Nationwide Long-Term Care Insurance Reviews and Costs
For older adults, Nationwide Long-Term Care Insurance offers coverage for care administered in one’s home or in a senior care community. Their policies come with inflation protection, death benefits for beneficiaries, and no premium increases, making them a great option for affordable coverage. In some cases, you can even add long-term care coverage to a life insurance policy for added savings.
Here’s what you can expect from Nationwide’s long-term care insurance.
FYI: For stand-alone long-term care insurance policies, be sure to check out our guide to this year’s best long-term care insurance.
Pros and Cons of Nationwide
Pros
- Less paperwork: Nationwide’s CareMatters long-term care policy doesn’t require you to submit bills and receipts every month. Rather, you will automatically be reimbursed.
- Death benefits for beneficiaries: Should a person not need long-term care, their beneficiary will receive the policy’s death benefit that’s either equal to or greater than the amount from paid premiums.
- Inflation options: With the cost of long-term care services continuing to rise, Nationwide offers inflation options to protect from rising costs.
- Family caregiver payments: Some Nationwide policies allow you to reimburse family members for their caregiving.
- Options for how benefits will be paid out: You can specify how you’d like your benefits to be paid out via reimbursement or a cash indemnity plan. For example, you’ll get reimbursed for bills and receipts that are submitted to the long-term care insurance company. Or, you can choose a cash indemnity plan, where a check is mailed out to you each month for the monthly long-term care benefit.
Cons
- No death benefits for stand-alone policies: Death benefits are only available through hybrid long-term care and life insurance policies from Nationwide.
- Spouse benefits: Nationwide long-term care coverage benefits can’t be transferred to spouses. Other companies, like Mutual of Omaha Long-Term Care Insurance, allow transferring benefits between partners.
- Medical exam: Certain policies and riders may require you to undergo a medical exam and underwriting process.
Policy Options
If you’re interested in long-term care insurance coverage, you can choose from several Nationwide products, such as life insurance policies with a long-term care rider, linked-benefit policies, and stand-alone policies.
Nationwide CareMatters
For individuals ages 40 to 65 interested in long-term care insurance coverage, Nationwide offers Nationwide CareMatters. This policy is built on life insurance with a death benefit. It also gives the insured the option of purchasing long-term care protection over a specified period of time.
Life insurance policies with a rider
This policy is recommended for seniors who want to leave a legacy behind and make sure their loved ones are taken care of in the event that they pass on. However, this policy also has a rider for seniors who want to have access to their death benefit for use with long-term care needs.
Linked-benefit policies
A linked-benefit policy consists of a long-term care insurance rider that's added to a life insurance policy. This hybrid policy is for seniors who feel they may not need as much life insurance coverage, but are more concerned with having long-term care coverage. In this case, they can choose a linked-benefit policy, which provides an extension of long-term care benefits and a death benefit. For this policy, premiums won’t increase.
Stand-alone policies
These policies are ideal for seniors who want long-term care insurance coverage with lower premiums and don’t need additional life insurance coverage. Keep in mind that premiums may increase in the future under these types of policies.
Currently, there are two types of common benefit plans that you can choose from: cash indemnity and reimbursement. For an indemnity benefit plan, a full monthly payment will be sent directly to the policyowner, whereas a reimbursement benefit plan will reimburse you the lesser of your monthly benefit amount.
Nationwide Long-Term Care Insurance Costs
Nationwide CareMatters policies tend to cost more than other stand-alone long-term care insurance, with monthly premiums ranging from $300 to upward of $600. Keep in mind, however, that CareMatters also functions as a life insurance policy, meaning you’ll also receive death benefit payouts.
Here’s what you can expect to pay in monthly premiums.
Nationwide Long-Term Care Insurance Premiums
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How Nationwide Long-Term Care Insurance Works
To receive your Nationwide long-term care benefits, a licensed health care practitioner needs to certify that either you have a severe cognitive impairment or you’re unable to perform activities of daily living. For long-term care policies, Nationwide will cover the cost of covered services 90 calendar days after you receive long-term care coverage services and are certified as chronically ill.
