Northwestern Mutual Long-Term Care Insurance: An Expensive Yet Decent Choice – 2022 Review

Thang Truong
Thang Truong
Updated on:

Northwestern Mutual is one of the few remaining companies that still offer traditional long-term care insurance. The fact that Northwestern is a mutual company means that that earned dividends could potentially reduce your premiums. 

Northwestern Mutual, as well as every other traditional long-term care insurance company, finds it necessary to increase premiums by a lot on their LTC policies, so that they can stop hemorrhaging money on them. All of this means that current holders of long-term care insurance have several, not-very-agreeable options.

  • Pay the increased premiums and keep the policy as written
  • Reduce your level of coverage and pay the same amount
  • Contingent non-forfeiture: this allows you to keep some long-term care insurance, equal to the amount of premiums you’ve already paid. 

If you are not a current holder of a policy, the new rates are built in, although they can (and probably will) still increase. Northwestern Mutual doesn’t offer hybrid long-term care insurance policy, which has become more and more popular thanks to its combined benefits of a permanent life insurance policy with a long-term care policy. Here are the best hybrid long-term care insurance companies for your consideration.

Let’s take a look at Northwestern Mutual’s traditional long term care option. It is quite expensive yet can be a decent option with great customer service and a reputable company.

Northwestern Mutual’s Quiet Care Long-Term Care

Northwestern Mutual’s LTC is called Quiet Care. This policy pays benefits on a monthly basis, and you can choose anywhere from $1500 a month to $12,000 a month in benefits, in $100 increments. 

The elimination period is either:

  • 6 weeks
  • 12 weeks
  • 25 weeks 
  • 52 weeks

The benefit period is either 6 years (72 months) or three years (36 months). The amount of monthly benefit you choose multiplied by the benefit period is your total benefit amount, So, if you choose a monthly benefit of $2000 and a three year benefit period, your total benefit amount is $72,000.

There are a number of riders available:

  • Waiver of premium
  • Survivorship benefit
  • Return of premium

There are no shared spousal benefits, however, which is a huge drawback. 

In order to purchase Northwestern Mutual LTC insurance, you’ll have to call and speak to an agent. There is not a lot of information on the website, because they want you to call. There is also no way to secure a quote, so we can’t tell how much Northwestern’s LTC insurance is, but we would be on the expensive side. Inflation options are either 3,4, or 5%. There is no international coverage with this policy, which is important if you’re planning on retiring to a country outside the U.S. 

Like most LTC policies, coverage begins when the policy holder has trouble with two out of six activities of daily living. It can also kick in if you have a cognitive impairment, such as dementia or Alzheimer’s. 

Here are also the best traditional long-term care insurance companies.

>>MORE: A Comprehensive Guide to Long-Term Care Solutions

Consumer Complaints Ratings of Northwestern Mutual Long-Term Care Insurance

As far as life insurance goes, Northwestern scores the highest of any company on J.D. Power’s Life Insurance Study for 2019.  They scored 810 out of 1,000 points. LTC insurance and life insurance are not the same thing, but you would think the same customer service that fuels the life insurance part of the company is also apparent in the LTC division. 

The BBB gives Northwestern Mutual an A+ rating, although they are not accredited. There are 16 total complaints over the past three years, and four reviews. Three of the reviews give one star and the remaining one gives Northwestern Mutual three stars. It should be noted that none of these complaints concern long-term care insurance specifically. 

Financial Strength Rating of Northwestern Mutual Long-Term Care Insurance

A.M. Best gives Northwestern Mutual an A++ for financial strength. You can’t get a better financial strength score than that. 

Last Thoughts

Northwestern Mutual offers a decent long-term care policy, probably priced higher than average. They do have great customer service, but if you need a shared policy with your spouse, you’ll need to look elsewhere. In any case, be sure to shop around before settling on a policy.

