The nation’s largest long-term care insurance (LTCI) underwriter is blazing a new trail for the industry on how policies are underwritten. Genworth informed its sales agents in August that it has begun considering not only the health of applicants, but also the health history of their parents, in underwriting policies.
Genworth now weigh any history of early onset coronary artery disease or dementia in applicants’ parents. The new rules took effect for applications received starting September 2nd. For underwriting purposes, Genworth is defining early onset as age 70 for dementia, and age 60 for coronary artery disease. A spokesman notes that the company has included questions about applicants’ parental history since 2006; only now has it started using that information in underwriting.
Other LTCI underwriters probably aren’t far behind Genworth.