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Member, Beacon International Group, Ltd.
Nearly 58% of group long-term care claimants are younger than 65 and the top five claims causes are cancer, stroke, neurological disease, dementia and multiple sclerosis, according to UnumProvident Corp.'s first annual "Landscape of Long Term Care" profile of claims activity.
UnumProvident's review also found that more than 66% of claimants in the under-65 age group received care at home, while 17% received care in nursing homes.
A typical LTC claim for such people lasts a year or longer. The average age of under-65 claimants is 53, with more than 15% younger than 45.
"When you say long-term care, most people think of nursing home for end-of-life care," said John Noble, director of LTC products at UnumProvident in a statement. "Our claims analysis shows that both group and individual long-term care is frequently used at much younger ages."
The findings are based on a profile of LTC claims activities. UnumProvident processed more than 3,000 group and individual LTC policies in 2005 and said it expects to process 4,000 in 2006.
The Chattanooga, Tenn.-based insurer said it holds nearly 80% of the group long-term care market excluding federal government policies and California-specific policies. The insurer says its policies cover about 550,000 working-age employees, and has about 200,000 individual LTC policies in force.