New York Life Long-Term Care Insurance Review
We chose New York Life as one of the best long-term insurance companies due to the level of service the company provides. Highly-trained insurance professionals meet with consumers to determine the best long-term care insurance for each person and answer questions on the spot. The advantage of this no-obligation meeting over choosing insurance online is walking out of your local New York Life office confident you’ve made the best long-term care insurance decision after balancing coverage, service and cost.
New York Life started a 173-year history when it opened for business in 1845, before the Civil War. Along the way, New York Life broke ground in the insurance industry by offering women the same rates as men in 1894, when most insurance companies did not cover women at all. In 1923, the company’s assets rose over $1 billion, an unheard of amount for that era.
In the following years, New York Life added annuities for retirement and pension funds and other investment products. The twenty-first century saw New York Life become America’s largest mutual life insurance company. It successfully weathered the 2008 financial crisis due to its unique long-term financial planning compared to most publicly-traded insurance companies’ short-term approach to profits.
Pros
- Many LTC insurance policies to choose from
- High ethical standards
- A selection of riders to fine-tune benefits and cost
- Personal customer service
Cons
- Internet shoppers have no way of getting quotes online
The New York Life Foundation was established in 1979 to make grants to nonprofit organizations, and the company continued its ongoing philanthropic giving by supporting AIDS research and awareness in the 1980s, financial assistance for the 9/11 terrorist attack and support to the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture.
New York Life Long-Term Care Insurance Lines
New York Life offers solid options for long-term care insurance, and the senior consumer advocate organization AARP provides New York Life insurance to members at a special group rate. We’ve listed a sampling of policies below, and you can talk to a New York Life representative to find out which plans are available in your state. New York Life also sells affiliate insurance products, so if you prefer policyholder benefits like the shared dividends, verify you’re buying a NYL policy to qualify.
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New York Life LTCSelect Premier: LTCSelect Premier from New York Life is a long-term care policy used to reimburse you for the cost of care up to a daily maximum, set when you buy a plan. LTCSelect Premier pays for care in your home, assisted living facilities and short-term or long-term nursing home care, among other qualified long-term care costs. New York Life offers several riders, like an inflation protection rider to help benefits keep up with future expenses. This policy has a waiting period before you can collect benefits, also selected when you buy the coverage. New York Life’s LTCSelect Premier policyholders can make claims once they are unable to perform two or more activities of daily living on their own or when suffering from severe cognitive impairment.
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NYL My Care Long-Term Care Insurance: New York Life introduced My Care LTC insurance in September 2018 to provide affordable long-term care insurance for the average person. NYL My Care policies start with a choice of four plans with lifetime maximum benefits from $50,000 to $250,000 and deductibles of $4,500 to $21,000. Monthly premiums start at around $25 for a 55-year-old, and you can add riders to tweak your policy further. My Care covers long-term care expenses incurred in a facility or your home and pays for in-home medical support equipment. You can elect to waive paying your premium once you satisfy the deductible.
| Policy Characteristics | Bronze | Silver | Gold | Platinum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lifetime maximum benefit | $50,000 | $100,000 | $175,000 | $250,000 |
| Monthly benefit maximum | $1,500 | $3,000 | $5,000 | $7,000 |
| One-time deductible | $4,500 | $9,000 | $15,000 | $21,000 |
| Monthly Premium: Married male, age 55 | $24.93 | $49.86 | $84.65 | $119.45 |
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NYL Secure Care: This long-term care insurance pays professional long-term care in just about any setting, including receiving care from a friend or family member. A Secure Care long-term care policy pays dividends after 10 years, which are used to reduce premiums. If you die before dividends are exhausted, the remaining amount goes to whomever you designate as a benefactor.
