Long Term Care Insurance

"Long term care insurance is designed to help pay for the costs associated with elderly care."

In order to help simplify your insurance search, Insurance4usa.com's staff has created a list of things to consider when shopping for long term care insurance. Insurance4usa.com can help you comparison shop long term care insurance quotes from local agents in your area. To complete a free, no obligation long term care insurance quote, use the menu either at the top or side of this page.

Main long term care policy considerations:

Daily Benefit is the amount of money the insurance policy will pay for long term care needs. The daily benefit ranges from $50-$250. Do some research. Find out what the typical daily charges are for nursing homes, assisted living facilities, etc. This will help you determine which daily benefit is right for you.

Benefit Period is the number of years the payments will continue. Benefit periods range from 2 years to lifetime. The longer the benefit period, the more expensive the policy.

Elimination period, also called the deductible, is the number of days you must wait until your policy starts paying the daily benefit. Elimination periods range from 0 to 100 days. Also, elimination periods can be reset. Make sure you are comfortable with the language of the elimination period.

Additional long term care policy considerations:

Inflation protection is designed to protect your daily benefit from inflation. It will be an additional cost but may help if your long term care needs get more expensive.

Home health care coverage allows you to receive elderly care in your home. It also gives you more flexibility when choosing elderly care services.

Nonforfeiture allows you to accumulate paid up benefits in case your policy lapses. Have your agent explain the feature in more detail.

Exclusions are conditions under which the insurance policy will not pay. Make sure you know what the policy exclusions are. These may include pre-existing health conditions, drug and alcohol addiction, attempted suicide, Illness caused by war, mental and nervous disorders, or treatment already paid by the government.

Notes and Facts about long term care insurance:

1. Look for plans that are tax qualified.
2. Long term care insurance can cost between $100 and $1,000 per month. Get 3 quotes.
3. Consider current finances when purchasing long term care insurance. It won't do you any good to purchase a Rolls Royce plan that gets lapsed when you can only pay for a Honda Accord type plan.
4. Do research on the long term care insurance company behind the policy. http://www.standardandpoors.com
5. 92% of people spend less than 4 years in a nursing home.
6. Read the policy fine print. This is one policy where you will need to read the ENTIRE POLICY. Ask for a sample during the sales process.
7. Make sure your long term care policy is 'guaranteed renewable.'

Insurance4usa.com has more long term resources available. See below for additional information.

Long Term Care Insurance Resources:
http://www.insurance4usa.com/ltc_ins_resources.cfm

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