Long Term Care Blog

Nationwide Your Life CareMatters Long Term Care Insurance Review

Posted on Feb 04 by Jack Lenenberg

Nationwide Ltc Insurance Care Matters Nationwide offers a somewhat unique long term care insurance policy in the marketplace. The Nationwide YourLife CareMatters policy is a hybrid linked-benefit policy that offers you cash indemnity LTC benefits.

Hybrid linked-benefit LTC policies are increasingly popular today. Unlike traditional long term care insurance policies that have rising premiums and the "use it or lose it" risk proposition, hybrid long term care policies provide you with long term care benefits for guaranteed premiums and you are comforted in knowing that your premium will be recovered in one of the following ways:

Nationwide CareMatters II Review 2019

Update. May 13, 2019. Nationwide has improved its CareMatters policy in 39 states. Follow the link above for the most current review of CareMatters II.

The following is a review of the 2013 Nationwide CareMatters policy.

Long term care benefits for you
Life insurance benefit for your heirs
A combination of long term care benefits and life insurance benefits
A return of your premium should you change your mind and cancel your policy

What sets Nationwide YourLife CareMatters apart from other long term care insurance policies?

So what is the Nationwide selling proposition to you? Well, it is cash.

Nationwide offers you cash indemnity long term care benefits that can be used for your comprehensive long term care needs such as home care, assisted living, nursing home care, adult day care, hospice care, informal care and alternative care needs.

With cash indemnity benefits:

Your full monthly benefit is paid to you every month
Your benefits can be used to cover whatever you need for care, even if your long term care expenses are less than your monthly benefit amount
Informal caregivers, including your family and friends, can be paid to provide care for you

By contrast, many hybrid linked-benefit policies in the marketplace currently offer reimbursement benefits not cash indemnity.

With reimbursement benefits you must submit your receipts for your qualified long term care expenses to the insurance company and you are subsequently reimbursed for your approved expenses.

So, cash indemnity benefits will remove the hassle for you of submitting receipts for reimbursement. Additionally, cash policies will provide you with flexibility to use your benefits as you wish, such as paying for informal caregiving provided by family or firends for example, or for ancillary incidental expenses that might not otherwise be covered by a policy such as transportation, medication, etc.

Sounds great so far.

So, Nationwide CareMatters might be a good option option if the price is decent?

(Spoiler Alert---Nationwide CareMatters is just not a fair priced option--keep reading)

Nationwide YourLife CareMatters Benefit Options

The policy design of Nationwide CareMatters is similar to other long term care insurance policies. To build your plan you decide upon your long term care monthly benefit, benefit period and inflation protection.

Your choices are:

Benefit period - 2 years, 3 years, 4 years, 5 years, 6 years, 7 years

Monthly benefit - Typically $1500-$15000 depending upon elected benefit period and life insurance benefit

Elimination period: 90 calendar days

Inflation protection: 3% simple or 5% compound

Premium payment options: Single Premium, 5 Pay, 10 Pay

Nationwide YourLife CareMatters offers additional benefits as well.

Residual death benefit: 20%. Should you exhaust your entire death benefit for your long term care needs, nationwide will still provide your beneficiaries with a residual death benefit equal to 20% of your specified amount.

Return of Premium: Subject to vesting schedule 85% year 1, 88% year 2, 91% year 3, 94% year 4, 97% year 5. 100% year 6+.

Is Nationwide CareMatters priced competitively with other combination long term care policies?

The leading hybrid long term care policies today are Lincoln Moneyguard, OneAmerica/State Life Asset Care, Pacific Life Premier Care and Securian SecureCare.

Lincoln, OneAmerica/State Life, Pacific Life are reimbursement policies, although Pacific Life has a reduced payout indemnity option (80%).

Securian and Nationwide each offer 100% cash indemnity benefits.

So, due to the advantage of 100% cash indemnity benefits if Nationwide Care Matters is priced competitively with these alternative long term care insurance policies (especially the Securian policy) the Nationwide hybrid LTC policy will be worth considering by you.

To keep the analysis simple, for this case study we will compare 3 hybrid LTC policies offered by A+ rated (AM Best) insurance companies: Lincoln Moneyguard, Securian SecureCare, and Nationwide Care Matters.

State Life is also rated A+ (AM Best) however the State Life Asset Care policy provides Unlimited long term care benefits which neither of these 3 underwriters will match, and State Life Asset Care also specializes in joint policies for couples or siblings. So although the State Life Asset Care policy might be the overall best valued hybrid policy--especially for 2 applicants applying together for coverage-- I will not include the State Life Asset Care policy in this case study at the moment.

