Effective October 12, 2020, Lincoln will be introducing the newest addition to its life insurance rider portfolio, the Long-Term Care Rider (LTC Rider). Only available at policy issue, at an additional cost, this rider is designed for clients who have a primary need for death benefit protection but are also concerned about long-term care expenses of covered services for temporary and permanent chronic illness. This rider will initially be made available on Lincoln VUL ONE (2019) and will replace the Lincoln Care Coverage® Accelerated Benefits Rider (CCABR) in approved states.
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Rider Highlights & Updates
- Offers access to death benefit due to a temporary or permanent chronic illness, subject to eligibility and requirements
- New! Ability for your LTC benefit to grow should your policy Death Benefit increase due to corridor
- New! Zero-day elimination period allows access to benefits sooner
- New! Addition of Transitional Care Assistance Benefit to the array of Covered Services
Rider Design
Rider Benefits:
- At policy issue, the owner will select the amount of LTC coverage up to 100% of the policy’s death benefit; subject to a minimum of $50,000
- Designed to limit the Maximum Monthly LTC Benefit Amount to $50,000. The LTC benefit cap is the total LTC benefit available with the rider, not to exceed:
- $2,500,000 for the 2% Maximum Monthly LTC Benefit Percentage
- $1,250,000 for 4% Maximum Monthly LTC Benefit Percentage
- Should your policy Death Benefit grow, the LTC coverage (LTC Benefit Pool) will also be increase proportionately up to the LTC benefit cap.
- In any policy month in which benefits are eligible to be received, the amount available is equal to the least of:
- a) the sum of costs incurred and actually paid for Covered Services for the policy month;
- b) the amount requested;
- c) the Maximum Monthly LTC Benefit Amount; or
- d) the Remaining LTC Benefit Pool
- Reimbursement of receipts will be available for the same Covered Services and now Transitional Care
- Lincoln Concierge Care Coordination will be made available to policyowners of a life policy with the LTC Rider.
- This specialized service simplifies the process and can help clients in a number of ways, including, but not limited to, filing a claim, or finding and coordinating long-term care services
- All policies issued with the LTC Rider will be automatically issued with the Living Well Endorsement in states where applicable.
- This Endorsement provides Lincoln with the flexibility to continue to add a variety of wellness care management tools and new technologies as they become available
- This Endorsement will allow for the continued offering of Lincoln Concierge Care Coordination. Click here for current availability of the Endorsement
Qualifying for Benefits:
- To be eligible for benefits, an insured must meet the following conditions:
- a) Written certification within the preceding 12‐month period from a Licensed Health Care Practitioner that the Insured is Chronically Ill
- b) A prescribed Plan of Care by a Licensed Health Care Practitioner for Covered Services is received at least every 12 months
- c) All claims forms and written notifications are submitted and satisfactory
- Chronic Illness – A state of health where the Insured:
- a) is unable to perform (without Substantial Assistance from another individual) at least 2 Activities of Daily Living:
- for a period of at least 90 days; and
- as a result of loss of functional capacity
- b) requires Substantial Supervision to protect the Insured from threats to health and safety caused by a Severe Cognitive Impairment
- a) is unable to perform (without Substantial Assistance from another individual) at least 2 Activities of Daily Living:
Agent Licensing
Most states require a health license and/or LTC continuing education to solicit and sell the LTC Rider. Failure to
secure the proper licensing credentials prior to application submission could result in a processing delay
and/or require additional client signatures.
Rider Availability and Transition
The Long-Term Care Rider will replace the Lincoln Care Coverage® Accelerated Benefits Rider (CCABR). New business applications for the LTC Rider will be accepted on October 12, 2020 in approved states. The new rider will be available in all states except for CA, DC, FL, GU, MP, MT, NJ, NY, VI.
- For states that are approved at rollout, there is a 60-day transition period which begins on October 12, 2020 and ends on December 11, 2020. Formal applications for CCABR applications must be signed, dated and received in-good-order in Lincoln’s home office by the end of the transition period to qualify.
- For pending business or policies already issued and have not been paid (no money applied), Lincoln will accept a written request and revised illustration to add the LTC Rider.
- For policies already placed, Rewrites and Internal Replacements for the purpose of adding the LTC Rider will not be allowed.
- For states approved after rollout, the above will automatically apply based on the availability date.
Important to note: Launching the new LTC Rider on Lincoln VULONE will generate a new product version – Lincoln VULONE (2019) – 10/12/20. The new product version will launch simultaneously with the LTC Rider and will apply to all policies sold with or without the rider. Please see the article below for details.