Nationwide Long-Term Care Insurance Review

Nationwide Long-Term Care Insurance Plan Options

Nationwide offers more long-term care insurance options than many other carriers. It did not offer stand-alone LTC policies in the past, but it has recently expanded its offerings to include stand-alone, hybrid, and LTC life insurance riders. Regardless of the plan you choose, Nationwide LTC insurance covers all of the following services:

• Home health care
• Nursing home care
• Assisted living 
• Adult day care
• Home modifications
• Care coordination

Some other unique benefits of Nationwide long-term care insurance include:

• Funds to pay an informal caregiver
• Payout of 100 percent of your maximum monthly cash benefit while receiving LTC*
• Reimbursements without the need to submit receipts or bills (cash indemnity benefit)
• Lifetime benefit amounts ranging from $60,000 to $500,000
• Available to applicants between the ages of 30 and 75

*If you don’t use all of your cash benefit for long-term care, you can use it for other purposes or save it for future care.

Nationwide offers many great benefits, but it still falls short when it comes to waiting periods. Many carriers offer LTC plans with 30-, 60-, or 90-day waiting periods, which refers to the length of time you’ll have to pay for your long-term care out of pocket. A few carriers, such as Lincoln Financial, even offer no waiting periods on most kinds of long-term care. Nationwide, however, institutes a mandatory 90-day waiting period with all its long-term care insurance policies, which can make the up-front cost of your care more expensive.

Below, we’ll take a closer look at each of Nationwide’s long-term care solutions.

Nationwide Stand-alone LTC

Stand-alone long-term care insurance plans tend to be more affordable than hybrid plans, but that affordability comes at a cost. Like most LTC insurance carriers, Nationwide has a use-it-or-lose-it policy. You will continue paying your premiums for as long as you have the policy, but if you never require long-term care, you won’t get any kind of reimbursement for the premiums you’ve paid.

Since this kind of plan doesn’t offer any death benefit or premium reimbursement, it is generally best for single adults with no beneficiaries. If you already have an estate plan with sufficient payout options for your beneficiaries, Nationwide’s stand-alone LTC plan could be a more affordable alternative that still provides you with long-term care coverage.

Nationwide CareMatters

Nationwide CareMatters is a standard hybrid plan that combines life insurance and LTC coverage. Unlike a stand-alone plan, there is no use-it-or-lose-it policy. Instead, you get some kind of benefit no matter what. If you do not use your LTC benefits, a death benefit will be paid to your beneficiaries. Even if you use 100 percent of your LTC benefit, your beneficiaries will still get a 20 percent guaranteed death benefit.

This plan is best for older adults who want a little extra security for their loved ones and are willing to pay more to combine long-term care and life insurance policies. It also works well if you have an informal caregiver, since it provides funds that can be used to pay your caregiver.

Nationwide CareMatters Together

Nationwide CareMatters Together is for couples who each have individual Nationwide LTC plans and want to pool their benefits. In other words, if you have a partner and one of you has already used 100 percent of your monthly LTC benefits, you can use any available benefits from your partner’s plan. When one partner passes away, the other partner gets a minimum 10 percent death benefit payout, even if all of the LTC benefits have been used.

Available Riders

Nationwide does not offer as many riders as other carriers we’ve reviewed, like Thrivent, but it does offer a standard LTC rider and inflation protection. If you already have a life insurance plan with Nationwide, adding a rider can accelerate your death benefit to pay for long-term care. You can choose the amount you want to use for LTC, and the death benefit will either be the remainder of unused benefits or 10 percent of the base policy’s amount (whichever is larger). Certain rules and restrictions may apply based on your state, and LTC riders are applicable only with certain Nationwide universal life insurance policies.

The inflation protection rider is available only with Nationwide CareMatters hybrid plans, but it can substantially increase the value of your LTC benefits over time. With this rider, you can select from three options:

• 3 percent simple interest
• 3 percent compound inflation
• 5 percent compound interest

Your monthly benefit will increase annually by one of the percentages indicated above. The rider will add to your premium, but it will also help ensure that your LTC insurance plan keeps up with the rising costs of care. You will have to pay a bit more, but you’ll enjoy higher long-term care benefits in the future.

Underwriting

If you get a stand-alone Nationwide LTC insurance plan, you may not be required to get a medical exam or go through a strict underwriting process. If you want a hybrid plan or life insurance plan with an LTC rider, however, you will be required to get a medical exam and meet certain requirements set by Nationwide. Fortunately, Nationwide has a relatively straightforward underwriting process, even if it’s not as fast and easy as the underwriting at carriers such as Brighthouse Financial.

When you get a Nationwide hybrid LTC plan, you’ll go through a five-step process:

1. Online application
2. Health interview
3. Evaluation of interview results
4. Health exam
5. Decision

If the results of your initial evaluation show that you’re in good health for your age group, you may qualify for an abbreviated health exam and accelerated decision process.

Nationwide Customer Satisfaction

Nationwide generally receives positive feedback from consumers and high ratings from various third-party agencies. Here are a few of the most important ratings to consider:

• A.M Best: A+ (strong finances)
• Standard and Poor’s: A+ (good credit)
• NAIC: 0.65 (few complaints)
• BBB: A+ (high trustworthiness and performance)

Nationwide generally performs well among the aforementioned agencies, but it still falls behind some other LTC insurance carriers. Thrivent, for example, has an A++ from AM Best, an AA+ from Standard and Poor’s, a 0.02 from NAIC, and an A+ from BBB. Nonetheless, customers generally show high rates of satisfaction with Nationwide as a carrier.

Final Thoughts

Above all else, Nationwide offers peace of mind knowing you can get LTC benefits in cash without having to show a lot of documentation of your care. Moreover, you can get payouts for informal caregivers and even death benefits paid to your beneficiaries, depending on the plan you choose. The medical exam requirements, 90-day waiting period, and lack of pricing transparency, however, might make it difficult for some older adults to find a plan they like. Despite these shortcomings, Nationwide is a quality long-term care insurance carrier and a great choice for many seniors.

Our Methodology

When evaluating the quality of long-term care offerings, we focus on the benefits a carrier or plan can provide to older adults. We specifically look at pricing, coverage, optional offerings, and long-term value, particularly in comparison to plans from other carriers. Ultimately, an LTC insurance policy should help reduce financial stress if and when you require help with activities of daily living. If a plan can offer ample coverage without breaking the bank, we believe it is a worthwhile option to consider. And remember: If you’re looking for a quality long-term care insurance plan, check out our guide to the best long-term care insurance plans in 2023!