Knights of Columbus Long-Term Care Insurance Options

Long-term care insurance sits at the intersection of financial planning and something most people prefer not to think about: the real possibility of needing extended help with daily life. The Knights of Columbus offers long-term care coverage as part of its broader portfolio of member financial services, giving Catholic families a fraternal alternative to commercial carriers. This page explains how that coverage is structured, when it applies, and how to think about whether it fits a particular situation.

Definition and scope

Long-term care insurance pays benefits when a policyholder can no longer perform a defined number of activities of daily living — typically two out of six — without assistance, or when cognitive impairment requires substantial supervision. The six standard activities, as defined by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), are bathing, continence, dressing, eating, toileting, and transferring (moving from a bed to a chair, for example).

The Knights of Columbus offers long-term care products through its insurance arm, which is regulated as a fraternal benefit society under state fraternal insurance codes — a legal classification distinct from commercial insurance. Fraternal benefit societies can offer insurance exclusively to members and their families, which means access to Knights of Columbus long-term care coverage requires active membership in the organization. For a broader look at what the Knights of Columbus offers across financial and fraternal services, the /index provides a useful orientation.

Coverage scope typically includes benefits for care received in a nursing home, assisted living facility, or home health care setting. The distinction between facility-based and home-based benefits is more than administrative — it shapes how premiums are calculated and how benefits are triggered.

How it works

Knights of Columbus long-term care policies follow a benefit-period structure. Policyholders select a daily or monthly benefit amount at the time of application, along with a benefit period (often two, three, or five years) and an elimination period — effectively a deductible measured in days rather than dollars. A 90-day elimination period, for instance, means the policyholder covers the first 90 days of qualifying care costs out of pocket before the policy pays anything.

The policy then pays up to the selected benefit amount for covered care during the benefit period. Most policies include an inflation protection option, which matters considerably over a 20- or 30-year horizon given that the median annual cost of a private nursing home room in the United States was $108,405 in 2023 (Genworth Cost of Care Survey 2023).

Two policy structures are common in the long-term care market, and understanding the difference helps clarify what the Knights of Columbus model provides:

  1. Traditional standalone long-term care insurance — premiums are paid over time, benefits are available if care is needed, and if care is never needed, no cash value is returned. Premiums can increase over time if the insurer files for and receives regulatory approval.
  2. Hybrid or linked-benefit policies — combine a life insurance or annuity chassis with a long-term care rider. If long-term care benefits are never used, a death benefit passes to beneficiaries. Premiums are typically fixed at issue.

The Knights of Columbus has historically offered products in this space through its life insurance framework. A field agent is the primary point of contact for discussing which structure is available and appropriate for a given member's situation, as product availability varies by state.

Common scenarios

Three situations account for most long-term care insurance conversations among Knights of Columbus members:

The Knights of Columbus life insurance page covers the related product line, which often factors into the same planning conversation — particularly for members considering hybrid products that link the two.

Decision boundaries

Long-term care insurance is not universally the right tool. The NAIC guidance on long-term care planning identifies three rough categories: those with very limited assets, for whom Medicaid planning is more relevant; those with substantial assets, for whom self-funding is realistic; and the middle range, where insurance tends to provide the clearest value.

Underwriting is the practical gating factor. Long-term care coverage requires medical underwriting, and applicants with significant health conditions — diabetes with complications, heart disease, cognitive decline — may be declined or rated. Waiting too long is the most common planning error in this category.

Premium sustainability also warrants scrutiny. Traditional long-term care policies have historically been subject to rate increases as carriers misjudged claims experience in the 1990s and 2000s. The NAIC's Long-Term Care Insurance Model Regulation governs how states handle rate increase filings, but approvals are not guaranteed to be denied — they are reviewed on actuarial grounds.

The Knights of Columbus financial services framework, including annuities and investment products, may interact with long-term care planning when members consider hybrid structures or want to coordinate income streams with potential care costs. A field agent familiar with the full product portfolio is positioned to map those intersections.

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