Mutual of Omaha is one of the top two long-term care insurance providers in the U.S., accounting for a major portion of all new long-term care policies. Mutual of Omaha continues to be a big leader in the market by understanding long-term care insurance isn’t a one size fits all proposal. Mutual of Omaha policies provide choices with several standard and optional benefits to create customized long-term care coverage.
Mutual of Omaha is one of the top two long-term care insurance providers in the United States. You can tailor a Mutual of Omaha long-term care insurance policy using a mix of built-in benefits and optional benefit riders.
Mutual of Omaha Long-Term Care Insurance Review
Mutual of Omaha was founded in 1909, hitting $1 billion in benefits paid to clients in 1958. It made the annual Fortune 500 list for over two decades and holds the highest financial stability ratings from Moody’s, AM Best and Standard & Poor’s. All this makes Mutual of Omaha one of the most successful large companies in the country. Along with long-term care insurance, the company sells life, accidental death and disability insurance.
Pros
Coverage available to those aged 30 to 79
Website provides ample information, including estimated quotes
Waiver of Premiums included
Cons
Some medical conditions or medications may exclude you from coverage
Mutual of Omaha MutualCare Long-Term Care Insurance Solutions
Long-term care insurance can help make aging in place affordable for as long as possible. If you need some care in a nursing home, long-term care insurance can protect your retirement savings and your family’s finances by paying for facility care. Mutual of Omaha developed MutualCare Solutions long-term care insurance products which are designed to be flexible when it comes to paying for care in a variety of settings. Mutual of Omaha’s MutualCare Secure Solution and MutualCare Custom Solution are designed to protect your retirement assets by helping you pay for facility care, hospice, in-home care and more.
MutualCare Secure Solution Long-Term Care Insurance: MutualCare Secure Solution is a traditional long-term care policy providing security for retirement savings. This long-term care insurance offers $1,500 to $10,000 in monthly benefits for a nursing home, assisted living, adult day care and in-home care expenses. Mutual of Omaha’s MutualCare Secure Solution includes many other benefits, like a cash benefit, waiver of premium if you’re in a nursing home, assisted living facility or are receiving care in your home and a wide selection of riders to fine-tune your insurance coverage.MutualCare Secure Solution is best for those who prefer easy-to-understand benefits and are comfortable with a certain level of asset protection.
MutualCare Custom Solution Long-Term Care Coverage: MutualCare Custom Solution provides greater control over how you receive long-term care benefits. As the name of this long-term care insurance suggests, MutualCare Custom Solution is highly-customizable allowing for the perfect coverage level. This package includes more options for a return of premium at death to pay your survivors a lump sum minus claims paid. The benefit amount can be considerable if you never need to use the insurance. MutualCare Customer Solution has all the benefits of MutualCare Secure Solution, plus more options for benefits like inflation protection, joint waiver of benefits, greater cash benefit and higher policy limit depending on your preferences.MutualCare Custom Solution is best for individuals who want to be very specific with long-term care planning.
How a Mutual of Omaha Long-Term Care Insurance Policy Works
You will receive benefits from a Mutual of Omaha long-term care policy when your doctor or other licensed health care practitioner prescribes long-term care services. Your plan pays for covered services until reaching the policy limit. When you buy your long-term care insurance from Mutual of Omaha, you will make some choices which affect your coverage:
Waiting Period: Also known as the elimination period, this is the number of calendar days between when you first receive care, and when the insurance starts paying medical bills. You pay costs out-of-pocket during the waiting period.
Benefit Payments: You have two options regarding how you receive payments from your long-term care policy. A traditional reimbursement benefit pays bills you submit to Mutual of Omaha for reimbursement, up to the maximum monthly benefit of the plan. A cash benefit is typically 30 percent of the policy’s home health care benefit, used for professional care or care provided by friends or family members. The cash benefit has the advantage of no elimination period or submitting bills and waiting on payments.
Continuation of Benefits: Mutual of Omaha continues to pay for long-term care as long as you remain chronically ill and eligible for benefits until reaching your policy limit.
Mutual of Omaha Long-Term Care Insurance Cost Estimates
To give you an idea of how much long-term care insurance costs with Mutual of Omaha, we ran quote estimates based on a single 60-year-old healthy client buying a MutualCare Secure Solution policy with a 36-month benefit multiplier (benefit period multiplied by 36 months to determine policy limit), 90-day elimination period and no additional benefits. Rates for married individuals were slightly lower.
State
Benefit Amount
Premium (Male)
Premium (Female)
California
$1,500 $2,500 $3,500
$72 $120 $168
$118 $197 $276
Connecticut
$1,500 $2,500 $3,500
$71 $118 $165
$116 $193 $270
Florida
$1,500 $2,500 $3,500
$87 $144 $202
$142 $236 $331
Montana
$1,500 $2,500 $3,500
$99 $166 $232
$99 $166 $232
New Hampshire
$1,500 $2,500 $3,500
$63 $105 $147
$103 $171 $240
Mutual of Omaha Long-Term Care Insurance Monthly Benefits and Estimated Premiums
Mutual of Omaha Long-Term Care Insurance Built-in Benefits
The following benefits, called Built-in Benefits, are included with each Mutual of Omaha long-term care insurance policy.
