Factors that Affect the Rates of Long Term Care Insurance Policies
Those who are considered average income earners and even those who belong below the poverty line are often the ones who have hard time purchasing long term care insurance for their future LTC needs. The primary reason behind this is that this kind of insurance plan often comes with expensive and pricey monthly premiums that majority of the working American citizens cannot afford.
Because of the economic dilemma that the country is still trying to surpass until now, some residents of the United States tend to take the need for such policies for granted. They have the kind of thinking that they still have enough time to save up for the money that they will spend to compensate for their LTC needs. Unknown to them, it will only be a burden, emotionally and financially, once they opt to further delay their policy acquisition.
Some studies over the years show that the rates and other prices of an LTC policy have 10 to 12 percent increase for every year that its acquisition is delayed. This means that the savings and other investments of the residents may not just be enough to pay their LTC needs in the coming years, considering that the rates are now high and expensive.
Because of the costly prices and other rates, it is strongly advised that this kind of insurance policy is acquired at an age where the individual still has the financial capacity and other monetary resources to sustain the payment for his long term care insurance plan. Aside from this, one more major technique to get lower or cheaper rates for their LTC policy is to have it while the person has no major health condition that might need immediate care from medical professionals.
The age of the person will also determine the level of inflation protection that he might get for his policy. The younger he had his LTC plan, the better chances of getting higher levels of inflation protection. For example, insurance plans that were bought at age 60 and below might just be given a simple, compound, or an inflation protection based on the Consumer Price index or CPI, while policies acquired when the individual reached 76 years old and above do not require inflation protection but the insurance provider may still offer it to the person, and he will have the last say as to whether he will have it or not.
The exact location or region within a particular state where the individual plans to spend his retirement years and receive his policy benefits also affect the prices of his possible LTC plan. Although LTC services and benefits may be the same for all states, the rates of the plans still vary. It will be better for an individual to inquire first regarding the prices of the LTC services in the area where he plans to live. He may ask a representative from his desired insurance provider regarding it or he may simply check out the websites of some insurance companies that offer free online LTC assessment tool that generate long term care insurance policy quotations based on the details that the person will provide.