Financial Ratings LTC Underwriters of Hybrid Long Term Care Policies

Case Study: Combination life insurance with linked long term care benefits

Male, Married, Age 60. Non-Smoker

$100,000 Single Premium Payment

6 year long term care benefit period

Hybrid Policy Comparison 60 Year Old Married Male
Company	LTC Benefit	Age 80	Age 90
Lincoln (Basic)	$5,452 @ 3% Compound	$9,846	$13,232
Securian/Minnesota Life	$5,462 @ 3% Compound $3958 @ 5% compound	$9,866 $10,503	$13,259 $17,108
Nationwide	$3334 @ 5% compound $4449 @ 3% simple	$8,848 $7,119	$14,412 $8,454

In comparing the inflation adjusted long term care benefits for a 60 year old male applicant, married, non-smoker, you can see clearly the Nationwide Care Matters policy using 3% simple will provide you with significantly less long term care benefits than either the Lincoln Moneyguard II reimbursement policy or the 100% cash indemnity Securian/Minnesota Life policy. Using 5% compound Nationwide is still significantly less in benefit than the indemnity policy offered through Securian.

Consider that the Securian SecureCare policy is also 100% cash indemnity like Nationwide CareMatters, yet the Securian SecureCare policy provides you with 25%-45% more benefits depending upon inflation factor chosen.

Thus, from a value standpoint, the Nationwide Care Matters cash indemnity policy is very much overpriced and out of its league today.

Here are the sample illustrations for the hypothetical 60 year old married male applicant

Securian SecureCare

Lincoln Moneyguard II

Nationwide CareMatters 3%

Nationwide CareMatters 5%

Might benefits for women be better??

Now let's take a look at benefits for a married 60 year old female applicant.

Hybrid Policy Comparison 60 year old married female
Company	LTC Benefit	Age 80	Age 90
Lincoln	$4,832 @ 3% Compound	$8,727	$11,729
Securian/Minnesota	$4,842 @ 3% Compound	$8,745	$11,067
Nationwide	$4,164 @ 3% Simple	$6,663	$7,912

Same result for female applicants. Nationwide is still 30%-45% more expensive than the leading long term care policies.

Lincoln Female age 60 illustration

Securian/Minnesota Life Female age 60 illustration

Nationwide female age 60 illustration

.........And what about the joint State Life Asset Care policy that offers you Unlimited long term care benefits?

If we include the aforementioned OneAmerica/State Life Asset Care policy into the mix our hypothetical 60 year old married couple will really do better with their deposit of $100,000 per person ($200,000 cumulative deposit).

Nationwide vs. State Life
Company	Age 60	Age 80	Age 90
State Life Joint	$6424 each Unlimited	$11,265 each Unlimited	$15,136 each Unlimited
Nationwide Mr.	$3334 6 years	$8848 6 years	$14,412 6 years
Nationwide Mrs.	$4164 6 years	$6663 6 years	$7912 6 years

State Life Asset Care joint illustration Unlimited LTC benefits

Nationwide YourLife CareMatters long term care insurance policy conclusions

Cash indemnity benefits for long term care insurance policies is certainly an attractive option.

Your Best Cash Indemnity Long Term Care Policy

All benefits being equal, you would certainly prefer a cash indemnity policy over a reimbursement policy to eliminate your need for submitting bills and receipts.

However as Barney Schwalberg, my Economics professor at Brandeis University, taught me on my first day of Economics 2A class:

TINSTAAFL

There is no such thing as a free lunch! (Unless you are eating lunch at Securian/Minnesota Life)

And that is certainly the case with this Nationwide CareMatters life/long term care insurance policy.

Nationwide is grossly overpricing its CareMatters policy when compared with the marketplace.

In analyzing the benefits of the leading hybrid Life/LTC policies your payouts with either the 100% cash indemnity policy through Securian/Minnesota Life, or with reimbursement policies such as Lincoln Moneyguard II and State Life Asset Care will be significantly greater than with Nationwide.

Thus, if you want the flexibility of cash that Nationwide CareMatters will offer you, then do yourself a favor and go straight to Securian Financial and save yourself 45%.

Receive customized long term care insurance illustrations and analysis

Should you wish to explore your personal options please contact me to receive customized illustrations. As an independent agent I will provide quotes for you for all of the leading long term care insurance underwriters including Lincoln Moneyguard, Pacific Life, Securian/Minnesota Life, OneAmerica/State Life, CareChoice One, AARP, Mutual of Omaha, Transamerica, Thrivent and more.

Call me directly at (800) 891-5824 with any long term care insurance policy questions or for assistance.

