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Penn Treaty May Need More Than $1 Billion for Claims
Many long-term care insurance agents have clients who they placed with Penn Treaty and others have asked to be kept aprised. I thought the following would be of interest and value.
Jesse Slome
American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance
Summarized from a Bloomberg Report: Penn Treaty Network American Insurance Co., facing the biggest insurer failure in at least five years, may need more than $1 billion in additional funds to pay claims, a state regulator said.
Penn Treaty “is far more insolvent than originally believed,” Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Joel Ario’s office said in an Oct. 2 request for liquidation. Penn Treaty American Corp., the Allentown, Pennsylvania-based parent of the insurer, included the document in a regulatory filing yesterday.
Sellers of long-term care coverage, including Penn Treaty, suffered after underestimating expenses, while the broader life insurance industry has reported losses on declines in stocks and bonds. Penn Treaty, with about 120,000 customers, was hurt by investment losses in the recession and “seriously under- reserved” for claims in previous years, the regulator said.
“It’s potentially a big deficit mostly that will come from guarantee funds,”a spokeswoman for Ario’s office, said in an interview. Policyholders pay Penn Treaty about $249 million in annual premium for coverage, and the regulator ruled out using rate increases to bridge the potential $1.3 billion gap between assets and future claims. That deficit will be left to state guaranty funds, which are funded by solvent insurers.
Penn Treaty is among at least eight carriers in the U.S. facing forced rehabilitation or liquidation by regulators this year, according to data collected by the National Organization of Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Associations. That compares with four in 2008.
Ario, who seized Penn Treaty in January, didn’t find an insurer to purchase or assume any of its policies. According to Nolhga, Penn Treaty has about $1 billion in assets. Cash from premiums will be sufficient to pay claims for several years, Placey of the Pennsylvania regulator said.
“There’s enough money to pay claims going forward and get the guaranty associations ready for the transition,” Placey said. Guaranty funds are used to pay claims when regulated insurers are unable to meet obligations. Penn Treaty policies will remain active for customers who continue to pay premiums. A state court will weigh Ario’s request to liquidate the company, his office said in statement last week.
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Pennsylvania Insurance Department Petitions to Place Penn Treaty Into Liquidation
October 2, 2009. The Pennsylvania Insurance Department today filed petitions that seek orders of liquidation for Penn Treaty Network America Insurance Company and its subsidiary, American Network Insurance Company. The petitions are subject to the approval of Commonwealth Court.
“We have been on-site analyzing the organizations’ assets, liabilities, reserves and surpluses since we began our rehabilitation action in January,” Insurance Commissioner Joel Ario said. “Our comprehensive, independent evaluation has determined that the companies do not have the ability to pay future claims without significant rate increases that would have to be requested and approved in all 50 states. In the current circumstances, those rate increases simply would not be fair to policyholders.
“We have instead petitioned for an orderly liquidation of all company assets in which policyholders’ claim payments are our number one priority. Additionally, active long-term care policies will not be canceled, except by the policyholder, so they will be transitioned to the states’ guaranty funds once an order takes effect. Guaranty funds have the right to assess other insurance companies to cover policyholder claims up to coverage limits that vary by state.”
Penn Treaty Network America, headquartered in Allentown, and its subsidiary, American Network, provide long-term care insurance to more than 120,000 policyholders.
Together, the companies offered long-term care insurance in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Policyholders and other interested parties will receive further information about the liquidation when the court enters an order. In the interim, long term care insurance policyholders with questions on claims or non-claim matters may email their questions.
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