You will need to first satisfy the 90-day elimination or waiting period before long-term care benefits can be retroactively paid. Additionally, you also need to submit a plan of care prescribed by your doctor. If you continue to receive benefits, you will need to recertify your care every 12 months.
Nationwide Long-Term Care Insurance Additional Benefits
Nationwide offers a cash indemnity policy benefit, which means you don’t need to submit monthly bills or receipts and wait for funds to be paid and approved, as is often a standard process for other long-term insurance coverage. Additionally, with Nationwide’s long-term care policies, there are no restrictions on how your benefits can be used.
With a long-term care policy, you can also choose reimbursement benefits. If you decide to choose reimbursement benefits, then you’ll be reimbursed a lesser monthly benefit amount or the cost of your long-term care services. Additionally, with the reimbursement method, a long-term care facility can directly bill the insurance company for expenses.
Other benefits of the Nationwide CareMatters policy include:
- Cash indemnity benefits: For long-term care coverage, no monthly bills or receipts are required for claims.
- Family or friend caregivers: There are no restrictions on how policyholders can use their benefits, including informal care provided by a family member or friend.
- Guaranteed full monthly cash benefit: With Nationwide long-term care policies, policyholders get a guaranteed full, tax-free cash benefit each month.
- Long-term care support services: Policyholders and family members will receive access to The Nationwide Care Guide Network, a resource and referral service for long-term care support services.
- Guaranteed death benefit: Your loved ones, or beneficiaries, will receive a guaranteed residual death benefit even if all long-term care coverage benefits are used up.
- Streamlined underwriting process: Nationwide offers a fast, and easy underwriting process involving a brief application and telephone interview.
How to Buy a Nationwide Insurance Policy
To purchase an insurance policy through Nationwide, we recommend visiting their website and searching for a local agent to request a quote on long-term care coverage. We also recommend contacting their main service line to purchase life insurance or long-term care coverage at (800) 848-6331. One of their representatives can help walk you through their different options and provide quotes specific to your needs.
Nationwide Performance
The BBB gives Nationwide an A+ rating in terms of customer satisfaction. Despite this rating, Nationwide still seems to have poor rankings and numerous customer complaints and low rankings with customer reviews.
According to their BBB page, Nationwide has had 199 complaints closed in the last three years and 59 complaints closed in the last 12 months. According to Consumer Affairs, the overall satisfaction rating for Nationwide (homeowner’s insurance) was 3.5 out of 5.
Financial strength
Having an insurance provider that’s in strong financial standing is important. AM Best, a global credit rating agency, gave Nationwide an A+ (superior) rating for financial strength. Additionally, S&P Global Ratings affirmed the A+ rating for financial strength, and A1 (good rating) by Moody’s Investors Service, making them financially reliable and among the highest-rated insurance providers in the nation.
Bottom Line
With superior financial strength and great long-term care benefits for policyholders and beneficiaries, Nationwide is a great option for seniors. It’s also one of the few providers that offer a guaranteed 20 percent minimum death benefit for beneficiaries.
With rising long-term care coverage costs, Nationwide also provides inflation options to help pay for long-term care costs in the future. Additionally, Nationwide provides flexibility for benefit payments through reimbursement or cash indemnity, where you can choose to use the long-term care benefits as you’d like with no restrictions. You’ll know exactly how much monthly cash benefits you’ll get, with no surprises when you decide on long-term care coverage through Nationwide.
To learn more about our favorite long-term care insurance providers, check out our helpful guides:
Frequently Asked Questions
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How much is Nationwide’s long-term care insurance?
Nationwide CareMatters long-term care policies will cost between $300 and $600 per month; however, these prices will vary by location, age, gender, and benefit amounts. A standalone long-term care insurance policy from Nationwide will cost less.
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How long are waiting periods for Nationwide’s long-term care insurance?
There is a 90-day waiting period before your long-term care benefits can kick in.
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Will premiums go up with Nationwide’s long-term care insurance?
Some policies, such as Nationwide CareMatters, come with fixed premiums that are guaranteed to never rise. Other policies, however, are subject to premium hikes.
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Does Nationwide’s long-term care insurance cover nursing home care?
Yes, a Nationwide long-term care insurance policy can cover services at a nursing home.
