Some premiums for long-term care insurance in Maine have seen double digit increases over the past two years — as much as 81%.
Kerry Peabody, a long-term care insurance specialist at Marsh McLennan Agency in Portland, says unlike health insurance where increases are expected every year, these are increases on policies sold 10 to 15 years ago.
"At this point in time unfortunately they're really to be expected on those older blocks of business," Peabody says. "This isn't specific to any carrier; it's specific to the entire long-term care insurance industry because of the pricing mistakes they made early in the genesis of the business."
Peabody says those mistakes include miscalculating how many people would drop their plans, as well as increases in life expectancy.
According to the state Bureau of Insurance, about 38,000 Mainers have long-term care insurance, which covers nursing home, in-home care, hospice, and similar services. The increases since 2022 affect roughly 6,000 people.
