Transamerica Long-Term Care Insurance: What Policyholders Need to Know in 2026

Transamerica was once one of the largest long-term care insurers in the United States. The company announced it would stop selling standalone individual LTC policies in January 2021 and exited the market in summer 2021 — but continues to manage its in-force block of TransCare, TransGeneration, and "Legacy" policies. If you hold a Transamerica LTC policy, here is what the company's current situation means for your planning and your options when the next rate hike notice arrives.

Why Transamerica left the standalone LTC market

Transamerica's 2021 exit from standalone individual LTC insurance reflected the same actuarial reckoning that pushed dozens of carriers out of the market over the prior three decades. The company's TransCare product line — sold heavily throughout the 1990s and 2000s — was priced on assumptions that proved materially wrong in three compounding ways:

1. Policyholders lived longer and claimed more than projected. Actuarial models from that era underestimated longevity and care duration. More policyholders reached claim age — and needed care for longer — than the pricing models anticipated.
2. Investment returns collapsed below pricing assumptions. LTC insurance reserves are held in investment-grade fixed income. When interest rates fell to near-zero and remained depressed for a decade, the return assumptions embedded in TransCare's original pricing evaporated. A gap opened between projected investment income and what Transamerica could actually earn on reserves.
3. The wrong policyholders lapsed. Original pricing assumed a significant percentage of policyholders would cancel their policies — particularly healthy people who reassessed the trade-off as they aged. Instead, the policyholders most likely to file claims kept their policies, while healthy lower-risk policyholders were the ones who lapsed. This adverse selection left Transamerica's in-force block skewed toward higher-risk policyholders, compressing the loss ratio further.

Transamerica's parent company, Aegon N.V. — a Dutch global financial services conglomerate — determined in 2021 that the risk profile of continued LTC policy sales made it impractical to remain competitive in the standalone market. The company will continue to honor all existing TransCare and TransGeneration policies as long as policyholders pay premiums (policies are guaranteed-renewable and cannot be cancelled by the carrier). But the price of those premiums remains subject to ongoing state-approved rate filings.

Transamerica LTC rate increase history

Transamerica's closed-block LTC policies have faced a pattern of ongoing rate increases, accelerating as the in-force block ages and claims experience continues to unfold. Key documented increases include:

• April 2023: Transamerica filed for a 70% rate increase on a group of individual LTC policies (TransCare, TransGeneration, and Legacy product lines) in Connecticut. Approximately 7,034 policies were affected in that state alone. Similar filings were submitted across other states where phased implementation is typically required for increases above 20%.¹
• 2024–2025 phased increases: Under Connecticut law and comparable statutes in many states, LTC rate increases of 20% or more must be phased over three or more years. Policyholders who received the 2023-filed increases began absorbing them in stages — one Connecticut policyholder's example shows two-policy annual premiums rising from $7,038 in 2024 to $7,656 / $8,326 / $9,056 for 2025, 2026, and 2027, respectively.³
• June 1, 2025 effective date: A further rate increase notice sent to policyholders in February 2025 carried an effective date of June 1, 2025. This was a separate rate action from the 2023 filings, indicating the rate increase cycle is ongoing rather than a one-time correction.¹

Transamerica does not publish an aggregate cumulative rate increase figure (unlike Genworth, which discloses cumulative NPV-basis approved increases in quarterly earnings). The actual experience varies significantly by state, policy vintage (TransCare I, TransCare II, TransCare III, and TransGeneration are all separate policy series), and benefit design. Policyholders with older policies and generous compound inflation protection have typically seen the largest cumulative increases, because those policies are the most actuarially underpriced relative to claims exposure.

Transamerica's financial strength rating in 2026

AM Best rates Transamerica Life Insurance Company at A (Excellent).² This places Transamerica in a stronger financial position than Genworth Life Insurance Company (rated B++, "Good") but below John Hancock Life and Health Insurance Company (rated A+, "Superior").

An A rating reflects AM Best's assessment that Transamerica Life Insurance Company has an excellent ability to meet its ongoing insurance obligations. Transamerica's parent, Aegon N.V., is a global financial services company headquartered in the Netherlands with substantial capital resources. The Aegon parentage provides organizational and capital depth that is not available to standalone U.S. carriers in run-off — a meaningful distinction compared to a company like Genworth Financial, which operates without a major global parent.

Importantly, the A rating reflects financial strength, not pricing adequacy. A company can hold an A rating while simultaneously having an actuarially underpriced in-force LTC block that generates ongoing rate increases. The mechanism for managing the gap is premium increases, not insolvency. Policyholders should interpret the A rating as a positive signal for claims payment capacity — not as an indicator that the rate increase cycle is finished.

Is Transamerica writing new individual LTC policies in 2026?

