Group Long-Term Care Insurance
Group long-term care (GLTC) insurance helps employees plan for one of the most significant and often overlooked financial risks they will face: the cost of extended care services needed when illness, injury, or aging impair their ability to perform activities of daily living. Offered through the workplace as a voluntary benefit, group long-term care insurance provides access to coverage at rates and underwriting terms generally more favorable than those available in the individual market.
What Long-Term Care Insurance Covers
Long-term care insurance pays benefits when a covered individual requires assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs) — such as bathing, dressing, eating, transferring, toileting, and continence — or suffers from a severe cognitive impairment such as Alzheimer's disease. Benefits can be used to cover care received in a nursing home, assisted living facility, memory care unit, adult day care center, or the insured's own home.
Group vs. Individual Coverage
Purchasing long-term care insurance through an employer-sponsored group program offers several advantages. Employees may qualify with simplified underwriting, group rates are often lower than individual rates for comparable coverage, and employees benefit from payroll-deduction premium payment. Coverage is portable in most group programs, meaning employees can continue their policies after leaving the organization.
Benefit Options and Plan Design
Group long-term care plans are structured around key design elements: the daily or monthly benefit amount, the benefit period (ranging from two years to lifetime), the elimination period (the waiting period before benefits begin, commonly 30, 60, or 90 days), and inflation protection options. Many plans also include a non-forfeiture option that preserves some benefit even if the policyholder stops paying premiums.
The Importance of Early Planning
Long-term care insurance is most affordable when purchased at younger ages and when the insured is in good health. Offering group long-term care insurance through the workplace gives employees access to coverage when it is most cost-effective. Etowah Insurance Group can help employers evaluate group LTC carriers, structure a meaningful plan, and communicate its value effectively to the workforce.
