There are a couple of things that women have over men. They are better drivers and they tend to live longer. While the driving part may not be true, research does reflect that women on average outlive men. That’s basically good news for women, right?
Well, it certainly is good news that women will get to see their families grow in their old age and enjoy a long life. But with regards to insurance costs, a long life expectancy means a high long-term life insurance bill.
Change is coming for those who pay for long-term life insurance policies, at least for women. Genworth Financial (a life insurance provider) declares that the long-term policy costs will increase significantly for women starting in 2013. It’s estimated that for a woman filing individually, she will pay 36 percent more money a year for a long-term insurance policy compared to a man.
Is this fair? That’s not for us to say. Insurance companies do need to make a profit. The reasoning behind the cost hikes is that women live longer and, therefore, use more insurance coverage during their longer lives to cover assisted living and nursing home care.
This is a worrying change for consumers. In an already difficult economy, wherein people are constantly looking for ways to cut down their budgets, this price hike could lead to more women neglecting to buy long-term care insurance. It might seem like no big deal for a woman’s immediate future, but her life later could be made significantly less stressful if she had only bought insurance.
With women having to pay more every year for their insurance plans, it is even more worthwhile to fight for their benefits if they are denied.
Source: AARP Blog, “For Long-Term Care, Women Charged More,” Candy Sagon, Nov. 28, 2012