As a lot of us approach middle age, we find that our parents are at a fast rate approaching retirement. Some need our help, others don’t. For adult children who do end up in a position where they must provide some sort of emotional, physical and/or financial support for one or both parents, it is probably way past the point where their parents would be able to even take into consideration purchasing what’s called Long Term Care products. For those who like to be proactive, however, you might be wondering exactly what is long term care insurance, and how do we get it?
To be affordable, long term care insurance is best purchased as young as possible. Unfortunately, in order to find premiums that are very affordable, we are usually at an age where we feel invincible - old age is too far off to give it any serious consideration.
As we put off buying the insurance, the premiums increase and finally, for too many of us, we learn the hard way that we will be needing some type of long term care and we either find that we have huge deductibles because we’ll need to use our regular health insurance, or worse, we find out we have to pay for everything out of pocket.
This type of insurance, in actuality, is one of the most reasonably priced types of coverage when it comes to costs vs. Benefits. A policy purchased in your forties, for example, with standard coverage such as nursing homes and rehab (or hospice), will probably be less expensive than your car insurance!
Policies differ, as with all sorts of insurance, and you can pick and choose options according to what you can afford or according to what you believe you might need. For instance, if Alzheimer’s runs in your family, you may want to get a plan that supports the in depth level of specialized care these patients need. If everyone in your family lives till 105 and drops dead on the golf course, you may decide to purchase a lesser type of coverage.
Different carriers have different types of coverage, different options, and even different health providers. For example, if Uncle John stayed in a particular facility a few years ago and everyone in the family had good things to say about that place, you may want to check out insurance companies that use this facility as a provider.
These policies can provide an incredible amount of financial help when the time comes. With long term facilities averaging over $500 a day, not many regular insurance plans will cover these for more than a few weeks - no matter what.
Before you go out and buy a policy see if you qualify for long term care insurance, ask questions and request a long term care insurance quote. We represent 20 of the top LTCi providers. This gives you tremendous options.
Tags: asset protection, baby boomers, consumer guide, education, family, financial, financial planning, health, Insurance, lifestyle, Long Term Care, Long Term Care Insurance, Retirement, seniors