The short answer
Yes. Genworth is a real, state licensed insurance group, and the letters it sends about long term care policies are genuine company mail. Your contract is issued by a named insurer within the group, most often Genworth Life Insurance Company, Genworth Life and Annuity Insurance Company, or Genworth Life Insurance Company of New York if your policy was written there. Those companies are regulated by the states they are domiciled and licensed in, and you can confirm the licence yourself in about a minute. If you are holding a notice about your premium going up, that notice is a normal part of how long term care insurance is regulated, not a fake.
Genworth Financial, Inc. is a publicly traded company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker GNW, with its home office in the Richmond, Virginia area, and it has filed audited annual reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission since its initial public offering was completed in May 2004.
The premium increase letter is what brings most people here
Almost everyone searching this is holding a letter about a long term care policy, and the letter says the premium is going up. That is the specific thing that makes people wonder whether the company is real. The increase is real, and so is the letter. Long term care premiums are not set once and left alone. An insurer that wants to change the rate on policies already in force has to file that request with the insurance department of the state where the policy was issued, show the actuarial support for it, and wait for a decision. States review these filings on their own timetable, some approve less than was asked for, and some require the change to be phased in over several years. Only after a state approves does the insurer send written notice to the people affected, and the new rate generally starts at the next policy anniversary rather than immediately. So the letter in your hand is the last step in a process a regulator already looked at. It arrives without warning, from a company you may not have thought about in years, which is exactly why it prompts this search.
How to check it yourself in about a minute
You should never have to take our word for it, or the company's. Every one of these is free, public, and works for any insurer you ever want to look up.
- Look up the exact company name on the letter. Your state department of insurance publishes a free licence lookup, and naic.org will point you to yours. Search the insurer name exactly as printed on your notice, such as Genworth Life Insurance Company, rather than the shorter brand name. A licensed insurer comes back immediately.
- Match the policy number to paperwork you already hold. Compare the policy or certificate number on the letter against your original policy, an annual statement, or a bank record of the premium. Letterhead is easy to imitate. A number that matches your own records is the real confirmation.
- Ask your state about the rate filing. Rate changes on in force long term care policies are filed with and reviewed by the state where your policy was issued. Your department of insurance can tell you whether an increase was filed and approved for your policy form, and many states publish that information for the public.
- Contact the company through details you found yourself. If you want to speak to someone, use the contact route printed on your own policy documents or on the company website you navigated to directly, instead of a number printed on an unexpected letter. That habit is worth keeping with any sender.
- Check financial strength independently. Insurer financial strength opinions are published by rating agencies and can be looked up free at ambest.com. That is a separate question from whether the company is licensed, and it is worth reading for yourself rather than taking anyone else's word for it.
- Read the election form and note the deadline. A notice about a premium change normally comes with a form asking you to choose. There is usually a date attached. Reading that form before the date passes is the single most useful thing you can do with the envelope.
What is actually going on
- The increase went through a state regulator first. Insurers implement rate changes on long term care policies in accordance with the laws of the state where the policy was issued. The request is filed, reviewed, and either approved, reduced, or phased in by that state. Written notice to policyholders comes after that decision, not before it.
- You are given a choice, not only a bill. When an approved increase is applied, policyholders elect either to pay the new premium in full or to adjust their benefits and offset some or all of the change. Common adjustments include a lower daily benefit, a shorter benefit period, a longer waiting period before benefits begin, or a change to inflation protection.
- A paid up style option may be available. Depending on your state and the terms of your policy, a contingent nonforfeiture option can let you stop paying premiums and keep a reduced amount of coverage instead of dropping the policy entirely. Your notice or your state department of insurance can tell you whether it applies to you.
- The life and annuity blocks closed to new sales years ago. Genworth states in its annual report that it has not actively sold its life insurance and fixed annuity products since 2016, or its variable annuity products since 2011. Those blocks are still serviced and claims on them are still paid. A company that has stopped writing new business of a given kind still owes and pays on the contracts it already issued.
- The CareScout name belongs to the same group. CareScout is the aging care business Genworth Financial has been building, and CareScout Insurance Company is listed among the subsidiaries of Genworth Financial, Inc. in the annual report it files with the Securities and Exchange Commission. If the CareScout name turns up alongside Genworth in something you receive, that shared ownership is the reason.
Common questions
Is Genworth a real insurance company?
Yes. It is a group of licensed United States insurers under a publicly traded parent that files audited financial statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Your own state department of insurance can confirm the licence of the specific company named on your policy in about a minute.
Is the Genworth premium increase letter a scam?
No, and this is the most common version of the question. A notice about a long term care premium change is genuine company mail sent after the state where your policy was issued has reviewed and approved the change. Verify it the same way you would verify anything: match the policy number to your own records and look the insurer up with your state.
Why did my long term care premium go up?
Long term care policies are written to be renewable for life, and the insurer can request a rate change on a whole class of policies if the original pricing assumptions no longer match actual experience. It is not based on your individual health or on any claim you filed. The request has to be filed with your state and approved before it reaches you.
Do I have to accept the full increase?
Not necessarily. The notice normally offers a choice between paying the new premium and keeping your current benefits, or adjusting the benefits to reduce or offset the increase. Reading the options against what the policy would actually pay is the part worth slowing down for, because both choices are permanent in practice.
My Genworth life policy or annuity was sold to me years ago. Is it still valid?
Yes. A policy already in force is a contract, and it stays in force as long as the premium is paid according to its terms. Genworth says in its annual report that it has not actively sold life insurance and fixed annuities since 2016, or variable annuities since 2011, and it continues to service those blocks and pay claims on them. Closing a product to new sales does not change what an existing policyholder is owed.
My paperwork says Genworth Life Insurance Company, not Genworth Financial. Is that wrong?
It is correct. Genworth Financial, Inc. is the publicly traded parent, and the actual contract is issued by one of the insurance companies underneath it. That is the name to use when you run a state licence lookup, and it is the entity you deal with for service and claims.
Who do I talk to if I disagree with the increase?
Start with the company using contact details from your own documents, and ask for the full list of options available on your policy form. If you want a second opinion, your state department of insurance handles questions and complaints about long term care rate changes in that state and can tell you what it approved.
How can I check that an insurance company is licensed in my state?
Every state runs a free public lookup through its department of insurance, and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners keeps a consumer portal at naic.org that points you to the right one. Search the insurer by name and you will see whether it is authorised to write business in your state. It takes about a minute and it works for any company, not just this one.
I got mail about a policy I do not remember buying. What should I do?
Do not ignore it, and do not act on the letter alone. Match the policy number on the letter against your own records first. If it matches something you hold, the mail is almost certainly a servicing notice or a rebrand notice. If nothing matches, contact the insurer using the details on your own statement or on the company website you looked up yourself, rather than a number printed on an unexpected letter. That habit protects you generally, whoever the sender is.
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This guide is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Licensing and company details change, so confirm anything important with your state department of insurance. Policy Review Center is a free comparison and referral service, not an insurance agency, insurer, or producer, and it connects you with independent licensed agents. Carrier names are used for reference only and do not imply any endorsement or affiliation.