Several insurers are marketing life insurance products with long-term care riders on a voluntary basis to employer groups in most states.

While most insurers offer the riders only in conjunction with either whole life or universal life insurance, Transamerica Employee Benefits recently began offering them on term life insurance contracts, said Richard Kendrick, vice president of national accounts for the Western states.

The Transamerica Life Insurance Co. unit introduced long-term care riders about 20 years ago on group universal life products; about five years ago with whole life; and in the past year with five-10- and 20-year term contracts, he said.

Transamerica also offers 24-month extension riders, which effectively double the duration of the benefit; and restoration riders, which enable employees' beneficiaries to still receive at least a portion of the contract's death benefit after it has been used to cover long-term care expenses.

He said the basic cost of the policy varies by age and amount of coverage purchased. For example, the price for this policy with $100,000 in coverage is about $85 per month for a 40-year-old nonsmoker, he said. By contrast, a 10-year level term product with similar benefits would cost about half that much, he said.

Guaranteed issue is available to employer groups with 100 or more employees, Mr. Kendrick said. The products also are portable.

Allstate Benefits has been offering two riders in conjunction with its universal life products sold to employer groups since 2010, said Greg Guidos, president of the Allstate Corp. subsidiary in Jacksonville, Fla. The first rider pays 4% of the death benefit per month for up to 25 months for individuals confined to nursing homes or who are disabled and receive at least four home health care visits per month. The second rider starts after the first one ends.

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“If someone buys both riders, they could get up to twice the death benefit,” Mr. Guidos said.

The cost of the coverage varies based on the employee's age at the time it is purchased, he said. For example, a 40-year-old nonsmoker would pay $16.50 per week for a basic $100,000 universal life policy, with the single rider adding a minimum of 4% to that cost, or up to a maximum of 24% more if both riders are purchased.

Allstate Benefits provides guaranteed issue to groups with 1,000 or more employees, but “contingent guarantee issue,” which requires that applicants answer three health-related questions, is available to groups with 50 to 1,000 employees, Mr. Guidos said. The questions are whether the individual has tested positive for HIV or AIDS, been hospitalized in the past six months and whether they are working. Its group universal life policy with a long-term care rider is available to employers in 42 jurisdictions.

Although ING U.S. doesn't offer group life insurance with the riders, it does sell individual products to firms with 250 or more employees, said Lydia Jilek, vice president of voluntary benefits and strategy in Minneapolis.

“We do have an LTC rider available on the individual whole life product that is available in all but 11 states,” she said.

The policy pays 4% of the death benefit for 25 months if the covered individual is confined to a long-term care facility, or 2% of the death benefit for up to 50 months if the person receives home health care or adult day care.

The minimum coverage that can be purchased is $12,500, while the maximum is $250,000. Premiums start at $4 per week, she said.