing." 

(See: "Buyer beware: 5 tips for buying long-term care insurance.")

If you still need more motivation, consider this -- the chance of needing long-term care sometime after age 65 is about 70 percent, according to the National Clearinghouse for Long Term Care Information.

Today a 55-year-old woman can buy $170,000 of immediate long-term care insurance benefits for an average of about $150 a month. The benefits would grow to over $350,000 when she reaches age 80, Slome says. A 65-year-old would pay $250 a month for similar immediate coverage.

Rates and policies vary widely among insurers, so comparing prices and coverage is critical. Slome advises working with a good adviser who sells products from at least four to five different companies.

You can read the entire article here: 

"Women to pay more for long-term care insurance than men."