No. Transamerica Life Insurance Company stopped accepting new applications for standalone individual long-term care insurance policies in summer 2021 after announcing its exit in January 2021.⁴ If an agent presents you with a "Transamerica LTC quote" for a new standalone policy, they are either working with outdated information or discussing a product that does not exist.

Transamerica did not exit the long-term care protection market entirely. The company continues to offer LTC riders that attach to life insurance and annuity products — essentially the hybrid model that pairs life insurance or an annuity chassis with LTC benefits. These are structurally different from the TransCare/TransGeneration standalone policies: premiums are contractually fixed, benefits are an acceleration of the death benefit or annuity value, and there is no standalone policy to hike. See below for more context on how these riders compare to standalone coverage.

Transamerica's current LTC-adjacent alternatives

For policyholders evaluating a 1035 exchange out of a TransCare policy, or for those who were declined for standalone LTC coverage and are exploring alternatives, the landscape includes both Transamerica's own riders and independent carriers:

Transamerica life insurance LTC riders

Transamerica's current life insurance products include chronic illness accelerated death benefit (ADB) riders under IRC §101(g) — not dedicated LTC insurance under IRC §7702B. This distinction matters significantly for policyholders coming from standalone LTC coverage:

• §101(g) chronic illness riders require a permanent condition. Unlike standalone §7702B LTC policies — where a 90-day expected inability to perform 2 of 6 ADLs qualifies — §101(g) ADB riders require a physician to certify the condition is expected to be permanent. Recoverable events (hip fracture recovery, temporary stroke rehabilitation) may not trigger §101(g) benefits even though they would trigger a §7702B LTC policy.
• Benefits reduce the death benefit dollar-for-dollar. Accessing the LTC/chronic illness benefit reduces what heirs will inherit proportionally. There is no separate LTC benefit pool that runs independently of the life insurance face amount.
• No inflation protection is typical. Standalone LTC policies with compound inflation riders grow their daily benefit over time. Chronic illness riders typically do not — the acceleration amount is based on the original death benefit face amount, which erodes in real terms as care costs rise.

For a full comparison of §101(g) chronic illness riders versus §7702B standalone LTC coverage, see our chronic illness rider vs. LTC insurance guide.

Independent hybrid alternatives

If you are considering replacing a TransCare policy or supplementing reduced coverage, the active hybrid LTC market in 2026 includes products with standalone §7702B benefit design rather than §101(g) acceleration. The main carriers are Lincoln Financial (MoneyGuard III), OneAmerica (Asset-Care), Pacific Life (PremierCare Max), and Nationwide — all with A-range AM Best ratings and contractually fixed premiums. See our hybrid LTC insurance guide for a detailed analysis of who these products fit and who is better served by traditional coverage or self-funding.

Your options as a current Transamerica LTC policyholder

When you receive a rate increase notice from Transamerica — whether for the 2023-filed increases still phasing in or future filings — you typically have four options. The right choice depends on your policy's current benefit design, how much inflation protection has accrued, your age, your health, and your overall financial plan. Our LTC premium increase guide covers the full framework; below are the Transamerica-specific considerations.

Option 1: Pay the increased premium

This is frequently the right choice when your policy has substantial accumulated value — particularly compound inflation protection that has been growing your daily benefit for 15–25 years. A TransCare policy issued in the early 2000s with 5% compound inflation protection has roughly doubled or tripled its original daily benefit in nominal terms. That coverage cannot be replicated in today's market at any price: the current traditional LTC market does not offer unlimited or extended benefit periods with 5% compound inflation at premiums comparable to legacy policy pricing.

Transamerica context: The A rating means the policy is backed by a financially sound carrier with Aegon's global capital support. If the primary concern driving your reconsideration is carrier financial risk, Transamerica's position is meaningfully stronger than some other closed-block carriers. The rate increase is a pricing correction, not a solvency signal.

Option 2: Reduce benefits to hold the premium flat

Transamerica typically offers benefit reduction options — shortening the benefit period, reducing the daily benefit amount, or eliminating or reducing the inflation protection rider — to offset the premium increase. The same principles apply as with any carrier, with one critical Transamerica-specific caution:

Do not strip compound inflation from an old policy to save premium dollars today. A TransCare policy issued in 2001 with a daily benefit that has grown at 5% compound for 24 years now pays substantially more than the nominal face amount — potentially $400–$500/day or more. Eliminating the inflation rider freezes that benefit at today's nominal level forever. If you claim in 2040, you collect in 2001 dollars. If you must reduce something to stay within budget, shorten the benefit period first — not the inflation rider. See our inflation protection guide for the compounding math.

