The long-term care insurance market has seen a mass exodus in recent years. There used to be over 100 companies selling this insurance, now there are less than ten, with more pulling out of the market every day. Some companies have started to offer hybrid policies instead, but New York Life still offers a traditional policy (they offer hybrid policies as well). These are less expensive than hybrid policies but if it turns out you don’t need long-term care, all that money was spent for nothing. Still, it is likely that you will need it.
- Benefits of New York Life Long-Term Care Insurance Policy
- New York Life’s Asset Flex: A Hybrid Long-Term Care Insurance Policy
- How Much does New York Life Long-Term Care Insurance Cost?
- Consumer Satisfaction Rating of New York Life Long-Term Care Insurance
- Financial Strength Rating of New York Life Long-Term Care Insurance
Benefits of New York Life Long-Term Care Insurance Policy
There are two options in long-term care insurance through New York Life.
- NYL MyCare policy
- NYL Secure Care
What’s the difference? Secure Care comes with a pool of money, rather than a benefit period. Once you spend that, you are out of insurance and your benefits cease.
The MyCare plan replaces the elimination period with a deductible, which may work well for some. Coverage begins as soon as the deductible is met. You can choose from four plans, with lifetime benefits of anywhere from $50,000 to $250,000. Deductibles are anywhere from $4,500 to $21,000. New York Life bills this as long-term care insurance for the average person.
Secure Care is more expensive, but you will earn dividends after ten years. If you die before benefits are used, your heirs get the money you haven’t spent as a death benefit. This feature make it similar to a hybrid long-term care insurance which is essentially a combination of a permanent life insurance policy and a long-term care policy.
>>MORE: The Best Traditional Long-Term Care Insurance Companies
Rider options include:
- Waiver of premium
- Legacy benefit rider (returns premiums to the estate when the beneficiary dies, assuming you haven’t used them for long-term care)
- Inflation protection
- Shared care rider
The Shared care rider is a good benefit, as it basically increases your benefits by 50% for couples purchasing this policy.
New York Life’s Asset Flex: A Hybrid Long-Term Care Insurance Policy
Asset Flex is New York Life’s hybrid long-term care/life insurance policy. It’s basically a universal life insurance plan with long-term care benefit riders attached.
You can pay as a single premium, or over five or ten years. The elimination period is 90 days, although home care can start right away if you use a NYL-approved Care Coordinator Plan of Care.
The residual death benefit is 10% of the face value of the policy.
The only inflation option is 5% compound. This is a little unusual, as most of these policy types have the option of 3% simple, 3% compound, or 5% simple as well as 5% compound, but for NYL you only have the one option.
As with the traditional long-term care policy, benefits are reimbursement. That means you must submit receipts after paying initial costs out-of-pocket.
>>MORE: The Best Hybrid Long-Term Care Insurance Companies
How Much does New York Life Long-Term Care Insurance Cost?
New York Life sells through agents. We were unable to obtain a quote for either products: traditional or hybrid long-term care insurance, but we would bet they’re not the least expensive policy or they would advertise that fact. Some websites hint at the fact that they are one of the most expensive long-term care policies.
They pair with AARP to sell this policy, called New York Life Secure Care. AARP makes you fill out a form and puts you in touch with an agent.
Consumer Satisfaction Rating of New York Life Long-Term Care Insurance
New York Life sits just above the median score on J.D. Power’s 2019 Life Insurance Study. The median average score is 761 and New York Life earned 770, making them the final company to earn “better than most” from J.D. Power.
The NAIC rates New York Life with a complaint ratio of .21. The median average ratio is 1.0, so New York Life actually has far fewer complaints than you would expect.
It’s not accredited, but New York Life gets a solid A+ from the BBB. There are 74 complaints listed in the last three years. Many complaints concern rate hikes and the slow processing speed. Some complaints are unavailable, so you can’t read them.
Financial Strength Rating of New York Life Long-Term Care Insurance
New York Life gets an A++ from A.M. Best, which is the highest rating possible. They have plenty of resources to pay claims.
Last Thoughts
New York Life has financial strength that’s off the charts, and decent customer service reviews. There are hints that this is expensive long-term care insurance, so we would exercise caution if we were to get a quote. Be sure to shop around if you decide you want long-term care insurance so that you get a good value.
In general, we’d recommend you considering a hybrid long-term care insurance policy so that your premiums are not wasted if you end up with not needing long-term care. Below are our reviews of the top 5 hybrid long-term care insurance policies: