The best long term care insurance for you will not be the same as the best long term care insurance for your neighbor, just as the best car insurance for you is not the same as your neighbor's.
To find the best long term care insurance for your needs, use the five rules below.
- Some protection is better than none. A premium long term care policy is expensive, and will provide full coverage with minimum hassle. A minimum coverage policy is less expensive but will still provide benefits when you may need them, just not the same level of benefits as the premium policy.
- Consider the purchase of long term care insurance between the ages of 55 and 64. Seventy percent of people who apply at 80 are declined because they do not qualify for health reasons and are considered uninsurable. You cannot wait until you need it to buy it. Find additional info in What’s the Best Age to Buy Long Term Care Insurance? an article sponsored by the American Association for Long Term Care Insurance (AALTC). (This organization has some great information and content – just keep in mind the organization’s purpose is to promote long term care insurance as a whole.)
- Buy long term care insurance the same way you buy other forms of insurance. If you are a high deductible person, pick a policy with a longer waiting period, and only insure for a worst-case scenario. If you want access to your benefits as soon as possible, pick a policy with a short waiting period (you’ll pay more for this benefit).
- For most middle income people a policy that provides three years of benefits is sufficient. This is based on statistics for those who do end up needing care. If you should need care longer than three years, having some coverage in place is still better than having none.
- Smartest move for married couples? Buy a policy that has shared care benefits. This means you have a pool of benefits you can use between the two of you. One spouse could use all the benefits, or none, in which case all remaining benefits would be available for a surviving spouse.
The items above were developed from an interview with Jesse Slome, Executive Director for the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance. Visit their consumer section for additional information.
