Should I Keep My Genworth Long Term Care Policy?

When It Makes Sense

• Good fit: You bought the Genworth policy years ago when rates and benefit designs were more generous than what is widely available today, and the premiums still fit your budget. Long-term care insurance is medically underwritten, so the policy you already own locks in your issue-age rate and health classification. If your health has changed, keeping the policy can be especially valuable because applying for new coverage now could cost far more or result in a declination. A paid-up or in-force policy also avoids the waiting periods and underwriting reviews that a new application would require.
• Good fit: The contract includes features that are now expensive or hard to find, such as a long benefit period, strong compound inflation protection, a short elimination period, or broad triggers that count home care and assisted living. If the daily or monthly benefit is meaningful in your local care market and the policy is guaranteed renewable, retaining it preserves a financial safety net that may pay out over many years. This is also true if you have a family history of extended care needs or if you want to protect a spouse’s retirement assets and lifestyle.

When You Should Avoid It

• Warning sign: The premiums have risen to a level that strains your cash flow, threatens essential retirement spending, or forces you to drain savings just to keep the policy in force. Genworth, like many long-term care insurers, has sought and received state-approved premium increases on older blocks of business. If you have already explored every in-force mitigation option and the cost is still unsustainable, continuing to pay may be poor financial planning, even if you have paid premiums for years.
• Warning sign: You can comfortably self-insure, or the policy’s design no longer matches how you would actually receive care. For example, a facility-only policy may be of little help if you expect to age in place with home-based services, and a small daily benefit without inflation protection may cover only a fraction of future costs. In these cases, the premium dollars may work harder in a dedicated care fund, a hybrid life/LTC policy, or another strategy tailored to your current preferences and net worth.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Preserved insurability: Once a Genworth policy is issued and the premium is paid, the insurer generally cannot cancel it or force you to re-qualify medically, regardless of future health changes. This guaranteed renewability is a major advantage as you age, because long-term care insurance becomes harder to obtain and new policies may exclude pre-existing conditions or charge much higher rates.
• Potentially richer benefits than new coverage: Policies sold in earlier decades often included lifetime benefits, 5 percent compound inflation riders, or unlimited benefit periods that are now priced prohibitively or no longer offered. Keeping an older Genworth contract may give you more coverage per premium dollar than anything you could buy today, assuming the benefits still fit your care plan.

Cons

• Premium increases are possible: Long-term care insurance premiums are not guaranteed forever. Genworth has raised rates on many in-force policies, and additional state-approved increases are possible. A future increase can turn an affordable policy into a burden and may force you to accept a reduced benefit just to keep some coverage.
• Benefit designs can become outdated: Your older policy may restrict benefits to nursing homes, require prior hospitalization, or lack home-care and assisted-living coverage that modern policies typically include. The daily benefit amount may also have been eroded by inflation. Replacing the policy could better match current care settings, but only if you can pass new underwriting.

Decision Checklist

• Can I pay the current premium and at least one plausible future increase without cutting essential expenses, debt obligations, or emergency savings?
• Have I compared my Genworth policy’s elimination period, inflation rider, daily benefit, and covered care settings against the cost of care in my area and against any new policy for which I could qualify?
• Have I spoken with Genworth or a licensed agent about in-force options, such as reducing the daily benefit, lowering the inflation adjustment, extending the elimination period, or using any available nonforfeiture benefit, before lapsing the coverage?

Alternatives to Consider

Before letting a Genworth policy lapse, ask whether an in-force modification can cut premiums while preserving a meaningful safety net. Common changes include lowering the daily benefit, switching from 5 percent compound to 3 percent inflation, or lengthening the elimination period. These trade-offs can make an older policy affordable again.

If you remain healthy and have substantial assets, a hybrid life-insurance/LTC or annuity/LTC policy may offer guaranteed premiums, a death benefit or return-of-premium feature, and more flexible underwriting. Self-insuring through a dedicated investment account, health savings account, or home-equity reserve is another option for those with enough wealth to absorb several years of care costs, with Medicaid serving as a backstop after a proper spend-down. Finally, some states have long-term care partnership programs; check whether your Genworth policy is partnership-qualified or whether a replacement would strengthen your Medicaid asset protection.

Final Recommendation

For most Genworth long-term care policyholders, the best default is to keep the policy if the premiums are manageable and the benefits still address realistic care needs. Lapsing an in-force policy is usually a one-way decision: once you drop coverage, getting it back or replacing it on similar terms is difficult, especially after a health change.

If premiums are becoming painful, do not simply stop paying. Instead, explore every in-force reduction option, compare the reduced benefit with a new or hybrid policy, and review the numbers with a licensed long-term care insurance agent and a fee-only financial planner or elder-law attorney. Because long-term care decisions involve insurance law, Medicaid rules, tax considerations, and family finances, personalized professional advice is essential before you make a final choice.