Thang Truong
Thang Truong

Thang Truong covers small business insurance and small business success at BravoPolicy. He is a licensed P&C insurance agent. Previously, he held product leadership positions at realtor.com, Capital One, NerdWallet, and Mulberry Technology. He holds a MBA degree from UC Berkeley - Haas School of Business.

More Stories

The 5 Best Hybrid Long-Term Care Insurance Companies for 2023

If you’ve decided to plan for every eventuality, you’d be smart to include a plan to cover long-term care. Someone turning 65 this year has an almost 70% chance of needing some type of long-term care, and about 13% of those will need it for five years or more. Long-term care is expensive and can […]

Thang Truong
Thang Truong

The 3 Best Traditional Long-Term Care Insurance Companies for 2023

Long term care is something that no one likes to think about, but unfortunately, many people will eventually need. Health care costs are skyrocketing, and a lengthy stay at a long-term care facility can easily bankrupt most people’s nest eggs. Long-term care insurance is one way to protect both yourself and your retirement savings. Out […]

Thang Truong
Thang Truong

The Best Long-Term Care Insurance Companies in California for 2023

California residents who are keen to protect themselves and their families against the worst events in life may be considering long-term care insurance. However, you might not know much about LTC insurance or how it is handled in California. Let’s take a look: What is Long-Term Care Insurance? Long-term care insurance helps pay for long-term […]

Thang Truong
Thang Truong

The Best Long-Term Care Insurance Companies in Arizona for 2023

Arizona is a great place to retire. It’s warm, there’s no snow to shovel, and Arizona improves the quality of life for anyone with allergies or asthma. When you pack your bags and retire to Arizona, you’re probably not thinking about long-term care. But the sad reality is that 47% of men and 58% of […]

Thang Truong
Thang Truong

The Best Long-Term Care Insurance Companies in Florida for 2023

There’s a lot of good reasons to retire in Florida. The weather is warm, the beaches are beautiful, and there are lots of other retirees to socialize with. Also, Florida has no state income taxes, no inheritance taxes, and no estate taxes. When you pack up your things and move to Florida, you’re probably not […]

Thang Truong
Thang Truong

Mutual of Omaha Long-Term Care Insurance: Customizable & Flexible Policy – 2022 Review

Shopping around for a long-term care policy can be confusing. Mutual of Omaha offers Secure Solution for a long-term care insurance option. They also offer a Custom Solution option. Both policies offer a fair amount of flexibility, since you are able to choose how long you want your elimination period to be and you can […]

Thang Truong
Thang Truong

Transamerica Long-Term Care Insurance: A Solid Choice with Great Rates: 2022 Review

Many companies have left the long-term care insurance market. Rising health care costs, plus the invention of the hybrid long-term care/life insurance policy has resulted in many companies bailing out of long-term care insurance. If you still want a long-term care policy, Transamerica offers a fairly affordable policy with some nice features. It’s a solid […]

Thang Truong
Thang Truong

Lincoln Long-Term Care Insurance: Solid Choice with Zero Elimination Period – 2022 Review

The Lincoln long-term care insurance product is called Lincoln MoneyGuard III. It is a hybrid long-term care insurance policy, one that combines permanent life insurance with long-term care insurance. These are sometimes called linked policies. The beauty of these policies is that if you require long-term care the money is there for that, but if […]

Thang Truong
Thang Truong

Nationwide Long-Term Care Insurance: Good Rates & Indemnity Benefits – 2022 Review

You have a lot of options if you’re interested in a linked policy—a hybrid life insurance and long-term care policy. A lot of people like these types of policies because they provide long-term care benefits if you need them and a tax-free death benefit to your beneficiaries if you don’t. Nationwide offers such a hybrid product […]

Thang Truong
Thang Truong

Securian Long-Term Care Insurance: Great Price & Guaranteed Premiums – 2022 Review

The Securian long-term care insurance product is called SecureCare. It is a hybrid long-term care and life insurance policy (also called linked policies). It is a good product in the hybrid long-term care insurance market and worth of your consideration. A hybrid policy may be ideal because if you need long-term care, the money is […]

Thang Truong
Thang Truong