How Long Will You Require Long Term Care Coverage?
Aside from your maximum benefit amount, your long term care insurance benefit period will also determine the annual premium of your coverage, so study this component of your policy very well.
Some people buy an LTCI policy with a five-year benefit period, others go for lifetime coverage, while there are also individuals that settle for two or three years. An individual’s coverage period should be based on his future health care needs and capacity to pay a specific premium rate.
First let’s go to a person’s health care needs. Anyone who says that he is not at risk of any debilitating disease and therefore he has lower chances of requiring long term care (LTC) is living a myth. According to LTC experts, members of the baby boomer generation will be living longer especially the women and so every single one of them has to have a concrete LTC plan lest they lose their assets including their homes to the high cost of care.
Based on studies, today’s healthy individuals are even likely to require more years of care than those who are susceptible to serious medical conditions such as cancer, heart diseases, stroke, and Alzheimer’s among others.
If you are constantly glued to the news, perhaps you’ve seen or read about individuals who have managed to reach the age of 100 without any medical condition. But, you will notice that all of them are on wheelchairs because they are no longer capable of walking on their own. Aside from that, most of them can neither bathe nor dress up without assistance. By simply losing the ability to perform the most basic activities of daily living (ADLs) such as those mentioned earlier, you become a perfect candidate for LTC.
LTC, contrary to what most people think, was never designed for the sick. It is for people who cannot manage to live independently as sickness, infirmity, injury, or disability hinders them from performing their routine daily activities like eating, bathing, dressing, toileting, continence, and transferring.
Proper Estimation of Your Long Term Care Insurance Benefit Period
Once you decide to apply for an LTCI policy you have to be able to identify your future health care requirements because the level of care that you will need will point to the amount of benefits that you must receive and your coverage period.
To be able to determine your future health care needs you have to closely observe the present state of your health. Visit your doctor to find out if you are at risk of any serious illness and if you are, ask what you can do to prevent it from further progression. You will also find a geriatrician’s advice helpful to your LTC plan because this kind of physician specializes in all kinds of diseases that hit elderly people.
Once you have identified your possible LTC needs, figure out the cost of care in your area as this will also have an impact on your long term care insurance benefit period. If the cost is too high, you might need to increase your daily benefit amount but shorten your benefit period to avoid a high premium. Better yet, consult your LTCI agent as his advice will definitely help you decide.
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