By Marc Gilman
Questions? Call (800) 927-9326 or email
Key Takeaways
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EquiTrust Bridge offers true guaranteed issue — no one can be declined. Skipping underwriting (or answering yes to key health questions) places you in the “Secure” class; optional underwriting can qualify you for the more favorable “Preferred” or “Standard” class instead.
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Nationwide CareMatters Annuity uses simplified underwriting — application health questions plus a cognitive screening for applicants 70 and older, but no health interview, no attending physician statement, and no paramedical exam.
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OneAmerica’s underwriting depends on which product you’re comparing — Asset Care (a whole life policy) typically requires a ~45-minute phone health interview with cognitive screening; Annuity Care generally uses more relaxed underwriting with higher issue ages.
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Issue age ranges differ meaningfully: EquiTrust Bridge runs 55–80, Nationwide CareMatters runs 40–80, and OneAmerica’s products range from 35–80 (Asset Care) with Annuity Care’s underwriting guide capping at age 79.
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“Easier underwriting” isn’t automatically “better” — it usually trades against your benefit multiple, so the product with the simplest approval process isn’t necessarily the one that stretches your premium dollars furthest.
EquiTrust Bridge: Guaranteed Issue, With an Incentive to Underwrite Anyway
Bridge is a fixed index annuity with an attached long-term care rider, and its underwriting structure is genuinely unusual in this category: no applicant can be declined for LTC coverage, as long as the annuity itself passes standard suitability review.
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Bypass underwriting entirely, or answer “yes” to one or more of the first three of five health questions, and you’re placed in the Secure class — guaranteed approval, but the least favorable benefit multiple.
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Opt into underwriting — five health questions plus an automated risk review, and in some cases a roughly 30-minute live video assessment (ID verification, health questions, cognitive and physical screening) — and you may qualify for the more favorable Standard or Preferred class, meaning more LTC benefit per premium dollar.
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Issue ages run 55–80, with a $50,000 minimum premium.
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LTC benefits pay out monthly over 60 months, reducing the annuity’s accumulation value dollar-for-dollar, but continuing even after that value is exhausted. Annual physician certification of ADL or cognitive impairment is required to keep benefits active.
For someone who might not qualify for traditional LTC underwriting at all, Bridge’s guaranteed-issue floor is the headline feature — but it’s worth actually attempting the optional underwriting first, since declining it automatically forfeits the better rate classes.
Nationwide CareMatters Annuity: Simplified, Not Guaranteed
CareMatters Annuity sits in the middle of this comparison — meaningfully lighter underwriting than a traditional LTC policy, but not guaranteed issue like Bridge.
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Underwriting is based on application questions, with a required cognitive screening for applicants 70 and older. Nationwide is explicit that this product skips the health interview, attending physician statement, and paramedical exam that traditional underwriting typically requires.
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Issue ages run 40–80, with LTC benefit multiples varying by class and age band: Preferred class offers 3x the contract value (ages 40–74), while the Select class offers 2x (ages 75–80).
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Benefit periods differ by class too — Preferred and Select generally offer 72 months individually, Standard offers 48 months, with longer combined periods available for joint coverage (maximum age difference: 25 years for Preferred, 10 years for Standard).
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It’s a cash indemnity product with a 90-day elimination period — once approved, the full monthly benefit is paid directly to the contract owner, with no bills or receipts required.
OneAmerica: Two Products, Two Different Underwriting Paths
This is where it’s worth being precise, since “OneAmerica” actually covers two structurally different products with different underwriting profiles.
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Asset Care (a whole life policy with an LTC acceleration rider) typically requires a phone health interview of about 45 minutes, including a short-term memory cognitive screening. If more information is needed, OneAmerica may request medical records or additional exams, but many applicants are approved within 7–10 days. Issue ages run 35–80, with a maximum 25-year age difference for joint coverage.
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Annuity Care (the annuity-based version) generally uses more relaxed underwriting and higher issue ages than Asset Care, reflecting the lower guarantee risk of an annuity chassis versus permanent life insurance. OneAmerica’s own underwriting guide notes a maximum rated issue age of 79 for this product line.
OneAmerica’s Asset Care also stands out structurally regardless of underwriting: it’s the only product among these three offering an unlimited lifetime LTC benefit period, and it can accept qualified retirement funds (IRA or 401(k) rollovers) as premium — a real distinction from Bridge and CareMatters, both of which are non-qualified, cash-funded products.
What This Means When Comparing These Three
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If a client has real health concerns that could complicate traditional underwriting, EquiTrust Bridge’s guaranteed-issue floor is the most accessible starting point — though it’s worth attempting the optional underwriting anyway, since declining it locks in the lowest benefit multiple.
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If a client wants a lighter underwriting process without giving up benefit leverage entirely, Nationwide CareMatters’ simplified approach — no interview, no exam, no APS — is a reasonable middle ground, with the tradeoff of a hard age cap at 80 and no guaranteed issue.
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If lifetime benefit duration matters more than underwriting ease, OneAmerica’s Asset Care is the only one of the three offering unlimited lifetime coverage, at the cost of a more involved (though still relatively quick) underwriting process than CareMatters.
What To Do Next
Underwriting is only one piece of comparing these products — benefit multiples, elimination periods, joint coverage rules, and funding source (qualified vs. non-qualified dollars) all matter just as much once you know which underwriting path a client can realistically clear. If you’re weighing these three products for a specific situation, reach out and we’ll work through the comparison together.
Questions? Call (800) 927-9326 or email
