Since 1987, Transamerica Long-term Care has helped build more secure futures for more than 571,000 individuals paying in excess of $5.7 billion in claims as of December 2018.
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Transamerica offers multiple long-term care insurance policies to help you cover expenses like nursing home care, hospital bills, in-home care and more. It has paid nearly $2.5 billion in claims to date.
Transamerica Long-Term Care Insurance Review
Transamerica opened in 1904 as a small bank, then grew to make financial services available to anyone as the Bank of America. A little over two decades later, the company ventured into the insurance industry so customers could handle their banking and insurance conveniently in one place. The Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 required Transamerica to choose to offer banking or insurance services, and the company opted to remain in the insurance field with long-term care insurance as one of many financial protection products.
Today, Transamerica is a leader in the insurance industry and ranks among the top 10 long-term care insurance companies with nearly 300,000 policies in force. Transamerica’s TransCare III Long-Term Care insurance offers many benefits and rider options, explained below. The company also sells life insurance, mutual funds, annuities and other retirement savings solutions.
Transamerica Life Insurance Company earned impressive marks for long-term financial stability from AM Best, Fitch, Moody’s and S&P Global. Transamerica’s parent company, Aegon, is also highly rated for financial stability.
Transamerica offers coverage regardless of age. TransCare III Long-term Care insurance helps to protect your finances from life’s unexpected circumstances and the high costs of long-term care services.
Pros
Wide selection of riders to customize your long-term care policy
Sign up for coverage as early as age 18 or as late as age 79
Plans don’t lapse due to age or health changes
3-year automatic rate guarantee
Cons
No online quotes on website
Transamerica TransCare III Long-Term Care Standard Benefits
Long-term care insurance plans typically have maximum daily benefits (MDB), elimination periods (EP) and policy maximums. The MDB caps the amount paid out each day, and the EP is a waiting period between when you become ill or injured and when the insurance starts paying benefits. Policy maximums define the amount of time over which benefits are paid or limit the total dollar amount in benefits over the life of the policy. MDB, EP and policy maximums vary depending on the coverage you decide to buy. Some of the benefits with all TransCare III Long-Term Care insurance policies are subject to these limitations, which is standard practice.
TransCare III Long-Term Care policies include these basic care benefits:
Long-Term Care Facility: pays for each day of nursing home care or another qualifying facility.
LTC Facility Bed Reservation: pays when the insured is absent for any reason except discharge from a long-term care facility. Reserves a room up to 60 days per year.
Home Care/Adult Day Care (HC/ADC): pays for care in the insured’s home or at an adult day care.
Some TransCare III Long-Term Care standard benefits protect you from premium costs, like the ability to reduce benefits or the benefit period if premiums rise substantially. Another notable feature is should you die before turning 67 years old, your beneficiary receives a payment in the amount of all premiums paid minus the value of claims paid out.
Building a Transamerica TransCare III Long-term Care Policy
A snapshot of Transamerica’s TransCare III policy features include:
Issue Ages: 19-79
MDB: $50-$500 except for Vermont ($75-$500), Wisconsin ($60-$500) and Massachusetts ($50-$500 unless you’re a Mass Health participant, in which case it is $125-$500).
Maximum Amount (Pool of Money): $18,250-$1,095,000 for all states except the Pool of Money in Maryland, Massachusetts, and Oregon is between $36,500 and $1,095,000; in Vermont $27,375 and $1,095,000; and in Wisconsin $21,900 and $1,095,000.
Payment Method: Lifetime
Benefit
Description
Cash Benefit
Pays cash each month equal to 10 times the MDB in place of all other benefits, except Optional Care Coordination
Accident Benefit
Pays up two times the MDB for qualified long-term care services if you are injured before your sixty-seventh birthday. No combining with some other benefits
Respite Care Benefit
Pays for temporary stays in a long-term care facility, community-based program like adult day care, or in-home care, up to 30 days per year
Remain at Home Benefit
Reimburses costs for home modifications, volunteer caregiver training, therapeutic devices or technology, or a medical alert system. Lifetime maximum equal to 60 times the MDB
Alternate Plan of Care Benefit
Gives Transamerica the discretion to consider new, alternative long-term care services not covered when policy is issued
Waiver of Premium Benefit
Monthly premiums waived once LTC facility, Accident Benefit, HC & ADC, Cash Benefit or Hospice Care benefits begin
Hospice Care Benefit
Pays out of pocket expenses for each day of care from a hospice care provider, up to 180 days
Transamerica TransCare III Standard Benefits Out-of-Pocket expenses paid unless otherwise noted
Transamerica Long-Term Care Insurance Optional Riders
TransCare III Long-Term Care offers several benefit riders you can add to your policy to receive a customized long-term care insurance plan.
