Unum (www.unum.com), a large provider of employee benefits products and services in the United States and the United Kingdom, provided an annual review of sales and claims trends each fall in recognition of Long Term Care Awareness Month in November. The company’s survery and results show a dramatic trend indicating Americans’ desire to “age in place”. In Unum’s third annual Landscape of Long Term Care, the company reports a steady increase in policies with the home care option. Of Unum’s inforce policies, 93.4 percent are purchased to cover some type of home care. And nearly 70 percent of Unum’s group customers use their long term care benefits for care that occurs in the home.
In 2007, Unum covered 653,038 people under its long term care policies.
Further analysis of the group long term care sales data reveals:
— Women represent the majority (52 percent) of the purchasing population.
— The average age of a purchaser of a group long term policy is 43.5.
— Unum experienced a 37-percent increase in new long term care cases sold in 2007 compared to 2005.
— The top five industries purchasing group long term care insurance are law firms, physicians, insurance brokerages, management consulting services and engineering firms.
— The top five states purchasing long term care insurance are California, Florida, Ohio, Texas and Georgia.
Unum revealed in last year’s Landscape of Long Term Care a dramatic increase in employer-funded policies. The trend continued into 2007, with 90 percent of new group long term care cases being employer-funded.
For more information on its report, click here.
