Mutual of Omaha long-term care insurance review 2024
Mutual of Omaha Long-Term Care Insurance
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Cost
The best way to estimate your costs is to request a quote
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Standout benefits
Mutual of Omaha offers long-term care insurance policies to people between 30 and 79 years old. Benefit periods range from 24 and 60 months and there are discounts available to couples and individuals in good health.
Pros
- Flexible elimination period options
- Discounts available for couples and people in good health
- Available in all 50 states
Cons
- Return of premium and inflation protection cost extra
Mutual of Omaha long-term care insurance
Mutual of Omaha: Pros and cons
Pros
- Cash benefits: Benefits are paid out monthly regardless of expenses, so you don’t have to submit receipts.
- Can help you stay at home: Mutual of Omaha LTC policies feature a waiver of elimination period for home health care.
- Discounts available: 15% discount for those considered in good health and 15% discount for spouses who enroll in a joint policy.
- Flexible approval ages: New policies issued up to age 79.
Cons
- Premiums can increase over time: Like many providers, Mutual of Omaha may raise rates to address the rising cost of care.
- Hybrid policies not available: While competitors like New York Life offer LTC policies that combine long-term care and life insurance, Mutual of Omaha does not.
Mutual of Omaha long-term care insurance plans
Mutual of Omaha offers two standalone long-term care policies, both of which are open to applicants between the ages of 30 and 79 (or 30 and 75 if you are a New York resident).
MutualCare Secure Solution
The MutualCare Secure Solution plan covers home health support, adult day care and assisted living facilities, and it pays for medical equipment and home modifications up to two times your monthly maximum benefit.
Coverage limits
Your maximum benefit is based on a multiplier, with limits between $1,500 and $10,000 per month for 24, 36, 48 or 60 months. Policies have a required elimination period that ranges from 90 to 365 days.
Benefits
This plan includes the following benefits:
- Respite care: Caregiving family members receive temporary substitute support care one month each calendar year.
- Bed reservation: Holds your place in an assisted living or nursing facility while you are in the hospital.
- Waiver of premium: You can skip premium payments when you start accessing benefits for home health care or at an assisted living or nursing facility.
- Inflation protection options: Policies offer inflation protection at 3%, 4% or 5% compounding for a lifetime or at 3% or 5% compounding for 20 years.
- Qualifies for Long–Term Care Partnership Program: Plans that are eligible for this joint state-federal initiative are protected, so participants don’t have to spend down all their assets to qualify for Medicaid.
MutualCare Secure Solution riders
- Shared care benefits: One partner can utilize their spouse’s benefits if their own run out.
- Security benefit: If one partner is receiving care, this benefit can help fund the other’s living expenses.
- Return of premium at death: Your beneficiaries can receive up to three times your maximum monthly benefit If there are unused funds.
MutualCare Custom Solution
The MutualCare Custom Solution plan is more tailor-made, with increased options for riders and inflation protections. It’s a good fit if you’d like more control over your plan or don’t want to deal with an elimination period.
Coverage limits
Your payments are taken out of a pool of up to $500,000 with maximum benefits of up to $10,000 per month. While the Secure Solution has a minimum 90-day elimination period, you can choose to start receiving benefits after 30 days, 60 days or right away.
Benefits
The same benefits as the Secure Solution plan are available, with policyholders also able to choose the percentage of inflation protection they want between 1% and 5%, rather than just the flat percentage offered in the Secure Solution.
MutualCare Custom Solution riders
Custom Solution policies offer all the endorsements available in Secure Solution plans, as well as several others:
- Waiver of elimination period: You can choose to start receiving home care benefits with no delay.
- Joint waiver of premium: Both spouses can stop making payments if one begins receiving long term care care.
- Survivorship benefit: Waives surviving spouse’s premiums for the rest of their life after their partner dies.
- Return of premium at death: Your family could receive a refund of some of the premiums you paid minus any benefits you received beyond the three times the initial maximum benefit available with Secure Solutions.
Shop around to find the right life insurance
Mutual of Omaha long-term care insurance rates
Mutual of Omaha offers sample rates for its Secure Solution policy online. Rates quotes are not available for MutualCare Custom Solution plans, however.
Montly benefit amount | Female | Male |
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$4,000 | $362 | $212 |
$5,000 | $452 | $266 |
$6,000 | $542 | $319 |
Source: Sample premiums are from Mutual of Omaha for a 60-year-old female and a 60-year-old male living in New York City with a monthly benefit of $4,000. Rates are current as of September 2024.
Mutual of Omaha customer satisfaction
Mutual of Omaha ranked above average on J.D. Power’s 2023 U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study, which surveys customers about price, product offerings, agent interactions, company communication and public statements.
It earned an A+ from the Better Business Bureau and gets half the volume of complaints than similarly-sized insurers, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
A.M. Best gave Mutual of Omaha an A+ (Superior) for financial strength, the organization’s second-highest rating and a good indicator of its ability to pay out benefits.
The Mutual of Omaha customer support phone line is not available on weekends, however, and the website doesn’t have an online chat option.
Other types of Mutual of Omaha insurance
Mutual of Omaha issues a variety of insurance and financial products, including:
Mutual of Omaha also offers annuities, investments, dental insurance and Medicare supplement plans.
How does Mutual of Omaha compare to other long-term care insurance?