Alternate Care: Coverage for services or treatments not existing today, but become standard practice in the future.
Care Coordination: A care coordinator is a licensed health care professional provided to assess your needs, develop an individual care plan and help arrange for services.
Cash Benefit: The option to select a cash benefit, explained above.
Waiver of Premium: You don’t pay premiums while receiving covered long-term care services.
Mutual of Omaha Long-Term Care Insurance Optional Benefits
You can choose from many optional add-on benefits to further define a Mutual of Omaha long-term care policy to meet financial goals during retirement.
Inflation Protection: Increases benefits by a set percentage every year to help protect against the rising cost of long-term care services. Percentages are from three to five percent for a lifetime and three to five percent for 20 years for MutualCare Secure Solution. MutualCare Customer Solution adds 10- and 15-year durations at .25 percent increments.
Shared Care: If you and your spouse or partner buy the same Mutual of Omaha long-term care policies, you each have access to benefits on the other’s policy if needed.
Security Benefit: Provides an additional percentage to your policy’s monthly reimbursement to help pay for living expenses or a spouse or partner’s care.
Return of Premium: Refunds a portion of premiums paid minus any benefits paid out once you die.
Source: Mutual of Omaha
Mutual of Omaha Complaints
The Better Business Bureau accredits Mutual of Omaha and gives the company an “A+” rating. The company responded to and resolved all complaints filed with the BBB over the past three years. ConsumersAdvocate rates the company 9 out of 10, with a 4.5- out of 5-star rating from Mutual of Omaha long-term care insurance customers. ConsumerAffairs readers rate the company 3.1 out of 5 stars with the majority of the complaints speaking to the length of time it took to have claims paid. Again, Mutual of Omaha addressed complaints and is working with consumers to open the bottleneck on their premium payments.
Mutual of Omaha Long-Term Care Insurance Q&A
Does Mutual of Omaha offer any discounts on long-term care insurance?
You are eligible for a 30 percent discount if you and your spouse or life partner each buy the same long-term care policy from Mutual of Omaha. If you want to purchase insurance only for yourself and you are in good health, you may qualify for a preferred rate with a 15 percent discount.
How can I buy a Mutual of Omaha long-term care policy?
Because long-term care policies are customized to meet individual needs, you’ll need to speak with a licensed agent to discuss your needs and state requirements. You can call the number on the website, fill out the form on the site or call a local Mutual of Omaha agent to schedule an appointment. The quote tool on the site is very straightforward to use.
Will I pay income tax on my Mutual of Omaha long-term care insurance payout?
You most likely won’t owe any income taxes on the distribution even though you’ll receive an IRS Form 1099 for long-term care insurance benefits paid each year. Be sure to check out IRS Publication 502 to see if you qualify to be able to deduct the cost of your coverage.
Does Mutual of Omaha long-term care insurance have a survivorship benefit?
You can add a survivorship benefit rider to a MutualCare Custom Solutions policy. If you hold the long-term care insurance for 10 years or more and your spouse or partner dies, you will have continued coverage but pay no further premiums.
Do I have to meet in person with a Mutual of Omaha agent to apply for long-term care insurance?
If you are under the age of 72 and free of certain medical conditions, Mutual of Omaha can interview you for your long-term care insurance application over the phone. The underwriter has the final say on whether an in-person meeting is required.
Conclusion
No one buys homeowner’s insurance because they expect to lose their home but to have a safety net to protect the asset. You may not plan on needing long-term care as you age, but having insurance to cover the cost of care will protect or stretch your retirement savings. Mutual of Omaha’s financial stability and decades of managing insurance policies makes the company a trusted name in long-term care insurance, and you can craft a long-term care insurance plan to meet your financial means and concerns.
Firstly it is interesting that the front page of this site give the company 4 stars when there isnt a single review with more than 3. This company has a very attractive product and TERRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE.
My wife was stricken with a sudden, disabling and fatal condition. There was zero doubt she met criteria for every benefit I had been paying for years. Every letter from them is 10-14 days old and often asks for information already submitted.
For instance 6 weeks into the claim I got written requests for medical records (NO RECORDS AFTER 6 WKS!). I spent hours collating and faxing records requests (I am an employed physician by the institution providing the records, could have gotten them there overnight!).
The next day a nurse calls and says the claim is approved. Desperate families in crisis are wasting hours dealing with duplicate and unnecessary requests. Then they approved the claim and told me I had a 90 day exclusion period which I had specifically paid extra to avoid.
When confronted they reversed the position. Have other families not been paid because the company "mistakenly" assumed an exclusion period? Lately they have denied paying for equipment clearly covered by the policy because they were installed before a Care Coordinator was assigned!
(2 months into the claim!) I am supposed to wait months to install safety equipment? We had an agent try to call them and HE gave up after being on hold 90 minutes.
There is no portal or electronic communication. This company needs some serious upgrades. Who communicates only by snail mail in the 21st century? I would never use this company again.