Nonforfeiture Benefit: Allows the insurance plan to continue on a limited basis if you stop paying premiums. The policy must be in effect for a minimum of three years to use the Nonforfeiture Benefit Rider.
Return of Premium Upon Death: This rider must be continuously in force from its effective date. The policy beneficiary receives a payment when you die amounting to the sum of all premiums paid minus payments you waived and benefits paid out.
Monthly Benefit: This rider pays monthly instead of daily benefits.
Shared Care: Couples with identical Transamerica long-term care insurance policies can share benefits if one exhausts their benefits.
Full Restoration of Benefits: This one-use rider restores benefits when claims are paid in full unless the insured is chronically ill and hasn’t received qualified long-term care services for 180 consecutive days.
Joint Waiver of Premium: Couples who hold identical long-term care policies with Transamerica can waive premiums during the same months.
Elimination Period Credit: This rider can lessen or satisfy your elimination period with credit for days you received the HC or ADC Benefit.
Transamerica Long-Term Care Payment Options
Transamerica offers several payment options on TransCare III Long-Term Care plans. You can opt to pay annually, twice yearly, quarterly or each month. Your premium payment method must be approved during the underwriting process before your application gets approved.
Source: Transamerica
Transamerica Complaints
The Better Business Bureau gives Transamerica a “B”. Many reviews sites rate Transamerica long-term care insurance well. We saw ratings of 9 out of 10 stars with one site rating Transamerica the “Best for Affordable Policies.” The company has a 1.6 out of 5 stars on ConsumerAffairs.com based on 64 reviews. The majority of the complaints seem to revolve around being denied coverage and policyholders who felt it took too long for the insurance to pay out. TheBalance lists Transamerica among the top four long-term care insurance companies, citing affordable benefits starting as low as $18,000 and no waiting period for home health benefits when provided by an approved agency.
How do I purchase long-term care insurance from Transamerica? You can talk to an independent insurance agent about a TransCare III Long-Term Care policy or call Transamerica at the number on the website to ask questions and apply.
Does Transamerica offer any discounts on long-term care insurance? The discounts Transamerica offers can lower your long-term care insurance premiums substantially. Transamerica offers a couples discount of up to 30 percent if spouses or partners apply together and are both approved for TransCare III Long-Term Care. You may qualify for a 15 percent discount if you are part of a couple and only you apply for a policy. If you’re in good health and satisfy specific health-related underwriting criteria, you may be eligible for up to a 10 percent discount.
Why should I consider TransCare III Long-Term Care insurance when I have Medicare? Transamerica long-term care insurance is designed specifically to protect you financially from the costs Medicare doesn’t pay for when it comes to long-term care. Even Medicare Supplement insurance does not cover many long-term care expenses.
If my spouse and I get the shared care rider on a Transamerica long-term care policy, what happens to the benefits when one of us dies? If one TransCare III Long-Term Care policyholder with the shared care rider dies, the remaining pool of money transfers to the survivor with no further premium payments on the rider.
When would I receive benefits from Transamerica long-term care insurance? There are two ways policyholders qualify for TransCare III Long-Term Care benefits:
You need considerable supervision to protect you from threats to your health and safety due to a severe cognitive impairment.
You need substantial assistance performing at least two of the six Activities of Daily Living (bathing, continence, dressing, eating, toileting, and transferring to and from the bed) for at least 90 days due to a loss of functional capacity.
Conclusion
According to the Administration on Aging, 69 percent of all seniors will need on average three years of long-term care at some point in their life. With long-term care costs currently ranging from $20 an hour for homemaker services to $7,698 per month for a private room in a nursing home, the expenses add up quickly and could wipe out retirement savings altogether. TransCare III Long-Term Care insurance from Transamerica can help you plan for retirement years with confidence while removing financial stress from your loved ones.