Here’s how Mutual of Omaha stacks up against two major players in the long-term-care space.
Mutual of Omaha | New York Life | MassMutual | |
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Age range | 30 to 79 | Not available | 35 to 69 |
Couples discount | Up to 15% | Up to 25% (or 10% if only one partner is enrolled) | Available |
Good health discount | Up to 15% | Not available | Not available |
NAIC complaint index | Low | Low | Low |
Standalone or hybrid policies? | Standalone only | Standalone and hybrid option | Hybrid only |
Mutual of Omaha vs. New York Life
New York Life and Mutual of Omaha both provide tax-qualified standalone long-term care insurance, but New York Life also offers hybrid policies linked to life insurance.
New York Life My Care
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Cost
The best way to estimate your costs is to request a quote
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Standout benefits
New York Life’s My Care is a stand-alone long-term care policy that covers up to 80% of expenses at home or in a facility. There are four levels of coverage, with lifetime maximum benefits of between $50,000 and $250,000.
Pros
- One of the few stand-alone long-term care options
- Discount for couples and existing New York Life customers
- Available in all 50 states
- Care-planning team available to policyholders
Cons
- Only offers 80% reimbursement rate
- Quotes not available online
New York Life doesn’t make sample premiums available, but it does offer a three-year rate guarantee that Mutual of Omaha lacks.
Both companies are winners with customer service, receiving a smaller volume of complaints than similarly-sized competitors, according to the NAIC, and earning A+ from the Better Business Bureau.
They were both also rated above average on J.D. Power’s 2023 individual life insurance survey. .
Mutual of Omaha vs. MassMutual
Both MassMutual and Mutual of Omaha are available in most states and both are winners with customer service — ranking third and fourth respectively out of 22 life insurance companies scored by J.D. Power.
MassMutual CareChoice Long Term Care and Life Insurance
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Cost
The best way to estimate your costs is to request a quote
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Standout benefits
MassMutual’s CareChoice One and CareChoice Select plans combine the usefulness of a long-term care insurance rider with the convenience of a whole life insurance policy. Policies include a guaranteed long-term care benefit, death benefit and increasing surrender value.
Pros
- High customer satisfaction ratings from J.D. Power
- Low volume of complaints
Cons
- Little information on policies available online
- Only offers hybrid whole life insurance with long term care rider
The chief difference is in the kinds of policies they offer: MassMutual only has hybrid policies, which make it a bad fit if you already have a life insurance policy you want to keep.
For a whole life policy that pools death and long-term care benefits, however, MassMutual’s CareChoice One and CareChoice Select are better choices.
How do I buy life insurance from Mutual of Omaha?
While sample rate quotes are available online, you’ll need to work with an agent to purchase long-term care insurance from Mutual of Omaha.
You can find a representative on the company website or by calling 800-775-6000, Mondays to Thursdays from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. CT and Fridays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT.
Is Mutual of Omaha long-term care insurance right for me?
Mutual of Omaha is a great choice for couples, with discounts for spouses enrolling together and a shared-care policy that lets one partner access the other’s benefits if they hit their limit.
If one spouse is receiving care, the security benefit rider enables the other to keep paying bills at home.
It’s also a good option if you don’t savor paperwork: Mutual of Omaha’s cash indemnity option means you don’t need to keep receipts or file claims to get reimbursed.
And since policies are available to those up to age 79, Mutual of Omaha should appeal if you’ve waited to enroll in long-term care insurance.
Mutual of Omaha doesn’t offer hybrid policies, however, so if you want a plan that offers both long-term care and death benefits, you should check out other providers.
FAQs
What does long-term care insurance cover?
Long-term care insurance covers support and services for people with disabilities or chronic illnesses. Benefits are triggered if you’re unable to perform two of six basic activities of daily living, including bathing, dressing, eating or moving from a bed or a chair.
What are the main types of long-term care insurance?
There are three basic types of long-term care insurance: A traditional life insurance policy with a long-term care rider, a hybrid policy that combines benefits from both life insurance and LTC insurance and a standalone LTC policy not tied to life insurance.
How much does long-term care insurance cost?
The annual premium for a 55-year-old single male with $165,000 in benefits was about $900 in 2023, according to the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance, and about $1,500 for a 55-year-old woman. For spouses who are both 55, the average annual premium for a joint policy was about $2,080.
How old can you be and get long-term care insurance from Mutual of Omaha?
Mutual of Omaha issues new policies to individuals up to age 79, which is older than many competitors.
What is the Long-Term Care Partnership Program?
Designed to encourage Americans to buy long-term care plans, this program allows policyholder who enroll in a qualifying plan to keep some or all of their assets and still qualify for Medicaid if their care needs extend beyond their policy’s coverage limits. For every dollar spent on a qualified LTC policy, a dollar of assets is protected from Medicaid eligibility requirements.
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At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every life insurance review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of insurance products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics.
Our methodology
When reviewing life insurance companies, CNBC Select uses a variety of criteria, including the types of policies, availability, rates and terms, the number of riders, medical exam requirements, the availability of online quotes and overall customer satisfaction.
In addition, we also considered J.D. Power’s life insurance customer satisfaction ratings, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners‘ complaint index and A.M. Best’s financial strength ratings, which measure a company’s ability to pay on claims.
Life insurance rates may come from various sources, including the provider and state insurance departments.
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Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.