Recognizing Your Needs Will Help You Save
If you are wondering how to save on long term care insurance, the experts on the field say there may be a few tactics to reduce the annual premium of your policy but the sure-fire way is to recognize your future health care needs early in life.
Some people reduce their maximum daily benefit amount but afterwards they end up underinsured. Others think shortening their maximum benefit period is all right, only to find themselves on the mercy of their family members. There are a few unwise policyholders who take the inflation protection for granted, thinking the cost of care is fixed. So they end up with higher out-of-pocket expenses.
Above are just some of the common mistakes that people do with their coverage in hopes of reducing their premiums. So many insured individuals have ended up like that in the past because they did not study their LTCI policies very well before affixing their signatures on it.
Always remember that a very high maximum daily or monthly benefit amount is not exactly the key to a successful coverage. For all you know, you might only use a fraction of that significant insurance benefits. Now it does not follow that you have to go for a benefit amount that is only good enough to cover one year in a private nursing home room. If you do this, you will eventually find yourself on the receiving end of mediocre long term care (LTC) services.
To be able to get your hands on the right coverage you have to scrutinize each type of LTCI policy and weigh its pros and cons. For example, if you will opt for a very high maximum benefit amount and a five-year benefit period can you afford its corresponding annual premium? On the other hand, if you skimp on your benefits and inflation protection, can you pay the cost of care with your personal financial resources?
If you answered no to all these questions then that’s a clear sign that you have to weigh cautiously your options.
How to Save on Long Term Care Insurance
Seasoned LTCI agents would always remind buyers to identify their future health care needs first and canvas rates of LTC facilities in their area of residence before they go out to shop for LTCI policies.
An individual’s maximum benefit amount should match the cost of care in his area, specifically in his preferred LTC setting. His future health care needs should also factor in the computation of his benefits because higher levels of care will naturally cost more.
For instance, an individual’s doctor tells him that his family’s health history shows that some of his relatives succumbed to Alzheimer’s. This is an indicator that he may possibly develop the disease, too, so perhaps he should consider including in his plan an Alzheimer’s unit in a nursing home. Since this is going to cost more in premium, he can simply go for partial coverage at home.
Buyers of LTCI policies are sometimes encouraged to cut back on their maximum benefit amount but never to skimp on the inflation protection rider because the latter is responsible for keeping the benefits of a policy at pace with inflation.
You can think of many ways on how to save on long term care insurance but the only effective secret is to buy your policy early. Get in touch with your LTCI specialist today.
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