Long-Term Care Insurance

If you have a chronic illness, disability, or other significant medical condition, then you might need additional assistance to live your life comfortably. Sometimes, you will need assistance at home, while in other cases, you will need to reside within a facility, either permanently or temporarily.

Under these circumstances, your standard medical benefits might not fully cover your ongoing needs. Rather, long-term care insurance can step in to cover these costs, substantially reducing your personal cost burden for receiving these services.

Suppose that you have one of the following conditions:

• You are chronically ill.
• You have a disability that makes it difficult or impossible to live unaided.
• You have a degenerative condition such as Alzheimer’s disease or ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease).
• Your age and a combination of conditions have made living alone difficult.

Under the circumstances, you might need a variety of services, including:

• In-home care.
• Nursing home care.
• Adult daycare.
• Care in an assisted living facility.

You can file a claim against your long-term care policy when you need this care. Though your medical insurance might provide a level of coverage for some of the costs of care, an LTC policy will more comprehensively provide coverage. Therefore, your overall financial burden will be much lower, allowing you to maintain and preserve your own savings for other matters.

Nearly anyone can qualify for long-term care insurance. However, you cannot enroll in coverage when you need it, such as when you are ready to go to a nursing home. The application process will include questions about your health and well-being, and you can be turned down for coverage if an insurer deems you a high risk. It helps to buy a policy while you are still young and in good health.

To file a claim on your LTC policy, you must be unable to live completely independently. Most insurers require you to be unable to perform at least two activities of daily living (ADLs) before they will honor a claim.

Qualifying ADLs can include:

• Bathing
• Dressing
• Eating
• Getting on or off the toilet.
• Caring for incontinence.
• Transferring (moving from a bed to a chair, etc.).

Most policies require a waiting period before you can receive benefits. You might have to pay for your own care costs for 30, 60, or 90 days before your benefits begin to pay.

Long-term care policies also generally pay up to a daily limit for care and have a lifetime limit on coverage. Therefore, you might still face outstanding care costs even after your benefits have paid. However, by taking your prospective care needs and your personal finances into account, you can determine the right level of benefits you will need to receive when you need to file a claim.

Numerous factors can affect the cost of your long-term care policy, including your age, gender, marital status, and similar factors. Plus, the insurance company you choose and the amount of coverage you purchase will impact your premiums directly. That’s why your SWFL Insurance agent can help you analyze your coverage needs and pinpoint the LTC carrier that is able to offer coverage that matches your needs at the best value.

If you’re considering life long-term care options, we’re here to answer your questions and provide guidance. As an independent agency, we’re committed to helping you compare multiple options to find your best choice. Call our agent at (800) 829-5270 or click here.