Pacific Life Long-Term Care Insurance Reviews and Costs

Pros and Cons of Pacific Life

Policy Options

Pacific Life stopped offering stand-alone long-term care insurance policies in 2022. However, the company offers three hybrid life insurance policies that include extensive coverage for long-term care services. The benefit of obtaining long-term care insurance in this way increases the chance you might never need long-term care. If you pass away without ever using your benefits, your loved ones will still receive a death benefit, so the money won’t go to waste.

Pacific PremierCare Advantage

A universal life insurance policy with long-term care benefits, PremierCare Advantage provides tax-free death benefits to beneficiaries in addition to a surrender policy option. Once you make a one-time premium payment, you’ll receive the policy’s long-term care benefits along with death proceeds for your beneficiaries and a Return of Premium benefit. This policy is great for seniors who want the satisfaction of a money-back option if they decide they don’t need long-term care services.

You can choose between either a zero or 90-day elimination period, depending on the facility you choose for long-term care services. The zero-day elimination period will cover:

• Home health care
• Care coordination
• Caregiver training
• Home modifications like walk-in bathtubs
• Durable medical equipment
• Adult day care

The 90-day elimination period covers:

• Assisted living facilities
• Hospice care facilities
• International benefit
• Nursing homes

This policy also has optional inflation benefit options of 5 percent compound, 5 percent simple, or 3 percent simple interest, all of which will help your coverage rise to meet the rising costs of care. In addition to being reimbursed for the cost of your long-term care (up to your policy’s monthly maximum benefit amount), you can also receive a couples’ discount for policyowners who are in civil unions or domestic partnerships.

Pacific PremierCare Choice 100

A whole life insurance policy with long-term care benefits, PremierCare Choice 100 offers guaranteed death benefits that are paid to your beneficiaries should you pass away. Additionally, you have the option of surrendering your policy with a 100 percent Return of Premium benefit.

The policy also offers tax-free, long-term care benefits and death proceeds, in addition to a couples’ discount for your premiums. The elimination period for this policy is similar to Pacific PremierCare Advantage, which consists of an elimination period of zero to 90 days.

Pacific PremierCare Choice Multi-Pay 100

PremierCare Choice Multi-Pay provides both life insurance and long-term care benefits for seniors, with level premiums over a duration of five or 10 years. The elimination period for this policy is similar to the other two policies: zero to 90 days, depending on the services you choose.

Additionally, this policy offers a couple’s discount for those that are in a marriage, civil union, or domestic partnership. The discount will be applied to your premiums and doesn’t require both individuals to purchase separate policies. As for the residual death benefit, your beneficiaries will be guaranteed an amount that’s equal to the lesser of 5 percent of your initial face amount, or a total of $5,000.

Under this policy, you’ll receive three guarantees:

• Return of premium: If you change your mind and don’t want long-term care coverage, you can surrender your policy at any time and opt for the Return of Premium benefit.
• Guaranteed full protection: If you need long-term care while you’re simultaneously paying your premiums, your policy’s benefits will be available to use from day one of your policy in effect. During this time, no premiums will be due (as long as you paid all previous premiums).
• Lockable benefits: Your benefits will be locked away in the event that you need to stop paying premiums.

Pacific Life Long-Term Care Insurance Costs

With Pacific Life, a life insurance policy with a long-term care benefit will vary, but you could pay around $1,000 to $1,200 per month with the Multi-Pay 100 plan. These costs are going to be higher than other offerings like Genworth long-term care insurance because Pacific Life also includes premiums for life insurance policies, not just stand-alone long-term care insurance. Other policies aren’t paid monthly, but one-time. PremierCare Choice 100, for example, could cost somewhere around $346,000 on day one, which could appreciate to $647,992 by age 80. If you don’t have this money up-front, paying monthly will make more sense.

How Pacific Life Long-Term Care Insurance Works

To use Pacific Life Long-Term Care Insurance, you’ll need a licensed health care practitioner to certify that you either can’t perform at least two of six activities of daily living or that you are severely cognitively impaired. For assistance on how to access your long-term care benefits, Pacific Life offers free care coordination services.

To receive your long-term care benefits through Pacific Life, you have the choice of choosing benefit periods of two-to-eight years or 24-to-96 months with your choice of inflation benefit options to grow your monthly benefits. These inflation benefit options range from 5 percent, compound, 5 percent simple, or 3 percent simple interest.

For most long-term care insurance policies through Pacific Life, you will need to undergo a telephone interview. Once approved, the long-term care policy that you choose will reimburse you for the cost of care that you receive once premiums are paid. Keep in mind, however, that the reimbursement for covered long-term care expenses is subject to an elimination period, which is based on the benefit options you initially selected for your policy.

How to Buy a Pacific Life Insurance Policy

To purchase an insurance policy through Pacific Life, we recommend first visiting the company’s website and entering your ZIP code to see the options available to you. Or call the company directly at 800-347-7787 to learn more about long-term care options included in life insurance products. This phone line is available weekdays from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.

Pacific Life Performance

The BBB gives Pacific Life a B- for customer satisfaction and notes that the company is not BBB-accredited. Overall, BBB customers gave the company one out of five stars.

Financial Strength

With many long-term care insurance providers folding in recent years, it’s important to look into an insurance provider’s financial strength and overall portfolio to gauge whether you want to stick with them long-term. AM Best, a global credit rating agency, gave Pacific Life an A+ (Superior) rating for financial strength.

Additionally, S&P Global Ratings affirmed the AA- (stable) rating for financial strength, and Aa3 (stable) by Moody’s Investors Service, making it a financially reliable company from which to purchase insurance and financial products.