An Update on the Washington Cares Fund

As fast paced as the life insurance business is, the last few weeks and months have ushered in even more change than usual. Case in point? The Washington Cares Fund becoming law and forcing all of us in distribution and at the carrier level to educate ourselves and our advisors. It has also generated significant application volumes concentrated in very specific case designs that may not have been contemplated when many of the Long-Term Care products and riders we all sell were initially priced. This phenomenon has caused some carriers to put higher face amount limits, extended chargeback schedules or other similar measures in place to throttle the flow of business.

In addition, many in distribution have sought specific guidance from the carrier community regarding products "qualifying" for the exemption available to Washington residents seeking to opt out of the Washington Cares Fund. To that end, AIN has curated the following:

Carrier Statements Regarding Washington Cares Fund Exemption Eligibility

While many carriers are not prepared to offer what could be considered by some to be tax advice, please see the releases from the following carriers about the use of their products in this context:

• Equitable

• Nationwide

• Securian Financial

Product, Policy and Procedure Changes in response to the Washington Cares Fund

The following carriers have made changes to some element of their offering as a result of the Washington Cares Fund. Please keep in mind that these changes are limited to Washington cases.

• John Hancock Minimum Face Amount Changes

• Lincoln Financial LTC Rider Changes

• Lincoln Financial MoneyGuard Changes

• Mutual of Omaha Chargeback Changes

Additional Washington Cares Fund Information and Resources

Washington State has developed a website dedicated to the new legislation that answers many of the fundamental questions about the Washington Cares Fund. This includes a list of carriers with LTC products and riders approved for sale in the state that should qualify for the exemption.

• Washington Cares Fund Website

• Qualifying for an Exemption

• What qualifies as Long-Term Care Insurance?

• Long-term care insurance companies approved to sell in Washington state

• Full text of the legislation on the Washington State Legislature website

AIN has also authored a consolidated Washington Cares Fund FAQ as a ready reference.

The Rest of the Story...

The Washington Cares Fund is far from the only LTC focused legislation being considered across the country. Multiple other states are at some state of their own investigative process, making this topic a very interesting one as we think about forward looking strategy at both the Member Firm and Core Carrier. States considering some sort of LTC legislation include:

• California

• Colorado

• Hawaii

• Illinois

• Maine

• Michigan

• Minnesota

• Missouri

• North Carolina

• Oregon

• Utah