The Maine Bureau of Insurance is considering a rate hike of up to 233 percent for policy holders of long-term care insurance company, Genworth Life Insurance Company.

The bureau held a public meeting Monday to provide information on the long-term care insurance market, the rate approval process, and the reasons Genworth is asking for the increases.

More than 3,000 Mainers would be impacted by the proposed increases ranging from 1,8 percent to 233 percent.

A Genworth policyholder, Susan Lamb, expressed concern at the meeting, saying, “We would like to take care of ourselves, and we don’t see this as being possible with rates like this,” according to CBS 13 News.

Superintendent of Insurance Bob Carey said policy holders would be seriously challenged by the hikes. “It’s very difficult when you’re 75 years old and you’ve been paying in for 20 years or more and you’re hit with a doubling of your premium at a time when your income isn’t doubling,” Carey said.

CBS 13 News reports a spokesperson for Genworth explained during the forum that the company has experienced an increase in claims with higher costs than initially anticipated

The Bureau of Insurance says the largest block of Genworth policy holders, 1,274 in Maine, would be hit by the proposed increase of 233 percent.