Essence of Long Term Care Insurance
If you were pitched the question, what is long term care insurance? How would you define it?
Most people such as LTCI professionals would say it’s an insurance product that will cover the long term care (LTC) expenses of the insured, but some individuals would quip it’s the biggest investment that one can make in his life.
Indeed, it is the biggest investment. Why, it cost more than the price of a house in the market. However expensive, it guarantees years of bliss and financial stability to the insured. If and when an insured individual qualifies for LTC he need not pay a single penny for care, except during the elimination period which is stipulated on his LTCI policy.
With a comprehensive LTCI policy, an insured individual can receive care in the LTC setting of his or her choice. If she would opt for in-home care, her insurance will cover her expenses on homemaker services and home health aide services.
Homemaker services consist of all the house chores that the policyholder is no longer capable of performing due to a serious health condition or an injury resulting from an accident. An individual who delivers homemaker services cooks and prepares the meals of the policyholder, cleans the house, washes the dirty laundry, and does errands for the policyholder.
Meanwhile a home health aide provides the policyholder with assistance in the various activities of daily living (ADL) such as eating, bathing, dressing, toileting, transferring, and continence.
Apart from covering these custodial care services, one’s LTCI policy will also foot his expenses on home modification up to his maximum daily benefit amount. It’s not uncommon to hear aging-in-place projects these days. In fact, these keep many home builders very busy nowadays.
Aging in place is ideal for individuals who like to maintain their independence even as a caregiver looks after them on a daily basis.
What is Long Term Care Insurance and Where Should I Buy
Since it is a very important investment, it would be unwise to purchase an LTCI policy from a company whose background you didn’t inspect.
Even if a company has been around for 30 to 60 years, you have no assurance that it’s going to get back to you as soon as you make a claim. So many insurance companies at present are contemplating a premium hike as they miscalculated the volume of claims against the number of policies that will lapse.
See to it that the company from which you plan to purchase your LTCI policy is financially strong. To find out if it is capable of paying out your insurance benefits, check out its ratings with top insurance ratings agencies such as A.M. Best Company, Standard & Poor’s, and Moody’s Investors among others.
If a company does not have a record of complaint from its clients and has been consistently receiving A or A+ + ratings from any of the ratings agencies mentioned above, you are in good hands.
Whether you wind up in a nursing home, assisted living facility, or in-home care someday, you can brave the cost of care for as long as you are armed with an LTCI policy. So if you’re asked, what is long term care insurance? Simply quip it’s what we shouldn’t live without.
Invest in a good long term care insurance before your retirement age. Read more articles on long term care plans at CompleteLongTermCare.com.
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