Description: Description * Coinsurance has not been widely offered as a benefit reduction option to offset long-term care premium rate increases. This article uses an illustrative example to evaluate the potential impact coinsurance could have on an insurance carrier's future claim liabilities and a policyholder's premium rates. It also explores various considerations insurance carriers, regulators, and policyholders should think about when evaluating whether coinsurance is the right option.

Description: The LTC insurance sector faces a crisis of credibility due to recent company failures. Market evidence indicates reduced confidence in the reserve sufficiency of companies with large legacy LTC exposures. Disclosures show the persistence of problematic actuarial and investment return assumptions. Institutional backstops exist but vary by jurisdiction and have elements which can exacerbate rather than ameliorate problems. Fortunately, LTC liabilities accrue over long time periods. An industry supported incentive structure can be conceived that would establish stronger standards and encourage greater reserving in exchange for a more reliable and rational backstop.

Description: The current design of group Long-Term Care LTC products does not optimally serve employers and employees, which is limiting growth in the employer market. Current employer LTC products fail to deliver in one very important way: too few employees participate in the coverage.

Description: A summary of the background, features, and potential pitfalls of the new LTC Experience Reporting Forms, which will soon be required. The new forms are designed to better inform investors, competitors, and regulators about financial performance, reserve adequacy, and relationship between assumptions and experience. Companies are advised to start preparing for the change to the new forms.

Description: Educational opportunities for those interested in Long Term Care.

Description: For establishing the ongoing adequacy of claim reserves for blocks of long-term care insurance, retro testing is a blunt tool, the results of which are not conclusive. Claim reserve retro tests should be reviewed by claim duration, include the impact of interest consistently, and include updated assumptions that can have an impact on claim termination rates or other factors. The new NAIC LTC Experience Reporting Forms estimated to arrive for reporting year 2008 will help modernize LTCI retro tests, providing additional accuracy and standardization. Actuaries should not wait for these forms, but rather ensure that any claim reserve analysis moves beyond a basic calendar year retro test.

Description: The goals of the first Annual LTC Operations and Technology Benchmark Survey were to develop time and cost benchmarks for LTC operations, identify the most pressing operations and technology issues, and gain insight into the technologies that are being used to administer long-term care business.

Description: Feature article discussing combination long-term care products.

Description: Newsletters provide practical information for the working actuary, articles on trends that impact sections and news about section activities.

Description: A discussion about how companies should monitor their LTC experience. What does the future hold? What metrics should they review and how frequently. These and other related topics are covered.