Nationwide CareMatters II

Nationwide CareMatters II Review – The Front-Runner of Hybrid Long-term Care Insurance!

Nationwide introduced its hybrid long-term care insurance in 2013. Their long-term care insurance product is called Nationwide CareMatters.

It was the first 100% cash indemnity policy on the hybrid LTC market. Even today, the only other company offering such a benefit is Securian Financial’s SecureCare.

So what does cash indemnity benefits mean?

You see, most long-term care insurance policies pay benefits on a reimbursement basis. This means you have to submit bills or receipts of your long-term care expenses before benefits are paid.

However, with Nationwide CareMatters II Cash Indemnity Policy, there is no need for submission of bills or receipts!

Policy owners will receive a check of their monthly long-term care benefits regardless of their actual expenses!

This offers you so much flexibility in how you use your benefits. You can use your long-term care benefits however you’d like!

With that being said, let’s go over Nationwide CareMatters II in more detail to offer you a better understanding of this product.

We will also make product comparisons to its top competitor, Securian Financial’s SecureCare, so you may see how it performs.

How Does Nationwide CareMatters II Work?

Nationwide CareMatters II is a universal life insurance policy with a qualified long-term care insurance rider. This product combines both long-term care insurance and life insurance into one single policy.

This combination offers you great flexibility. For example, in the event you need long-term care, it provides long-term care benefits. However, if you never need care, the policy provides a death benefit or a return of premium option.

CareMatters II uses the life insurance policy’s death benefit while you are alive to provide you with long-term care benefits.

Once you’ve exhausted the Accelerated Death Benefit, the policy then uses a Long-term Care Extension of Benefits Rider to provide you additional coverage.

Between the Accelerated Death Benefit and the LTC Extension of Benefits Rider, CareMatters II can offer you up to 7 years of long-term care benefits and protection!

What LTC Services Does Nationwide CareMatters II Cover?

CareMatters II can cover a wide range of long-term care services. Nationwide places no restriction on how you use your benefits once you are claims eligible! Therefore covered services include:

• Home Healthcare
• Adult day care
• Assisted living
• Nursing home care
• Alternative care services
• Informal care from immediate family members
• Any LTC service existing today or developed in the future

These are some of the typical uses for benefits provided by CareMatters II.

How Do I Qualify For Nationwide CareMatters II?

If you are between the ages of 30-75, you can apply for a policy. Approval for Nationwide CareMatters II is subject to underwriting and underwriting requirements.

The rate classes for CareMatters II are Single non-tobacco or tobacco use and Couples non-tobacco or tobacco use.

How Is Nationwide CareMatters II Funded?

CareMatters II offers a range of premium payment options including:

• Single pay premium option
• 10-pay premium option
• Premium payments to age 65 (subject to age limits)
• Premium payments to age 100 (subject to age limits)

CareMatters II also offers you the option to pay a larger lump-sum premium at the time the policy is issued followed by smaller recurring premiums.

The recurring premiums can be for a period of 5 years, 10 years, to attained age 65, or to attained age 100. The amount and timing of premium payments are fixed an will be determined at policy issue.

This option works well if you wanted to do a 1035 exchange or transfer but the funds are not enough to buy a sufficient policy for your needs.

How Does Nationwide CareMatters II Pay Benefits?

Again, Nationwide CareMatters II pays a monthly LTC benefit check directly to the policyowner once the insured is eligible for claims. As a Cash Indemnity Policy, there is no requirement for you to submit bills or receipts of the long-term care expenses you incurred.

Here’s how it works:

• Nationwide will determine if you meet the policy’s long-term care claims requirements
• Once eligibility requirements are met and the elimination period is satisfied, Nationwide will begin sending you your monthly benefit payments

Your monthly benefits are paid to you at a set dollar amount based on the maximum LTC benefit you qualify for in your policy.

Once again, this is a great feature as it allows you to use your benefit payments however you desire! For example, you can use your benefits to pay a relative to provide informal care. That is the added flexibility that can only be provided by a cash indemnity policy!

Key Features of Nationwide CareMatters II

Elimination Period (Retroactive Payments)

Nationwide CareMatters II is even more unique as it pays you retroactive long-term care benefits for the elimination period!

Once the 90-day elimination period is met, long-term care benefits will be paid to you for those 90-days. In addition, you will be paid your benefits for the first month after your elimination period.

Guaranteed Minimum Death Benefit

Nationwide CareMatters II offers a very competitive guaranteed minimum death benefit. The guaranteed minimum death benefit is typically 20% of the specified amount, assuming there were no loans or partial surrenders in the policy. The specified amount is the amount used to determine LTC benefits and the death benefit in a policy.

Index Inflation Protection Option

CareMatters II is very unique as it is the only hybrid that offers a U.S. Medical Care Inflation Option. This is an index rate inflation protection option as oppose to a fixed 3% or 5% inflation protection option.

Under this option, the maximum monthly LTC Inflation Benefit Rider Amount will be based on the greater of the performance of a Reference Index (subject to a floor rate of 0% and a cap rate of 6%) and a fixed LTC Rollup Inflation rate of 2%.

The Reference Index is currently the Medical Care Component of the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, Unadjusted.

How Does Nationwide CareMatters II Compare To Other Hybrid LTC Policies

Now Nationwide CareMatters II was quite competitive in the past and has now become even more competitive in today’s LTC market.

Now when comparing hybrid policies, it is important to review the following 5 categories:

1. Long-Term Care Benefit Pool (LTC Benefit Amount)
2. Benefit Periods
3. Elimination Periods
4. Inflation Protection Options
5. Premium Payment Options

(For a description of these 5 categories and how they affect a Hybrid-LTC Insurance policy, please read our post “5 Things to Review In Every Hybrid Long-term Care Policy.”)

