Nationwide CareMatters II

Nationwide CareMatters II Review – The #1 Option For Hybrid Long-term Care Insurance!

If you are looking to learn more about Nationwide long-term care insurance, look no further! Here you will find everything you need to know about their long-term care insurance called “Nationwide CareMatters.”

Now Nationwide introduced CareMatters as the first 100% cash indemnity policy on the hybrid long-term care insurance market.

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!

Even more important, Nationwide announced in June of 2023 their joint long-term care insurance for couples! As of today, couples can get joint long-term care insurance coverage on a single policy that offers 100% cash benefits!

There is no other product on the market that offers joint coverage AND 100% cash benefits spouses.

This offers you so great flexibility in how you use your benefits by allowing you to use it 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 product on the market, Securian Financial’s SecureCare.

In our example , we will compare illustrations and benefits using a male and female ages 50 for:

• an initial $2500 in monthly long-term care benefits
• a 6 year benefit period &
• a compound inflation protection option for 5% and 3% for the male and female respectively

Sample Comparisons

As we see in the table above, both companies are priced very competitively. For the male, Nationwide is slightly less expensive than Securian.

In regards to the female, Securian is priced slightly better.

In such instances where both companies provide equal levels of coverage for practically the same price, the company you choose will boil down to who has the best additional features.

Let’s look at the additional features for both companies.

As you can see, Nationwide brings more to the table when we consider additional features. This is why I would argue Nationwide CareMatters is the best long-term care insurance product of 2023 and it offers better coverage than other companies such as Securian and Lincoln Financial.

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!