Nationwide
Nationwide began as an auto insurance company but has branched out significantly since its founding more than 85 years ago. Today the company is one of the largest of its kind, offering a variety of insurance products including car, boat, life, and homeowners as well as financial services such as annuities, mutual funds, pensions, savings plans, and more. Nationwide’s policies are backed by the company’s excellent reputation and solid financials. Last but certainly not least, as a company owned by its policyholders, Nationwide’s focus is firmly on meeting its customers’ needs.
Life Insurance/Long-Term Care Hybrid Policy
While many people do still opt for a traditional long-term care insurance policy, recent years have seen rising interest in what are known as hybrid policies. Nationwide’s hybrid policy is called CareMatters and consists of a fixed-premium universal life insurance policy with long-term care coverage attached. Hybrid policies like this are designed with flexibility in mind, allowing the policyholder to put a portion of their death benefit towards long-term care while he or she is still alive. Any funds not used for this purpose will then go to their heirs as normal once the policyholder passes away. While a hybrid strategy such as this will often cost more than more traditional long-term care insurance, it also helps to ensure that policyholders are getting the most from their investment.
Notable features of Nationwide’s CareMatters policies include the ability to pay friends, family, neighbors, etc. for informal care and the fact that there are no qualifications that must be met when it comes to expenses – you receive 100% of your monthly benefit no matter what and are free to spend it on whatever you wish.
Reputation and Financial Strength
Nationwide is a financially sound company and the recipient of very good ratings from three leading independent ratings agencies: they received an A+ (superior) from A.M. Best, an A+ (strong) from Standard & Poor’s, and an A1 (good) from Moody’s Investors Service. While a company should not be judged on financial strength alone, these scores are important because they help predict the company’s ability to pay out claims in the future. Nationwide also enjoys largely favorable reviews from customers. There are some negative reviews out there, but these are fairly uncommon for a company of Nationwide’s size.
Be sure to take a look at our other articles to learn more about the various companies offering LTC insurance and LTC/life insurance hybrids. You can find further information on the benefits and drawbacks of hybrid policies in our first article on alternatives to traditional long-term care insurance. Remember – these policies and the companies that issue them can differ greatly, so it really does pay to do your research and shop around.
More Useful Links:
Pacific Life Insurance