Now CareMatters II already offers standard or exceptional performance in 4 of the 5 categories: Benefit Period, Elimination Period, Inflation Protection Option, and Premium Payment Options.

Therefore, the last remaining category and the most important one to consider when comparing policies is the Long-Term Care Benefit Pool.

Let’s see how CareMatters II compares to another well known hybrid on the market, Securian Financial’s SecureCare.

Let’s do this even more so now since both Nationwide CareMatters and Securian Financial’s SecureCare have experienced changes.

In our example , we will compare illustrations and benefits. We will use the reasonable age of 60 for both a married male and female considering a policy for our comparison.

Nationwide CareMatters Illustration Married Male Age 60

Here is a CareMatters illustration for a married male:

• Age 60
• For $70,000
• 6-year benefit period
• 5% compound inflation

Now here is what we gather from this illustration:

Initial Benefits	Benefits at Age 80 (5% compound inflation option)
Monthly benefits: $2,565	Monthly Benefits: $6,805
Total Benefit Pool: $209,342	Total Benefit Pool: $555,446

In the table above, we see the level of coverage Nationwide CareMatters will provide. The 5% compound inflation option grows the policy’s benefit pool over time.

Now let’s look at a  Securian Financial’s SecureCare illustration using the same variables.

Securian Financial’s SecureCare III Illustration Married Male Age 60

Here is an illustration from Securian for a married male:

• Age 60
• For $70,000
• 6-year benefit period
• 5% compound inflation

Here is what we gather from the Securian illustration:

Initial Benefits	Benefits at Age 80 (5% compound inflation option)
Monthly benefits: $2,150	Monthly Benefits: $5,705
Total Benefit Pool: $175,513	Total Benefit Pool: $465,688

Now that we see what Securian offers, let’s see how the two products compare for the married male age 60.

Comparison – Nationwide CareMatters vs. SecureCare for Married Male Age 60

The offers between Nationwide CareMatters and Securian are not even close. For the same $70,000 in premium, a married male age 60 can get $90,000 more in long-term care benefits from Nationwide CareMatters.

In addition, unlike Securian Financial’s SecureCare, Nationwide CareMatters also offers a retroactive payment for the elimination period. That’s more money in your pocket.

Nationwide CareMatters also offers the highest guaranteed minimum death benefit. This the benefit your loved ones receive if you exhaust your long-term care benefits.

Nationwide offers a guaranteed minimum death benefit $12,310 while Securian Financial’s SecureCare offers a minimum guaranteed death benefit of less than half that amount, $5,161.

If you are married male age 60, you should definitely place your attentions on Nationwide CareMatters!

Now lets at a comparison for the married female age 60.

Nationwide CareMatters Illustration Married Female Age 60

So here is a CareMatters illustration for a married female:

• Age 60
• For $70,000
• 6-year benefit period
• 3% compound inflation

These are the numbers from the Nationwide CareMatters illustration:

Initial Benefits	Benefits at Age 80 (3% compound inflation option)
Monthly benefits: $2,968	Monthly Benefits: $5,361
Total Benefit Pool: $230,404	Total Benefit Pool: $416,135

We see the level of coverage being provided by Nationwide CareMatters. The 3% compound inflation grows the benefits over time.

Now let us look at what Securian Financial’s SecureCare can offer using the same variables.

Securian’s SecureCare Illustration Married Female Age 60

Here what Securian’s SecureCare offers a married female:

• Age 60
• For $70,000
• 6-year benefit period
• 3% compound inflation option

Let’s look at the values from our SecureCare illustration:

Initial Benefits	Benefits at Age 80 (3% compound inflation option)
Monthly benefits: $2,934	Monthly Benefits: $5,299
Total Benefit Pool: $227,769	Total Benefit Pool: $411,375

Now that we have the numbers from the Securian illustration, let’s do our comparison for the married female age 60.

Comparison – Nationwide CareMatters vs. SecureCare for Married Female Age 60

So when we look at our comparison graphic above, we see that the numbers are pretty close. Nevertheless, Nationwide CareMatters still offers the higher long-term care benefit pool at age 80.

Therefore, if you are a married female age 60, Nationwide CareMatters is definitely the product to consider if you are looking at obtaining the highest long-term care benefit pool with cash indemnity benefits.

In addition, we can’t simply forget the other benefits Nationwide CareMatters brings to the table. They offer retroactive payments for the elimination period. Upon completion of the 90-day elimination period, Nationwide will pay benefits for the first 90-days retroactively. That’s more benefits available to you!

In addition, Nationwide CareMatters offers the highest minimum death benefit. This is the death benefit available to your beneficiaries after you have exhausted long-term care benefits. Nationwide CareMatters offers more than twice the minimum guaranteed death benefit than SecureCare (Nationwide’s $14,214 compared to SecureCare’s $7,043).

If you are a married male or female considering long-term care insurance, I would strongly encourage you to take a look at Nationwide CareMatters!

Nationwide CareMatters Is A Clear Front-Runner

When we are talking hybrid long-term care insurance, we must include Nationwide CareMatters in the conversation. It offers a ton of benefits and is currently leading its competitors in the hybrid long-term care insurance marketplace.

If you are looking for hybrid long-term care insurance, you need to compare all your quotes from other carriers to a Nationwide CareMatters quote. No if’s, and’s, or but’s!

This will help ensure you are getting yourself the best coverage and you will not be doing yourself a disservice.

That being said, if you need assistance with long-term care insurance I am here to help!

Get Free Quotes Today!

I have access to all available long-term care insurance companies. I am also licensed to sell insurance across the country.

Feel free to give me a call now at 1(800) 498-3955 or schedule a call below. I look forward to speaking with you!