Description: Despite a clear need and demographics which should be favorable to LTCI growth, the market remains stalled due to lack of understanding on the consumer side, and uncertainty on carriers' side. The 3 key risk areas for carriers are morbidity, terminations, and investment earnings. Financial market innovations which can address these include: repackaging risks as derivative securities, interest rate swaps and options, and inflation swaps.

Description: A dicussion of the Rate Classification Actuarial Standard of Practice, ASOP #12: its purpose, its scope, guidance, and examples.

Description: The article looks at potential changes in care provider demographics that could ultimately have an impact on the cost of long term care services.

Description: Approaches to filing, approving and implementing LTC rate increases impact policyholder behavior regarding retaining/modifying their coverage.

Description: State regulators' review of predominant LTC Risks after review of year-end AG51 reports.

Description: Asset Adequacy Analysis for the Long-Term Care Product: A Case Study by Amy Pahl from Long-Term Care Newsletter, December 2004, Issue No. 13.

Description: Restoration of Benefits ROB: the provision of a long-term care policy that allows policyholders to restore their maximum benefit period after they have used some or nearly all of their policy benefits to pay for a covered claim event. This is a provision that should be managed closely.

Description: An insurance company selling LTCI today would do far better to address some important financial needs by taking the aspirin of improving modeling and pricing, and not the morphine of shutting down the business line entirely. The aspirin can consist of two strategies: First, integrate the projections of the asset portfolio and the claims liabilities when testing the sensitivity of assumptions or stochastically modeling the product. Second, establish a separate asset portfolio for LTCI products, and make sure it has a strong, well-defined, well-documented Investment Policy Statement. An Investment Policy Statement will enable pricing actuaries and investment departments to work together with the same goals and objectives.

Description: Discussion of the movement toward principle-based reserves for LTC insurance.