Long-Term Care Insurance Premiums Up 40%: Keep, Drop, or Switch? The 2026 Decision Guide

# Long-Term Care Insurance Premiums Up 40%: Keep, Drop, or Switch? The 2026 Decision Guide

> **Quick answer:** Long-term care insurance premiums are rising 30-40% for many policyholders in 2026, with cumulative increases since 2019 exceeding 50% for more than 17,000 policyholders in Connecticut alone. The market has shrunk from 100+ carriers to fewer than 12. Nursing home costs average $114,975 per year. Policyholders facing rate hikes have three options: pay the new premium, reduce benefits to hold the old rate, or exit and explore hybrid life/LTC policies. This guide walks through each scenario with specific decision criteria.

> **This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or insurance advice. Consult a licensed insurance advisor or financial planner for decisions specific to your situation.**

Long-term care insurance premiums rising 2026 is not a new headline — it is a multi-decade failure arriving at your mailbox. Across the United States, policyholders who bought coverage 10, 20, or 30 years ago are receiving notices of 30-40% premium increases. One Connecticut woman watched her monthly payment climb from $85.50 in 1994 to $838.46 today — a roughly tenfold increase. Meanwhile, the insurers selling these products keep exiting the market, the federal government just reversed nursing home staffing standards, and the cost of the care you actually need keeps rising. Here is what is actually happening and what to do about it.

## The LTC Insurance Market Is in Structural Collapse

The long-term care insurance industry's problems stem from a fundamental actuarial miscalculation made in the 1990s and 2000s. Insurers priced policies assuming that most people would not need care for long, that investment returns would be high, and that many policyholders would lapse their coverage before filing claims. All three assumptions proved wrong.