I'm amazed at the similarity of stories here with Transamerica, but I'd reserve the worst condemnation for the publishers of a site called "RetirementLiving" who shill for this company! They'd be doing their readers a service by initiating a discussion about LTC in general, because the way it's done in this country is a total failure. I have an elderly parent trying to get benefits from TA without any response. We are trying to simply get a portion of what was contractually promised: home care benefits! After paying tens of thousands in premiums faithfully for nearly 30 years, I cannot get anyone to answer questions at that company. I'm put on hold, passed from one person to another, promised documents and help, then disconnected or simply left on hold. After all, who really knows if someone is a "manager" or just a co-worker masquerading as one in order to delay, deny benefits?
We've received threats to cancel merely because they didn't follow instructions regarding direct deposit. I had to file complaints with the MI Insurance Commissioner twice to force them to acknowledge that we were in compliance with the policy. The IC of your state may be better, but BE WARNED: ICs in EVERY STATE come from the insurance industry, not consumer advocacy or care delivery! After years of dealing with this crap I have concluded that LTC premiums ARE annuities paid to insurance companies, NOT payments in furtherance of a contract with promised benefits once the terms are met. LTC IS a racket. It exists to redistribute life savings from aging and elderly to Wall Street. They are publicly held corporations who exist to pay dividends on the backs of elderly victims. I would even go so far as to describe the LTC industry as "predatory", as even here the purveyors use fear to sell policies!
I watched the subcommittee hearings on LTC addressing some of the issues surrounding aging and care. The solution to much of the aging care issue in this country lies with home care, allowing family members with training to be paid (our policy doesn't) and transitional care/short-term stays in either assisted living or nursing homes. It would be much better if long-term care was reconstituted among not-for-profit organizations dedicated to providing quality care at reasonable rates to as many people as possible, NOT paying investors returns! TA promises the world in order to get your signature on the dotted line. It should be prosecuted for fraud, and forced to disgorge all profits with interest when it refuses to pay legitimate claims. Unfortunately, we don't live in a country that forces Wall Street to honor anything!
Ann N.
East Jordan, MI
June 24 2024 7:34PM
If I could rate lower I would. LTC/Life policy in place and wasn't notified of annual payment that came into my savings account. It was returned because I didn't move money into the account because I received no reminder, no bill etc. I've been on hold today over an hour 4 times keep getting passed around and I'm just trying to pay my bill. They won't take credit cards on file to pay this it has to be a banking account and they can't tell me when it will be pulled again. Nobody seems to know anything over there and there is no online access. I feel like if I ever have a claim it's going to be horrible trying to get it paid since their customer service is one of the worst I've ever dealt with. It is 2024 how come I can't pay online??? Why do I have to be on hold for this long to make a payment. Absolutely ridiculous. Buy from Allstate or anyone else!
Doug B.
Seattle, WA
June 10 2024 9:34PM
I work as a Business Office Manager for a Senior Living Community in Bothell, Washington. Transamerica has terrible communication and is not easy to work with. I would recommend John Hancock or Continental Casualty Company for Long Term Care.
Business Office M.
Kenmore, WA
March 11 2024 7:17AM
Transamerica is a pathetic organization. They do not provide LTC insurance. They just collect premiums exceeding $50,000 from my Mom over 25 years. My mom passed away on February 17…spent 2 months in a nursing facility and two more months with a full time caregiver. Transamerica denied any reimbursement for the private caregiver because she was not officially licensed in Arizona. Transamerica also denied all payments made to the nursing home because the 90 day elimination period had not been met..even though she was on hospice care. Transamerica insisted that unless she was actually in a “hospice home” no benefits would be paid since hospice “just visited her 4 times a week.
Virtually all LTC policies allow for the hospice waiver..not Transamerica. The customer service representative even had the gall to repeat to me NO appeals were allowed. Baloney. I then went on hold for a supervisor for two hours before giving up. My sister who is the Attorney General of the State of Arizona and her staff will be filing a lawsuit against Transamerica and other bad actors in the scummy LTC industry for fraud, misleading statements and elder abuse. Kris ran on these issues. Look it up.