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NYL Asset Flex: New York Life’s Asset Flex policy combines LTC insurance, life insurance and a money-back guarantee. Asset Flex pays for long-term care if you need it and if you only use part or none of your LTC benefit, your family receives a life insurance payout when you die. You can pay your premium in a lump sum or annual payments over five or 10 years, and the value of your policy increases dramatically immediately after premium payment. New York Life says a 60-year-old covered by NYL Asset Flex immediately has a long-term care benefit equal to nearly five times the premium paid, and life insurance benefits over one and a half times the funding premium.
To understand the flexible payout features of an Asset Flex policy, consider New York Life’s example of a 55-year-old woman who pays a $50,000 premium for a NYL Asset Flex Policy with $90,000 in life insurance and $180,000 for long-term care benefits with total long-term care coverage of $270,000. If the woman doesn’t need long-term care before she dies, her benefactors will receive a $90,000 death benefit. If she cancels the policy without using it, she gets her $50,000 back. If the woman uses all her LTC benefits, her plan still has a $9,000 residual value paid to her benefactors when she dies.
How to Buy New York Life Long-Term Care Insurance
New York Life’s website provides straightforward information about long-term care insurance and the policies the company offers. Because long-term care insurance products are often fine-tuned to meet individual needs, you will meet with a New York Life trained and licensed agent to discuss your plans, concerns and requirements. Use the online form on the website to provide your contact information, and a local New York Life insurance professional will quickly get in touch to schedule an appointment. You can also call the number on the website, or call the local New York Life office.
New York Life Long-Term Care Insurance Complaints
The Better Business Bureau gives New York Life headquarters an “A+”, and we saw a smattering of top ratings for local offices on the BBB website. ConsumersAdvocate.org gives New York Life Long-Term Care Insurance 9 out of 10 stars, with a 9-star rating on everything from claims and benefits to reputation.
Even though ConsumersAdvocate only awarded New York Life 9 stars for financial stability, the company could not score any higher on Moody’s, AM Best, Fitch and Standard & Poor’s ratings. New York Life received “AA+”, “AAA” and “A++” financial strength ratings in the mix. Readers of ConsumerAffairs’ website rate New York Life mostly 4 or 5 out of 5 stars, with a cumulative 3.5 stars. In a joint project with respected global research firm Statistica, Newsweek named New York Life to its America’s Best Customer Service list, with an 8.1 out of 10 score.
New York Life Long-Term Care Insurance FAQ
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Can I take out a loan against a New York Life LTC insurance policy?
Some long-term care insurance from New York Life includes a loan option which allows you access to the cash value of your policy while continuing coverage. These policies include a death benefit, which is reduced until you pay the loan in full. These loans are not interest-free, but having the option for quick access to additional funds can be reassuring. -
What are riders on New York Life Long-Term Care insurance?
Riders add specific benefits or conditions to your LTC insurance policy. If cancer runs in your family, you might consider adding a Chronic Care rider to your long-term care policy if you feel the coverage could be inadequate. A reimbursement rider ensures payment of all expenses up to the monthly plan maximum, regardless of IRS rules. Riders come with a cost for the coverage but are sometimes necessary to get the right mix of benefits. -
I don’t want to deal with sales pressure, so why would I see a New York Life agent in person?
New York Life agents are trained to educate the customer about options for long-term care and other insurance. You make your decisions with the representative’s assistance, or you can decide not to buy a policy from New York Life and walk away since these meetings carry no obligation. Over 2,500 New York Life agents make up around 30 percent of all members of the prestigious Million Dollar Round Table, in part due to the level of ethics the agents practice in business. -
Does New York Life offer any discounts for Long-Term Care insurance?
Married applicants automatically receive a 15 percent discount on policies. -
How long will it take New York Life to accept my application for Long-Term Care Insurance?
New York Life is making strides in secure digital records sharing and recently partnered with Epic, a leading electronic health records system company. Give New York Life consent to access digital records, and you will have your long-term care coverage in a matter of days.
Conclusion
New York Life long-term care insurance combines intelligent management for the long haul, commitment to customers who are owners with the assurance of long-standing top financial strength ratings. The long-term care insurance New York Life offers is flexible, so you can find affordable solutions to manage the cost of medical care as you age.