Timothy K.
Stamford, CT
September 21 2022 4:16PM
My mother bought this insurance 10 years ago always paying the monthly premiums. She has been in a nursing home with a broken hip for almost a year and Mutual of Omaha has not paid her a dime.
Always requesting more info, claiming they did not receive the info, delay, delay. Don't waste your time with them, they are nothing but a scam...
George W.
Niles, MI
June 07 2022 2:33PM
I am effectively required to have LTC insurance (I'm in my 30's) in Washington State due to the income tax that was passed. I worked with a broker and had to fill out a bunch of paper forms, and eventually got coverage through Mutual of Omaha a year ago.
I wish I had gone with another insurer. Mutual of Omaha is all paper. Like send-paper-through-the-mail level of technological sophistication and security. For example, it's 2022 and to pay my annual premium (over $1,000), I have to contact my bank to have them mail a check (!) to a Mutual of Omaha PO Box.
R M.
Seattle, WA
May 07 2021 11:46PM
My mother purchased a LTC policy 30 years ago and has been paying annual premiums every year since then. She was recently diagnosed with dementia and has moved to a fully licensed Memory Care facility.
Mutual of Omaha has used every possible tactic for avoiding paying any benefits to her. The policy and the years of premiums that she paid were a waste. She will never receive a dime from this company.
Save your money. DON'T BUY LTC insurance from Mutual of Omaha or anyone else. It is never a good investment.
C R.
Palo Alto, OR
April 15 2021 6:23AM
Very disappointed that this company will give you the run around over and over when you need them to pay long term care claims. I have been trying to get a claim paid for my mom who is 87 and needs full time care.
They have not given us a cent of my mom's investment. She paid 10k per year for this plan over 8 years already. Shame on this company.
Alicia F.
Chester, NY
March 31 2021 3:46PM
***Real life LTC claims experience*** As mentioned previously, they need faster service options when paying claims. With all of the technology of today it shouldn't take that long for turn-around time.
I believe (from many months of dealing with them) that most of the time they sit on the claims and do not pay them until the very last day they have to (based on their 14 business day deadline (ends up being 3 weeks by mail).
So I've had it happen where it seems they push the button to send it out by mail the very last day possible. Sometimes they will send it sooner if you call and request it but not usually.
It takes 3 weeks to receive the claim reimbursement even though we have paid premiums on-time to them over the years and have to now pre-pay the assisted living place.
Be aware you will need to hand-hold the process and call them to make sure they receive everything for the claim too as they will not contact you to verify they rec'd anything/everything from whomever submits the claim which can delay things.
Also, try to make sure the caregiver sends them the claim asap after the month is over so you can receive the check before the end of the next month.
Otherwise it will mess with your monthly budgeting if you needing to pay attention to that. Hope this helps others to know what it is really like with them.
P K.
Pueblo, CO
March 23 2021 6:46PM
I applied for long-term care insurance with Mutual of Omaha. I spent two-three hours filling out a detailed application. It included doctors names, addresses, phone numbers and multiple pages of my medical history.
I scheduled a telephone interview. The nurse on the call asked for all of the information already provided on the application. She said it was because they wanted to make sure nothing needed updating.
It felt more like they were trying to “catch” me in a lie about my health history. As if that wasn’t enough, the nurse then tried to subject me to humiliating memory tests without any explanation. I can only assume it was because I disclosed a family history of dementia.
I might have been willing to undergo testing if an explanation was provided, but there wasn’t one. Her only explanation was that she was only doing her job. It was awful. I stopped the interview.
I would never send premiums to a company that did not treat prospective customers with respect. Their customer service was terrible. This company is short-sighted and such a disappointment.
Joanna R.
Lumberton, NC
August 07 2019 1:09AM
My mom has a long term care policy. She is 90 years old. We had to start using it last April for in home care. The agency that is coming into the home requires their money up front. They send Mutual of Omaha a invoice by fax at the first of month an middle of month. We have had to wait sometimes 3 weeks for a check. My moms checking account has bounced twice because they don’t send checks in a timely manner they keep saying they are behind but there is no reason for that happening. They should have direct deposit. Don’t understand why they don’t. They never have had to wait on my moms premium ever. Just really stressed taking care of her an having to worry about when they going to mail these checks.
Rhonda D.
Lexington, NC
August 03 2019 11:23PM
My wife and I have had Mutual of Omaha long term care insurance for 14 years. I bought it when I was 56 and now I'm 70 years old and retired. The premium stayed the same for 14 years and now when I can least afford it my premium increased 42%. Mutual of Omaha, in their premium increase letter, said the following; "Due to insureds both keeping their policies longer and staying on claim longer than originally assumed, combined with the cost of services continuing to increase, premiums are required to be increased in order to support future claim costs." I don't get it, why would you not keep your policy until you go into assisted living or die. Some Mutual of Omaha actuary screwed up big time and now the policy holders need to bail out the company. This is going to cost me another $3,300 per year which I have not contemplated in my retirement budget. There goes our travel budget.
