Nationwide Suspends Sales of Most Products in Washington State
While Nationwide's announcement to suspend sales in Washington was not a surprise, the fact that it includes both Asset-Based Long-Term Care and all individual Life Insurance products with or without a Long-Term Care Rider makes it a unique approach to a challenge many carriers are grappling with as a result of the Washington Cares Fund.
From Nationwide:
Nationwide is suspending all individual life insurance sales in Washington state until further notice
The passage of the WA Cares Fund in Washington state has created an opportunity for people to consider obtaining long-term care coverage. Because of the increasingly intense interest in Nationwide solutions, the application volume we have received has far exceeded expectations. To provide the best possible experience for all customers, we must notify you of the following change to new business applications in Washington.
Effective immediately, Nationwide is temporarily suspending sales of all individual life insurance, products including Nationwide CareMatters®, in Washington state until further notice.
All Washington applications received after 5:00 p.m. ET, August 10, 2021 will not be processed. No exceptions will be made. At this time, while we are making every attempt possible to process all business that has been received, we cannot guarantee the issue date for any previously submitted applications in Washington.
We will resume accepting new business as soon as possible, but it may not be until after November 2021.
In order to manage the volume of applications already received, we have created a separate underwriting and case management team dedicated to handling life applications from Washington. All other states will continue to follow our normal underwriting process.
Providing extraordinary care is important to us and we do not take this step lightly. With that in mind, and considering other actions already taken in the industry on this matter, we felt compelled to take these measures to adequately process all previously submitted life applications