Long Term Care Insurance: Hoping you don't need $

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/15/AR2008081502774.html is a Washington Post website that discusses a Kiplinger's article about long term care and the proposed rate increases on policies written because John Hancock assumed that more people would drop their coverage before they ever collected a cent.

The insurance industry gambles on lots of people not collecting benefits, that's what makes it insurance, covering risk.

As consumers we know the game, pay your premium dollars while you're healthy, face increases when your likelihood of getting sick increases, and if you recover, good luck in finding insurance coverage. Because, in their attempts to reduce the coverage of risk, insurance companies have and continue to try to weed out those likeliest to need insurance.

Long term care insurance has not hit the fan yet because most people who have bought this product have not had occasion to collect. However, John Hancock is dreading that people with their long term care product may actually someday use their insurance coverage.

The Kiplingers article notes that John Hancock rate increases will apply to people who have policies dating from the '90's. Anticipating that they might actually have to cover some risk for their dollars, Hancock whines that it had hoped people would discontinue their coverage before having to collect. Can you imagine? Blatantly hoping that those who purchased their product would never collect which is normal insurance company goals worked into their rate plan! Meaning that the rates formerly charged assumed that people would not be able to maintain their payments for this product and would therefore let them lapse. Unfortunately, this assumption didn't pan out so John Hancock is going to help it along by raising rates.

This should be a warning to everyone pushing long term care insurance as a good idea.
Without new oversight of the insurance industry we will continue to pay an insurance tax, an annual fee assessed against individuals for coverage that is inadequate or unavailable.

Consumers need legislative mandates of minimum requirements of what EVERY insurance policy in a certain category MUST cover. Consumers need legislative review and approval before ANY increases in insurance premiums. Consumers need access to impartial third parties, by way of the court system for recovery of costs and hardships associated with insurance company delays and manipulations.