Signature Ltc

Jack Lenenberg, Owner

LTC Partner

Comments

Patti Billingham said:

Hi Jack, My agent is showing me the Mass Mutual Care Choice single premium whole life policy. How does this policy compare? I am 62 years old, single, in good health and I live in Virginia.

Jack Lenenberg said:

Hi Patti, Thank you for your inquiry. Mass Mutual is an excellent company and its traditional long term care insurance policy (Signature Care) is currently one of the best values for female applicants. The Mass Mutual policy you refer to, however, is its single premium whole life policy "Care Choice." Care Choice is a participating whole life policy that will provide you with a paid-up life insurance benefit, which you may also use for your long term care needs. The Care Choice policy will provide you with 4 years of long term care coverage. Through dividends declared by Mass Mutual you might increase your death benefit which can also serve to extend your long term care payout from 4 years to possibly 5 years or 6 years. As an example, if you deposit $100,000 into Care Choice, you will receive a monthly long term care benefit of $5217 for 4 years. There is no inflation protection on the monthly benefit within Mass Mutual Care Choice. By contrast, for the same $100,000 premium deposit State Life Asset Care will provide you with a $6000 monthly long term care benefit and a Lifetime benefit period. $6000 for Life is better than $5217 for 4 years. Lincoln Moneyguard will provide you with a $6474 monthly long term care benefit and a 6 year benefit period; So, both State Life Asset Care and Lincoln Moneyguard are definitely better single premium options for your long term care benefits than Mass Mutual Care Choice will be for you. If you are looking at the Mass Mutual LTC portfolio, I think you need to look at the Mass Mutual traditional LTC policy rather than its whole life policy. You may reach me at (800) 891-5824 with any questions or to receive customized illustrations. Thank you Patti.

susanandbarry said:

What options are there for a married couple (wife, 63, recently had breast cancer --- double masectomy --- nothing spread to nodes ---- very early stage, no other health issues and husband, 60, no health issues). Are there any options for the wife or at this time would only the husband qualify? Would the wife be able to be added at a later date.

Jack Lenenberg said:

Hi Susan and Barry,

For most long term care insurance underwriters, early stage breast cancer, no lymph node involvement will be OK to submit an application for coverage. Each underwriter will have a different time-frame for stability period needed to allow submission of your application.
Some underwriters will need only only 6 months stability from the date of your last treatment to approve your application. Other underwriters require 12 months. A few underwriters are more restrictive with internal cancer and need 2 years. So, you can definitely get coverage shortly, but the company you get coverage with would depend upon its underwriting criteria. You will receive standard health rates with a history of breast cancer. Early stage breast cancer , no lymph node involvement is not a cause for concern for most LTC underwriters once the stability period is met. Please contact me at (800) 891-5824 and I will prepare customized quotes and illustrations for you. Thank you.

Garry said:

My wife and I both have a shared long term care and term life policy from Genworth. We are both 53 years old. How would this type of policy work. Is there a large upfront money needed? What are the payments compared to a standard Long Term Care policy?

Jack Lenenberg said:

Hi Garry, Most linked benefit LTC policies such as Nationwide, State Life, Lincoln and Pacific Life can be funded with a single premium; or over a period of time such as 5 years or 10 years. State Life allows lifetime payments as well such as your Genworth policy. Premiums are higher than traditional LTC policies due to the Return of Premium component (life insurance benefit) within hybrids. Premiums are also guaranteed and can not be increased by the insurance company, unlike traditional policies. The rule of thumb is a tradtional LTC policy may be purchased today for 3% of the single premium of the hybrid policy. If the traditional policy premium today is $2500 year then you can most likely buy a hybrid policy for a single premium of $83,000.
Please call me directly at (800) 891-5824 for customized illustrations. Thank you Garry.

Henry J. said:

Hi Jack. Thanks so much for your informative blog. Quick question. With all these one time single pay premium hybrid policies, the cost of the riders is included in the premium of $100,000? Correct?
The reason I ask is that pertaining to the Lincoln Money Guard II Policy , the last page "Outline of Coverage Table" the monthly and total annual rider charges are outlined. In the example the annual rider charges is : $ 4,033.32 with the statement:

"The monthly charges shown above are payable until the 10th Policy Anniversary."

I assume that the charges for the riders are INCLUDED (embedded) in the one time $100,000 premium and are not additional charges that the client must pay every year for the first 10 years of the policy?
Since this would bring the total cost of the policy to $140,333.20?
Help me out. Thank you.