KIRK M.
Phoenix, AZ
January 27 2024 7:52PM
My 91 year old Grandmother has had a policy with TA since 1998, and has not filed a claim until Nov 2023. They sent someone to assess her, and that lady told her that she needed to be here in assisted living. We have been filing claims, and trying to get this policy going and have been met with nothing but issues. Always another form, or now they are saying they will not pay due to the facility she is in. Even though the paperwork from 1998 says this is all covered. I will be calling the insurance commissioner to see what can be done. It makes me ill to read all of these reviews, knowing so many people have been planning for the later years of their lives only to have a company take full advantage of them.
Kristol H.
Abeline, TX
January 20 2024 11:26PM
This company is the WORST of the Worst. The people who ripped off the long term care policyholders should be arrested and have to spend time behind bars. Need to file a claim? Expect Pathetic, uncaring, unqualified customer service. And remember, this company does not want to pay you for what you are legally obligated to receive. Criminals in every sense. Contact your insurance commissions with problems. Do not let up, as painful as it can become.
Dan F.
Roseville, CA
December 29 2023 10:17PM
In reading these reviews I am sickened by this company's lack of ethics. My father who is 97 years old & residing in a nursing home facility, is completely unable to care for himself. Since he was admitted in April 2023 it has been one stall technique after another to get TransAmerica to pay for his care. After I call to seek clarification from them as to WHAT exactly they still need to start payment I receive numerous mail indicating they are working on the claim & it’s “ in review”.
We recently had a Care Conference for my Dad & the Social Worker told me that she feels TransAmerica to be the WORST Long term Care Insurance Company that she has ever worked with. What a scam! Nice to know, at least, that I’m not alone in my experience!
Carol R.
Farmington, MN
December 24 2023 2:00AM
We are in the long process of getting Transamerica to pay for our dad. Every time we send in paperwork that they ask for they want more. This most recent time they want the license information of where our dad is living, say what?! I don’t know if we’ll ever get any payments from them and they are purposely prolonging this and waiting for our dad to die. If something isn’t done by next month I’m contacting the commissioner.
Amy W.
St. Paul, MN
September 08 2023 8:17PM
My 90 year old aunt has Alzheimer's and moved into assisted living six months ago, and I started the long term care claims process with Transamerica five months ago.
They have a very effective and dishonest strategy for not paying what they promised: ask for a document, receive it then ask for another, receive it then ask for another, without end. They never call back, never reply to correspondence, never admit that you've already answered their questions.
The intended effect of all this delay is clearly to get the claimant to give up, or better yet wait until the insured is dead. This is a straight-up scam. I have field a complaint with my state insurance department, maybe that will help.
James H.
Charlottesville, VA
July 19 2023 3:45PM
Updated on 10/23/2023: As a follow-up to my July 2023 review, I have called this terrible company at least three times a month since July and I STILL have not received payment. The reps are nice but have no power. They keep saying everything looks like the payment should go out, and they send a request to expedite. But you can't talk to the people making the payment or a supervisor. What kind of terrible customer service policy is that? It has now been seven months since they said the payment would be made. They are clearly waiting for my mother to die. Just disgusting.
Original Review: Save yourself major stress by avoiding this company. They are either incompetent or avoid payment at all costs. They told my mother her claim was approved on April 14, but needed more information. That is one of their tactics.
You give them what they ask for then they say, well, we need more. They finally approved payment in mid-June and paid the nursing home instead, even though we had clearly advised them to send the money direct deposit. It was up to me to get the check and send it back.
It has now been 18 days since they received the check and still won't give me a straight answer. Reissuing an approved check should be a no-brainer.
When I called today, the rep said, "You want the money sent to the nursing home, right?" Their reps are nice enough but have no authority and it is impossible to speak to anyone with power. I was on hold for over an hour waiting for a manager, then the rep told me she'd keep trying and call me back.
Obviously, she never responded. Extremely frustrating after you pay premiums for years. Our family, in the meantime is out almost $40,000. We aren't rich, so that money is desperately needed. AVOID TRANSAMERICA LIKE THE PLAGUE!