Option 3: Execute a 1035 exchange into a hybrid product

If you hold a non-qualified annuity or a paid-up life insurance policy with substantial cash value, a §1035 exchange allows you to convert those assets into a hybrid life+LTC product — such as Lincoln MoneyGuard, OneAmerica Asset-Care, or Pacific Life PremierCare Max — without triggering income tax on the accumulated gain. This replaces the rate-hike-exposed TransCare policy with a product that has contractually fixed premiums and a death benefit if care is never needed.

The limitation: a §1035 exchange requires existing cash value in eligible financial assets. It is not available simply by paying ongoing premiums into the new product. If you don't have a qualifying annuity or life insurance policy with embedded gains, the 1035 pathway is closed to you.

Option 4: Drop the policy

Dropping coverage makes sense only in limited circumstances: you have enough assets to genuinely self-fund long-term care costs from your own reserves ($1.5M–$2M+ for singles, $2M–$3M+ for couples under most care cost scenarios), or the policy has been reduced through prior benefit adjustments to the point where the remaining coverage provides minimal economic protection relative to the premiums you continue to pay.

Most people who kept their TransCare policies through multiple rate increase rounds specifically kept them because they lack the self-fund assets. Dropping forfeits all accumulated premiums and the inflation-adjusted benefit pool you've been building for decades. If you have $2M+ in liquid assets and are genuinely weighing this option, read our self-fund LTC guide first — the break-even math deserves careful modeling before you cancel.

Comparing Transamerica, Genworth, and John Hancock for existing policyholders

All three companies represent the same general situation — closed-block traditional LTC carriers managing legacy policies while filing for ongoing rate increases — but with meaningful differences in financial strength and future product landscape:

On financial strength, Transamerica sits between Genworth and John Hancock: stronger than Genworth's standalone position, but without the Manulife-tier capital backing that supports John Hancock's A+ rating. For long-term policyholders making a hold-or-exit decision, this matters — the A rating reduces (though does not eliminate) tail-scenario carrier risk relative to a B++ carrier. For all three, the core dynamic is identical: ongoing rate increases on a closed book with no new premium income to offset mounting claims.

For Genworth-specific guidance, see our Genworth LTC guide. For John Hancock-specific guidance, see our John Hancock LTC guide.

What a fee-only advisor does with a TransCare policy

The central question for most Transamerica policyholders facing a rate hike is the same as for any closed-block carrier: given what I've paid, what I'd pay at the new rate, and what I'd receive, does this policy still make sense as part of my LTC plan? That analysis requires:

• Calculating the current inflation-adjusted benefit value — what your daily benefit has grown to after years of compounding, and what that's worth in today's care cost environment
• Projecting total lifetime premiums at the new rate versus expected benefit payout using claim probability and care cost projections
• Modeling the self-fund crossover: how much in liquid reserves would produce equivalent LTC protection without the policy?
• Evaluating hybrid alternatives: what does a comparable hybrid product from Lincoln, OneAmerica, or Pacific Life cost at your current age and health status?
• Assessing Medicaid fallback exposure: what happens to your finances if you drop coverage and eventually exhaust assets in a long care scenario?

A commissioned agent earns nothing from a hold/pay recommendation and earns a substantial first-year commission — typically 50–100%+ of premium — from a new product sale. The conflict is structural, not individual. A fee-only advisor charges for the analysis itself and earns nothing from the recommendation, including if the recommendation is to pay the increased Transamerica premium and keep the policy. See our carrier comparison guide for context on the current market.

1. Transamerica LTC rate increase filings: Connecticut Insurance Department searchable archive; April 2023 rate filing for 70% increase on individual LTC policies (TransCare, TransGeneration, Legacy); approximately 7,034 in-force policies affected in Connecticut. Transamerica policyholder letter dated February 12, 2025 with rate increase effective June 1, 2025. portal.ct.gov
2. AM Best rating: AM Best rates Transamerica Life Insurance Company at A (Excellent) as of 2026. Verify current rating at ambest.com
3. Policyholder rate increase experience: CT Mirror, February 2025 — example of Connecticut policyholder absorbing phased Transamerica increases: $7,038 (2024), $7,656 (2025), $8,326 (2026), $9,056 (2027). ctmirror.org
4. Transamerica exit from standalone LTC market: S&P Global Market Intelligence, 2021 — Transamerica (Aegon N.V.) announced discontinuation of TransCare standalone individual LTC insurance in January 2021; ceased accepting new applications in summer 2021. spglobal.com
5. HIPAA per diem and LTC benefit triggers: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-28 (2026 per diem limit $430/day); IRC §7702B (LTC insurance definition, benefit triggers); IRC §101(g) (chronic illness accelerated death benefits); values verified against 2026 rules.

Rate increase figures verified as of June 2026. AM Best ratings are subject to change; verify current rating at ambest.com before making coverage decisions.