By Marc Gilman
(800) 927-9326 |
Once you’ve decided a hybrid life-insurance-based LTC product fits your goals better than an annuity-based one or a traditional standalone policy, the next question is which carrier’s version actually fits. Three names come up constantly in that conversation — OneAmerica Asset Care, Lincoln MoneyGuard III, and Securian SecureCare III — and each one is genuinely built around a different priority, not just a different brand.
Key Takeaways:
-
OneAmerica Asset Care is the only one of the three that offers a lifetime, unlimited benefit period. The other two cap benefit duration — Lincoln commonly at 3 to 7 years, Securian at 4 to 8 years — which matters most if you’re specifically worried about a long-duration claim like dementia.
-
Lincoln MoneyGuard III’s defining feature is a 0-day elimination period — a real standout, since most hybrid LTC products, including both of the others compared here, use a 90-day elimination period instead.
-
Securian SecureCare III pays 100% cash indemnity and has a documented history of aggressive, competitive pricing among cash-indemnity hybrid products, including a public 25% rate reduction in 2023 — though Nationwide and Lincoln both cut rates in response later that year, narrowing the gap.
-
Joint-policy availability splits two ways, not evenly across all three. OneAmerica Asset Care offers a genuine joint-life policy. Both Lincoln MoneyGuard III and Securian SecureCare III are single-life only — Securian still offers a couples discount on two separate policies, but not one shared contract.
-
Payment method isn’t a clean three-way split anymore. Securian is cash indemnity; OneAmerica Asset Care now offers a choice between cash indemnity and reimbursement (added in 2024); Lincoln’s newest version added an optional 80% cash indemnity choice on top of its traditional reimbursement model.
-
All three are legitimate, highly-rated carriers — this isn’t a “best vs. worst” comparison, it’s a “which specific guarantee matters most to you” comparison.
OneAmerica Asset Care: Built for Duration Risk
Asset Care’s defining feature is its optional lifetime, unlimited benefit period — the only one of these three carriers that offers it. Most hybrid LTC products, including both alternatives here, are built with a capped benefit period specifically to limit the insurer’s own exposure to an unusually long claim. Asset Care takes the opposite approach: if you need care for two years or twenty, the benefit doesn’t run out. It can also be issued as a single joint-life policy covering two people, and since 2024 it’s offered a choice between cash indemnity and reimbursement payment methods, not just reimbursement. The trade-off is that this level of protection is a genuinely different product design than a capped-duration policy, and it’s worth comparing the real premium difference on an actual illustration rather than assuming lifetime coverage costs a fixed percentage more.
Lincoln MoneyGuard III: Built for Immediate Access
Lincoln’s standout feature is a 0-day elimination period — once you’re certified as chronically ill, benefits can begin immediately, with no waiting period to satisfy first. That’s a genuine advantage over most of the category, including Securian, which uses the more typical 90-day elimination period. MoneyGuard III’s benefit periods run 3 to 7 years, and its newest version, MoneyGuard Fixed Advantage, added an optional 80% cash indemnity choice alongside its traditional reimbursement model — though that election is irrevocable once made, and choosing cash indemnity caps your monthly amount at 80% of what the reimbursement option would have paid. Return of premium options commonly run 70% to 100% depending on the specific option and vesting schedule selected. One structural gap worth knowing about if you’re shopping as a couple: MoneyGuard III is single-life only, with no joint-life policy option — a genuine difference from Asset Care, which can cover two people under one contract.
Securian SecureCare III: Built for Value in a Cash-Indemnity Structure
SecureCare III pays 100% cash indemnity — a flat monthly benefit with no receipts required, usable for formal care providers or informal caregivers, including family members. It’s built on a whole life insurance chassis (a change from earlier SecureCare versions, which used universal life), carries a 90-day elimination period, and offers benefit periods from 4 to 8 years. Its most notable characteristic in the market has been price: Securian cut SecureCare III rates by 25% in a documented January 2023 pricing change, at one point pricing single-pay premiums 15% to 20% below equivalent Nationwide and Lincoln coverage on real side-by-side illustrations. Both of those carriers reacted with their own rate cuts later that year, so the gap has narrowed somewhat since — a good reminder to compare current illustrations rather than assume a pricing edge is permanent in a market where carriers actively respond to each other. Three return-of-premium options are available, including an “LTC Boost” option specifically designed to maximize the LTC benefit for buyers whose main priority is care protection rather than the return-of-premium guarantee. One structural note worth knowing if you’re shopping as a couple: SecureCare III doesn’t offer a true joint policy the way OneAmerica Asset Care does — each spouse needs a separate policy — though a couples discount is still available on those separate policies if only one spouse applies under that pricing class.
So Which One Actually Fits?
If a long-duration claim is your biggest concern — family history of dementia or Alzheimer’s, a strong preference for “no matter how long” coverage — Asset Care’s lifetime option is worth prioritizing, and it’s worth comparing that premium directly against a capped-duration policy to see what the unlimited guarantee actually costs. If getting paid immediately, without any waiting period, matters most — for example, if you’d have real difficulty covering even a few months of care costs out of pocket while an elimination period runs — Lincoln’s 0-day structure is a genuine, quantifiable advantage. If your priority is a straightforward cash-indemnity benefit with flexibility to pay family caregivers, at a price that has historically been competitive within that category, Securian is worth getting an illustration from directly.
None of these are the “right” answer in general — they’re each built to win on a different specific question, and the honest way to compare them is to ask which of those three specific questions matters most to your situation.
Where Does Insurance Planning Fit In?
Choosing among these three carriers — or deciding a different hybrid product, an annuity-based structure, or a standalone LTC policy fits better — depends on your specific health, funding source, and which of these particular guarantees actually addresses a real concern for you, not just which one sounds most impressive in a brochure. That’s a decision worth running real illustrations for, not comparing from general reputation.
What To Do Next
If you’re weighing OneAmerica Asset Care, Lincoln MoneyGuard III, or Securian SecureCare III against each other — or want to know whether one of them fits your situation better than a different structure entirely — we’re glad to run the actual numbers with you. Call us at (800) 927-9326 or email — no pressure, just straight answers.
By Marc Gilman, Gilman Agency
This information is general in nature and not intended as tax or legal advice. Product availability, benefit structures, elimination periods, and pricing vary by state, age, and health class, and are subject to change. Consult your tax advisor regarding your specific situation.
Sources: OneAmerica Financial, “Asset-Based Long-Term Care” and “Annuity Care” (financial professional pages, oneamerica.com); Skloff Financial Group, Long Term Care University product reviews (Lincoln MoneyGuard III, Securian SecureCare III, OneAmerica Asset Care); Securian Financial, “SecureCare III” product and producer materials; Securian Financial, “Securian Financial Enhances SecureCare Hybrid Life/Long-term Care Product” (press release); Lincoln Financial, Lincoln MoneyGuard III/Fixed Advantage product materials; Jack Lenenberg, J.D., “Securian SecureCare III Might Now Be Your Best Long Term Care Policy,” LTC Partner.
