Insurance World

What is Long Term Care Insurance?
Long term care insurance serves to help those individuals who need extra care and attention as they age. Long term care insurance helps to take financial burden away from family members, and for the individual in need of such care. Often, the elderly have very little income and no “extra” money. Yet, the cost of aging itself seems to be rising. Those who can least afford it are expected to pay huge healthcare costs.

This is why long term care insurance can be beneficial, and take financial burden away from those who cannot afford the high cost of healthcare. A long term care insurance policy may be purchased at any time, though policies are ideally purchased before the need for long term care arises.

Paying the Price of Long Term Care Insurance
Long term care insurance premiums and rates will usually go up as the policyholder ages. In some cases, long term care insurance will not be needed at all. In those cases where long term care is needed, however, long term care insurance can be invaluable.

The price of paying for long term care insurance is much less than the cost of paying for long term care. Healthcare these days is very expensive. Long term care, these days, is astronomical.

“An average private nursing home room this year costs over $190 per day. Now, to receive 24 hour care at home costs more than $400 per day. Life expectancy for women is 80 years, five more than men. You want to stay in your home as long as you can. You want to choose where and how you receive long term care as you grow older. About sixty percent of those age 65 and older will need long term care. A third of those receiving long term care today are under 65”
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Long Term Care web site, July 2006

Obtaining a Long Term Care Insurance Policy
Many insurance companies offer long term care insurance policies. It is always a good idea to shop around for the best rates and coverage when it comes to purchasing any type of insurance policy, but especially when it comes to health insurance.

Rates on long term care insurance will rise as time passes, but in general it is best to purchase a long term care insurance policy before the need for long term care arises. Do as much research and obtain as many quotes as possible when considering a long term care insurance policy. Make sure you know the rate at which the policy will increase and how much the long term care insurance will pay.

Understanding Your Long Term Care Insurance Policy
These days, simple insurance policies are so complicated that you almost need a translator to decipher the more complex language. It’s very important that you understand the details of your long term care policy, including limits and deductibles that are applied to that policy. If you need help understanding a policy, you can consult with a lawyer. Do not sign up for a policy unless you understand every detail of that long term care insurance policy. You want to have all the details before you sign.

How Do You Know Long Term Care Insurance is Right For You?
Long term care insurance is for anyone who does not have an unlimited supply of money, who does not want themselves or their family to bear a heavy financial burden as they age. Long term care insurance serves to protect you, both financially and health-wise. Long term care insurance is a good idea for anyone, whether they believe they may need long term care or not.

Health insurance is designed to protect against loss of income and expenses for medical care. There are two broad categories of health insurance policies: disability income policies and medical expense policies.

Disability income policies can also be referred to as loss of income, loss of time or replacement income. This type of policy will pay benefits to an insured who is disabled and can no longer work to earn a regular income. Payments can be weekly or monthly depending on the policy.

Medical expense policies are represented by a wide range of coverage from very minimal to comprehensive packages with multiple coverage. Some include both accidents and illnesses, various hospital expenses and other costs pertaining to medical care such as accident and sickness policies, hospital-stay policies, basic medical expense policies and major medical expense policies.

Any of these policies might cover various combinations of the above and may be paid in a lump sum.Some policies cover only accidents and not illness. As you might imagine, policies like this are very specific about what is considered an accident.

It is important to understand what is defined as an accident as it pertains to the health insurance industry: an accident is an event that is unforeseen and unintended.

Keep in mind that any discussion of this type of policy also applies to any type of policy that includes accidental coverage, not just accident specific policies.

Accident benefits are most commonly paid for accidental loss of life (also called accidental death), accidental loss of limb or sight (dismemberment), loss of time and/or income, hospital expenses, surgical expenses, and medical expenses like visits to the doctor.

Accidental death benefit can also be referred to as “principal sum.” This type of coverage should not be confused with life insurance. There is a world of difference between the two. Life insurance policies will generally be paid regardless of the cause of death. An accidental benefit is paid ONLY if the death is accidental as opposed to a death by natural causes or illness.

The person who receives the death benefit is called the beneficiary. The policy owner has the right and responsibility of naming beneficiaries. Usually there is a primary beneficiary however he/she can assign a second and even a third beneficiary.

The primary beneficiary is the first person in line to receive the benefit in the event of the death of the policy holder. The policy owner can also name a second beneficiary who would receive the benefit in the event the primary beneficiary dies before the insured. Some policies can include a third beneficiary who would be in line after the first two.

There is another important element in regard to accident policies: An accidental death may not be instant. A person can die as a result of an accidental injury months after the accident occurrence. Read your policy carefully because most stipulate that the accidental death benefit will only be paid if death occurs within three months of the accident.