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Transamerica Long-Term Care Insurance

4.5 Stars (73 Reviews)
Most Reviewed
Brands that earn the Most Reviewed badge have received the most customer reviews in their category on Retirement Living over the last 12 months.
Updated: January 20, 2023
By: Jonathan Trout
Jonathan Trout
Content Manager
Jonathan is a former product and content manager for Retirement Living. His background spans sales/marketing, finance, and telecommunications. Jonathan’s expertise in consumer wellness and research-backed data stories helped educate seniors on financial planning, retirement, and community resources. Jonathan graduated from Oklahoma State University with a B.S. in Environmental Sociology.
Content Manager
Edited By: Lauren Hamer
Lauren Hamer
Editor
Bringing more than a decade of editorial experience to Retirement Living, Lauren focuses on reporting senior-related issues, including retirement planning, finance, consumer protection, and health and wellness. Lauren has edited consumer content for Credible, Angi, Slickdeals, Jobs for the Future, and more.
Editor

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.

Editorial Breakdown

Product Options 4.8 Stars
Availability 4.5 Stars
Policy Features 4.5 Stars
Customer Service 4 Stars

Overall Rating 4.3 Stars

Bottom Line

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
Transamerica TransCare III Standard Benefits
Out-of-Pocket expenses paid unless otherwise noted
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 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.

Transamerica logo

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.

Transamerica Q&A

  • 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:

    1. You need considerable supervision to protect you from threats to your health and safety due to a severe cognitive impairment.

    1. 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.


73 Transamerica Reviews

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1 Star

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
1 Star

July 19 2023 3:45PM

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!

Mark S.
Jacksonville, FL
1 Star

June 22 2023 3:27AM

My elderly mother bought her LTC policy in 1998, and filed her first claim for benefits in October 2002. TA sent a Registered Nurse out to assess her in Dec 2002 at her home. The nurse found she could not perform hardly any of activities of daily living.

Mom then moved to assisted living level 2 care facility. TA denied her claim for benefits in Feb 2023 after misrepresenting the RN assessment indicating Mom was able to perform all ADLs. We appealed denial and now June and still no decision.

They are impossible to communicate with. That is their way of denying, delaying, and not paying any benefits to claimants.

Yes, it is time to file charges for mail and wire fraud due to their receiving premiums but not providing any benefits. Is there any question this behavior is intentional? The US Attorney in Iowa has been contacted about this elder abuse and consumer fraud.

Ricky D.
Clarksville, TN
1 Star

June 07 2023 10:59PM

I am so disgusted reading these reviews because it is definitely a pattern where TransAmerica (TA) is trying to fraud the elderly out of deserved money. My mom paid her premium yearly for 20 years as my dad had passed away and she thought this was important, even though she never wanted to go to a home.

She was diagnosed with Lewy Body dementia, and she lived with me as she was failing to thrive in her house. In November 2022, TA sent a nurse who agreed with diagnosis. We moved her into an APPROVED assisted living facility in Jan 2023, when we started to pay the 90 day elimination period.

I just paid her 6 month out of pocket and it's been "under review (10 business days)" since April 4 2023. I have called them twice a week since April 4/18. Usually on hold for up to an hour. The gals who answer the phone are nice but they aren't the people we need to talk to.

I filed a complaint with the BBB but that went nowhere as they just scream HIPAA. I have advised them I will be hiring an attorney to get all $35000 of my mom's money back. If I was an attorney I would be putting together a class action lawsuit.

My mom will most likely have to move out of the AL facility and back in with me which will be detrimental to her health, which is what they want - they want people to die so they don't have to pay. TransAmerica is basically a terrorist organization.

Mary G.
Omaha, NE
1 Star

June 03 2023 6:35AM

Horrible, horrible, horrible. I am 92, and all the previous complaints pertain to me. On hold for an hour or more, they do not pay submissions, change requirements all the time, try to confuse you, send out people to see if you are still breathing..they take forever to pay if at all, and try to confuse, confuse confuse.

I have sent my Dr’s prescriptions for care and equipment to them and they say they do not honor prescriptions. What? Whose word do they take? I know their game…for sure…wait it out and old people die. If ever there was a reason to hold on, this is it.

