Hartford Business Journal

18 Hartford Business Journal • July 27, 2020 • www.HartfordBusiness.com By Matt Pilon mpilon@hartfordbusiness.com L ong-term care insurers, which provide coverage for future stays in nurs- ing homes and assisted- living facilities, as well as at-home care, have asked Connecti- cut regulators for major rate hikes in recent months, putting further pressure on policyholders who have consistently shouldered escalating costs over the last half-decade or so. Since March, long-term care insurers have asked the Connecticut Insurance De- partment (CID) to approve pre- mium increases totaling ap- proximately $72 million, which would nearly double the com- bined cost of those plans and impact approxi- mately 23,000 existing policy- holders, ac- cording to rate filings analyzed by the Hartford Business Journal. Despite the timing, the requests aren't related to COVID-19, which has killed more than 3,000 people in Connecticut nursing homes and assisted-living settings. "To date, we have not seen any im- pact of COVID-19 as part of the reason- ing or rationale for rate increases or impacts on rates," said Paul Lombardo, CID's life and health division director. "We're only four months into this." Instead, the proposed rate hikes are largely spurred by mispricing of lega- cy policies sold years or even decades ago, when insurers made incorrect future assumptions about mortality rates, care costs, interest rates, and how many policyholders would drop or "lapse" their coverage before it was ever needed, Lombardo said. "It's very consistent with what's been occurring for the last four or five years at least" in the long-term care insurance sector, he said. Still, the ever-rising costs threaten to price out more policyholders, including some who could be facing long-term health impacts from the novel corona- virus that struck Connecticut in March and has infected 48,000 residents since. COVID-19 is caused by a new virus, so study of its long-term health effects is still in the early stages, but initial research indicates they could be serious, ranging from heart and lung damage to strokes and embolisms — conditions that may leave some- one unable to provide for their own personal and medical care. Rate actions CID has approved smaller-than- requested increases — between 9% and 50% — in a majority of the dozen long-term care rate filings submitted between March and mid-July. However, several big rate filings remain pending, including an applica- tion from Brighthouse Financial ask- ing for an eye-popping 173% increase Costly Care Long-term care insurers request big rate hikes, but COVID-19 not to blame PHOTO | RAWPIXEL.COM, SHUTTERSTOCK.COM Join the team and put your company's best foot forward in this special publication being distributed throughout Connecticut to highschool and college students, workforce centers, manufacturers, business leaders, and company owners. Join us now and be part of the solution! HELP RECRUIT TOMORROW'S MANUFACTURING WORKFORCE IN CT! THANK YOU TO OUR GOLD SPONSORS: COMPANIES THAT HAVE ALREADY JOINED THE MOVEMENT: Follow Cool Stuff Made in Connecticut Stuff Made in CT stuffmadeinct stuffmadein www.stuffmadeinct.com Please contact Sue Lavin for early bird discounts at slavin@hartfordbusiness.com or call 860-236-9998 ext. 128. Join the team and put your company's best foot forward in this special publication being distributed throughout Connecticut to highschool and college students, Join the team and put your company's best foot forward in this special publication being distributed throughout Connecticut to highschool and college students, The cost of nursing-home and other long-term care continues to soar in Connecticut.

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