Section 284-83-230 - Loss ratio requirements for long-term care insurance formsThe following standards and requirements apply to long-term care insurance forms:
(1) Benefits for individual long-term care insurance forms will be deemed reasonable in relation to the premiums if the overall loss ratio is at least sixty percent over a calculating period chosen by the issuer and satisfactory to the commissioner.(2) Benefits for group long-term care insurance forms will be deemed reasonable in relation to the premiums if the overall loss ratio is at least seventy percent over a calculating period chosen by the issuer and satisfactory to the commissioner.(3) The calculating period may vary with the benefit and renewal provisions. The issuer may be required to demonstrate the reasonableness of the calculating period chosen by the actuary responsible for the premium calculations. A brief explanation of the selected calculating period must accompany the filing.(4) Policy forms, the benefits of which are particularly exposed to the effects of inflation and whose premium income may be particularly vulnerable to an eroding persistency and other similar forces, must use a relatively short calculating period reflecting the uncertainties of estimating the risks involved. (a) Policy forms based on more dependable statistics may employ a longer calculating period.(b) The calculating period may be the lifetime of the policy for guaranteed renewable and noncancellable policy forms if these forms provide benefits which are supported by reliable statistics and which are protected from inflationary or eroding forces by such factors as fixed dollar coverages, inside benefit limits, or the inherent nature of the benefits.(c) The calculating period may be as short as one year for coverages that are based on statistics of minimal reliability or which are highly exposed to inflation.(5) A request for a rate increase to be effective at the end of the calculating period must include a comparison of the actual to the expected loss ratios, must employ any accumulation of reserves in the determination of rates for the new calculating period, and must account for the maintenance of such reserves for future needs. The request for the rate increase must be further documented by the expected loss ratio for the new calculating period.(6) A request for a rate increase submitted during the calculating period must include a comparison of the actual to the expected loss ratios, a demonstration of any contributions to and support from the reserves, and must account for the maintenance of such reserves for future needs. If the experience justifies a premium increase, it will be deemed that the calculating period has prematurely been brought to an end. The rate increase must further be documented by the expected loss ratio for the next calculating period.(7) Issuers must review their experience periodically and file appropriate rate revisions in a timely manner to reduce the necessity of later filing of exceptionally large rate increases.Wash. Admin. Code § 284-83-230
Statutory Authority: RCW 48.02.060, 48.83.070, 48.83.110, 48.83.120, 48.83.130(1), and 48.83.140(4)(a). 08-24-019 (Matter No. R 2008-09), § 284-83-230, filed 11/24/08, effective 12/25/08.