State House Rep. Ken Croken will hold a public forum about long-term insurance where residents can share their experiences with long-term care insurance. (Photo courtesy of Ken Croken)
Kathryn McKnight, a long-time nurse and wife of Ken Croken, died in 2021 after a years-long battle with breast cancer.
After his wife’s passing, Croken contacted his long-term care insurance provider to collect on the claim, worth about $2,000. What was supposed to be a simple procedure quickly turned frustrating as Croken went back and forth with the insurance company all the while still in grief.
Croken was never able to collect on the insurance policy.
Now as a state representative from Davenport, Croken plans to hold a public forum with the Iowa Insurance Division and collect stories about people’s experiences with long-term care insurance.
“I don’t regret that I didn’t have more claims for my long-term care insurance. I was honored to spend the last years together with her,” Croken said. “But this shouldn’t happen to another family, especially a family that their long-term care insurance is an integral part of their financial plan.”
Over 75,000 people purchased individual long-term care insurance policies in 2021, according to Broker World Magazine .
Croken said unlike the long-term care insurance, he was able to claim the life insurance he had on his wife without any issues.
Consumers often buy long-term care insurance for services associated with chronic conditions that are not typically covered by normal health insurance policies like long-term care in nursing homes or assisted living facilities.
The monthly or annual rates for long-term care insurance are not set in stone and can be increased after its initial purchase.
Sonya Sellmeyer, a consumer advocate for the Iowa Insurance Division, said most complaints associated with long-term care insurance that the division receives are about the amount and frequency of rate increases.
Sellmeyer said consumers may be able to recoup some costs if there is a rate increase but it will depend on the contract they signed with the insurance company.
“It depends on the policy,” Sellmeyer said. “There might be an option to get some of their premiums back, there might be an option to get a paid-up policy, there may be an option to reduce their benefits. There’s usually several different options that they can take with regards to that rate increase.”
Consumers can file complaints against insurance companies at the Iowa Insurance Division’s website, Sellmeyer added. The division can also answer questions consumers have or facilitate communications between consumers and their insurance companies.
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Long-term insurance public forum
Sellmeyer and Croken will lead the public forum at 9 a.m. Sept. 21 at the Davenport Public Library’s Eastern Branch, 6000 Eastern Ave. The forum is an open-mic event so anyone interested in telling their story can speak at the forum.
While Croken, a Democrat, said he plans on drafting legislation about long-term care insurance, he said he will until after the forum so that he knows what issues residents have had with long-term care insurance.
Some potential legislation could be putting limits on rate increases or forcing insurance companies to refund the consumer, Croken added.
“If people are abandoning their policies due to a rate increase, I think a responsible legislator would have to say, ‘Well okay but you have to give them back the money they’ve given you plus interest,’” Croken said. “That’s not truly in the literal sense of the word abandoning the policy that’s being driven away from the policy.”
To know what protections they have, Sellmeyer said consumers really need to understand the policies they’re purchasing. Consumers should know what services the policy covers, what protections they have from rate increases or what’s needed to successfully file a claim.
“Before you buy one of these contracts, you got to understand what you’re buying,” Sellmeyer said.
Croken said while he was fine financially, he understood that many others relying on these insurance policies wouldn’t have been. He added that he encouraged those with any experiences with long-term care insurance to attend the forum and share their story.
Like others, Croken said he bought long-term care insurance to provide financial security to his family but after struggling to receive a claim after his wife’s death, he’s rethinking his decision.
“The reason I’m doing this is to try to protect my children from a financial disaster and therefore allow me to sleep better at night knowing that I’ve taken steps to protect them but now I’m wondering did I,” Croken said. “Did I take steps to protect them or did I simply shortchange their inheritance.”
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