They may have underestimated this old person. I haven’t run large medical offices for nothing. I am after them. Someone has to organize against this major medical insurance fraud. I will begin tomorrow. Let this site be a gathering forum for restitution.

Nancy G.
Orangevale, CA
1 Star

April 17 2023 6:00PM

My mother who has been paying thousands of dollars into premiums for Long term healthcare insurance for 25 years moved into a personal care facility for dementia. It is unsafe for her to live at home alone.

She has been evaluated and gone through all of the steps needed to qualify for coverage. Her move in date was November 2022 and now we are near the end of April and She has not been paid at all by Transamerica.

I call on her behalf several times a week always with 2 hour waits, was told many times to resubmit paperwork already sent, then to be told to wait 20 days for them to review the paperwork already sent in numerous times, have been told everything is in and the payment will go in her bank account numerous times...no payment.

I call back, someone else tells me she is waiting for approval for eligibility. They tell me I am not allowed to directly talk to the eligibility people but that they are required to get back to me. They never do so I do the whole process again.

I am currently looking at finding an attorney to help me sort through this. She will go through her savings too quickly to stay in the one she is in if they don't pay for this. I consider this not holding up their end of the contract.

Bec J.
Louisville, KY
1 Star

April 13 2023 2:17PM

Haven't been reimbursed since January, I've called every week. Get told something different every time, checks in mail - not, you'll receive a call back from manager 48 hours - never received a call back, case expedited - nothing happens, no correspondence as to what's happening.

Was on hold 30 min then got disconnected - rep did not call back. No one cares at Transamerica. We paid for this insurance and they are not paying. Looks like a class action lawsuit needs to be filed.

Sandra H.
Round Rock, TX
1 Star

April 11 2023 6:17PM

Where in the world are you getting the data to make this a review of Transamerica? Seeing this makes me laugh out loud. Customer service has been abysmal. I have asked repeatedly for a care manager to call me back or a supervisor and no one ever calls.

My mother fell in June and was in a skilled nursing facility for several months. It was impossible to get full details on what information they needed. After she was discharged home, we set up home health aide to assist with her profound disabilities.

I called and asked them how I should select a home health care provider, how would I know if they would be approved, etc. They provided no information and basically said that her policy would cover anyone we choose.

Well, when she met completed her eligibility period and we tried to make a claim, they demanded paperwork on this independent home health care aide and it has been 3 months now without any confirmation or payment.

Thank god my parents have me to keep calling and assisting with all the paperwork. How do our elders who pay into this for 20 plus years manage this once they need it and are no longer possess the capabilities to manage an onerous claims process. This is frankly elder abuse.

I am reporting them to BBB and to the MN State Department of Commerce and Insurance. If I do not see movement on my parent's claim in the next month, I will be consulting with attorneys as well.

I have read on several class action lawsuits against Transamerica for this kind of crap. How are the authors of this article able to promote this company when a simple search of the web yields multiple complaints and lawsuits?

Kelly D.
Auburn, WA
1 Star

April 11 2023 1:26PM

Horrible service, 45 minutes on phone yesterday. No one picked up. This morning on hold 20 mins on landline. Called on cell phone. On hold there as well. WHO CAN WE CALL TO ENFORCE some service on this company. This is unacceptable.

David S.
San Jose, CA
1 Star

April 05 2023 6:16PM

Filed a claim with this shame of an insurance agency back in January and have still not received payment (it is now April). They constantly lose paperwork even when I send it via fax, email and U.S. mail.

Placed on hold an average of 1 hour every time I call and I NEVER get the same person on the line. You can tell their remote workers have absolutely no power to do anything other than look up the policy online and tell you what paperwork they are missing, even though you've sent it to them numerous times.

They have no online presence. My mother's assisted living facility says they have never dealt with such a shady company. This is criminal and there needs to be a class action lawsuit filed against them.

When my mother began paying on her policy in 1996 she thought she was doing something beneficial. The way they are treating policyholders is negligent behavior.

Terri W.
Pasadena, CA