Jack Lenenberg said:

Hi Henry, Yes, your assumption is correct. The LTC rider costs that you see within the Lincoln Moneyguard II illustration disclosures are debited annually from your cash value for 10 years. Your out of pocket cost is only your one-time premium payment of $100,000. Some illustrations such as Lincoln Moneyguard II provide internal insurance costs within the disclosures; most hybrid LTC illustrations do not disclose the internal morbidity and mortality costs. I receive a lot of questions about the Lincoln Moneyguard illustration because many consumers mistakenly interpret these disclosed insurance costs as additional premium costs. Please call me at (800) 891-5824 should you have any additional questions concerning long term care insurance policies. Thank you Henry.

Susan said:

Is the Nationwide CareMatters product available in CA?

Jack Lenenberg said:

Hi Susan,

The CareMatters policy is not yet approved in California.

Karen said:

Financial Adviser recommending the Nationwide Care Matters. $100k each for me and my husband - 6 year - 5% compound on my husband and 3% simple on me. Seems like State Life Asset care is potentially a better deal for couples although reimbursement and not indemnity. Seems like the 5% compound evens the playing field somewhat for pay out if needed with the Nationwide as opposed to the 3% simple used in your comparisons. State Life unlimited long term care benefits attractive feature - your review of them says this is the standard 2 out of 6 ADL qualification for reimbursement. Is there a max pool specified? When I think of full time nursing home care, the 6 years on the Nationwide seems more than adequate, but if thinking of home care options then the unlimited would seem potentially a better bet with likely less reimbursement over time. I guess with Nationwide though, you can take less cash indemnity reimbursement and stretch the time period or take full amount entitled to and use as you see fit - even for home modifications. If Nationwide much more expensive though upfront for what you get as a couple, then money saved on State Life could be invested elsewhere or used to cover current medical costs. We are early 50s age wise - no serious health issues.

Jack Lenenberg said:

Hi Karen, Thank you for your inquiry. Nationwide is definitely a non-starter for you. You will do much better than Nationwide CareMatters policy. To start with, you will get 6 year benefit period individual single premium indemnity policies with Minnesota Life with significantly better benefits than Nationwide will provide you. For $100,000 Nationwide will provide you with $5149 month and 3% simple. Minnesota Life will provide you with $5718 month and 3% compound. At age 80 Nationwide will provide you with only $9012 month. Minnesota Life will pay out $13,083 month. This is the big difference between compound and simple interest.
For your husband in his early 50's Minnesota Life will provide him with $3976 month with 5% compound. Nationwide will provide your husband with only $3290 month initially. At age 80 your husband will have $15,587 with Minnesota Life, and only $12,283 month with Nationwide. The State Life policy, of course, is an entirely different proposition than either of the individual 6 year benefit period policies with Minnesota Life or Nationwide because State Life Asset Care is a joint life policy and Asset Care will provide you each with Unlimited Lifetime benefits. Inflation protection also works differently on the State Life Asset Care policy. That said, for a premium deposit of $150,000 instead of the $200,000 cumulative outlay with Minnesota life (or Nationwide), State Life will provide you each with a $6000 monthly LTC Beneift today and 3% compound inflation protection on the Lifetime Benefits LTC rider. With State Life you will each have $13,000 month, and Unlimited benefits at age 80. So the Asset Care joint policy can definitely be in our discussion. It would be best to discuss your objectives so I can customize a plan design for your needs. The bottom line, however, is that your financial advisor did not present your best option to you. Nationwide will certainly not be your best solution. Please contact me at (800) 891-5824 to further discuss your needs. Thank you Karen.

Nancy said:

We live in Michigan. I am 58 and my husband is 61. Trying to decide between One America Asset-Care I and Lincoln MoneyGuard II. Any thoughts on which would be better for us to purchase at this time or comparison of the two.

Thank you,

Nancy

Jack Lenenberg said:

Hi Nancy, Comparing Lincoln Moneyguard with OneAmerica Asset Care in Michigan today is comparing apples and oranges. Lincoln provides individual policies with 6 year benefit periods while OneAmerica provides a joint policy with Unlimited lifetime benefits. The joint Asset Care policy will be less expensive than two individual Moneyguard policies today, however today Asset Care does not have 3% compound inflation protection available on the base policy in Michigan. Next month, on July 1, 2019 OneAmerica will be providing optional 3% compound inflation protection on the entire policy in Michigan - base policy AND the Lifetime LTC Rider. So, in 30 days the OneAmerica Asset Care policy will certainly be able to be DESIGNED MUCH STRONGER than Lincoln Moneyguard. However the OneAmerica Asset Care pricing is also expected to increase next month. Either way, Unlimited benefits is always better than 6 years of coverage. I would recommend applying to OneAmerica before the June 28th application deadline to lock in current pricing and then compare all available inflation options in July. call me at (800) 891-5824 with any questions or for direct assistance. Thank you Nancy.