You think Long-Term Care Insurance won’t be something you need?
It’s difficult to imagine the possibilities that would cause a need but ensuring against the possibility is essential for yourself and your loved ones. Long-term care expenses can quickly add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars. protect yourself and make sure you and your loved ones have the care you need with comprehensive long-term care insurance coverage. There are Traditional and hybrid long-term care insurances (LTCi) available to help cover these extraordinary costs, providing comfort during the times when you need that most. A suitable policy will protect you, your family and your estate when extended care is needed.
There is a strong likelihood that some form of long-term care will be needed for most seniors. Approximately 68% of people over age 65 will need long-term care assistance whether it be in their home or another setting. The costs and lengths of time will vary, but bills can add up quickly. The average cost in a nursing home is approximately $220 a day. It will be less in rural areas and more in larger cities. The average cost in an assisted living facility is over $43,000 a year, a significant amount of money.
Making the Decision to Buy LTC
There are several factors to consider when making the choice to buy long-term care:
- Health concerns
- Family history
- Early onset of health issues (it is important to note that if your health is already in decline, many companies will not underwrite you for LTC coverage)
- Personal wealth
Long-term care insurance offers an answer to many of the concerns listed above. Policies are designed to offer a predetermined monetary benefit for a chosen number of years after a short waiting period has been met, typically between 0-100 days.
Hybrid Annuity and Linked Life Insurance Plans for LTC
The newest Long-Term Care Insurance products are combining benefits to life and annuity policies. These plans are growing in popularity for estate preservation, asset growth, wealth transfer opportunities and protection from future rate increases. This strategy is sometimes referred to as asset-based long-term care planning.
Long-Term Care Insurance Partnership Programs
Another new LTCi product is a partnership program. When a partnership qualified plan is purchased, then your resident state (Ohio is an example) will preserve matching benefit amounts in your estate once the policy benefits are exhausted.
In this case, the insured wouldn’t need to spend down all of the assets in his or her estate once their policy benefits had been depleted. For example, if you purchase $200,000 in LTCi benefits, then the state would allow you to shelter a matching $200,000 that would be free from government attachment – or clawback provisions.
As Medicaid benefits cut into fiscal budgets, states are offering partnership insurance plans to encourage the purchase of LTC insurance. These programs (where offered) promote the purchase of LTCi to reduce the size of the insured(s) attachable estate.
LTC Insurance Coverage Offers Safety and Flexibility
The new LTCi policies are more flexible than before. The hybrid coverage and other new benefit packages allow for choices that cover most situations. Most all policies pay benefits for expenses associated with a nursing home, assisted living facility, adult day care or care administered in your own home.
Additionally, some policies offer a “return of premium” option to consumers after several years of payments, while others allow you to share your policy credits with your spouse if he or she ultimately needs the combined benefit. Marital discounts are offered by many companies as well.
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