Who Takes Long Term Care Insurance Seriously Nowadays?
Surprisingly, not many people take long term care insurance (LTCI) seriously when they are at the peak of their careers, bringing in a chunk of money, and capable of buying their whims. One has to turn 65 first and come down to a serious health condition for him to notice the importance of owning an LTCI policy.
It appears majority of the population is still living in dreamland thinking that the cost of care will go down when the time comes that they would require long term care (LTC). The unfortunate fact is that LTC costs will just continue to rise in each passing year.
Owning an LTCI policy will not only protect your assets from being wiped out should you need LTC in the future, it will also spare your children the trouble of leaving their jobs to provide you 24-hour care.
That is not sarcasm but a fact based on the records of the U.S. Census Bureau. Countless individuals, mostly women, have resorted to early retirement because they had to take care of a parent, a spouse or an in-law who was in dire need of LTC but financially incapable of acquiring help from a trained caregiver, let alone a licensed nurse. Unfortunately, there was nobody around to take care of these unpaid or informal caregivers when it was their turn to need care.
LTC services are expensive. Even if you’re expecting to receive $500,000 as you retire this year that will not be enough to cover your home care expenses, assisted living expenses or nursing home bills.
As of this writing the annual cost for in-home care, on average, is $36,480 but financial analysts and LTC professionals have predicted a fourfold increase in the cost of care come 2030. If you see yourself requiring care around that time be sure to have $145,920 put away, or make that $437,760 for three years of care which is the average length of time that most people need LTC.
Long Term Care Insurance Lets You Save While Getting More
Comprehensive LTCI policies allow people to receive care from their choice of LTC provider, or to perhaps move to a different setting in case their condition gets worse.
Depending on what your policy stipulates, you can get 100% LTC coverage for nursing home care and 75% or 50% coverage for in-home care or vice versa. What matters is that you won’t be obligated to pay the total amount of expenses which you could incur from acquiring LTC.
Without an LTCI policy, you don’t have a choice but to pay for the total cost of LTC that you receive down to the last penny or cent.
Many people in the country remain uninsured because they don’t want to end up spending all of their money on the annual premium of their policy. An LTCI representative has yet to make them understand that they won’t be spending as much as they would on the actual cost of care if they buy their policies today.
If they buy their policies later at the age of 65, 70 or 75, they will naturally have to fork out more money for the premium of their coverage. Long term care insurance carriers and elder care specialists have said time and time again that the price of a policy is negotiable but the cost of care will never consider anyone’s age, health condition or financial status.
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