All the following are major requirements of a long-term care (LTC) policy EXCEPT:

A major requirement of a long-term care (LTC) policy is that it should be aligned with specific consumer protections and accessibility standards to ensure that individuals can adequately prepare for their potential long-term care needs. Options that include consumer protection provisions and guaranteed renewability are in place to help protect the policyholder and ensure that they can maintain coverage over time, despite changes in health status or the need for care.

A cash surrender value is typically a feature found in life insurance policies and not a standard requirement for LTC policies. Long-term care insurance is designed primarily to provide benefits for care services rather than to accrue cash value like a life insurance policy does. This distinction clarifies why the absence of a cash surrender value is not considered a requirement for long-term care policies.

Similarly, while LTC policies must cover qualified LTC services, this is part of the fundamental design of these policies, ensuring that they fulfill their purpose of covering long-term care needs. Therefore, the absence of a cash surrender value stands out as the characteristic that does not align with the primary requirements for such policies.