Is It Wise To Buy Long Term Care Insurance?

By Author: Suzanne Campbell
Total Articles: 36
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Long term care insurance is treated as some kind of product which nobody will survive without. It is, indeed, an important investment according to financial advisers and elder care specialists but who should buy long term care insurance?

Definitely not individuals who are currently receiving care in a long term care (LTC) facility or from a home health care agency because no insurance company will grant them coverage. Long term care insurance (LTCI) cannot be compared with medications. The latter should be bought when one is experiencing irregularities in his health due to an illness or injury while the former should be secured when one’s health is still in tiptop condition.

That explains why people in their 40s and 50s are told to look into their LTCI options today rather than later when they’re 65 or older. Insurance companies marketing LTCI policies examine the health of their applicants rigorously and the slightest symptom of a debilitating disease will account for a rated coverage instead of one on standard rate.

Buying an LTCI policy is an effective way to protect ...
... your money and other assets from the high cost of care. Without it, you risk wiping out your hard earned money to expensive in-home care, assisted living, nursing home care, and hospice care among others.

People can only anticipate what they can possibly require health-wise but nobody can be a hundred percent sure that this is really what’s going to befall them. So if one predicts that he will need three years of care but winds up with 10, how can he deal with his LTC costs?

An LTCI policy gives the insured individual the assurance that he won’t be shouldering his LTC expenses by himself.

Who Should Buy Long Term Care Insurance?

People will benefit from LTCI once they are no longer capable of performing the ordinary activities of daily living (ADL) due to an illness, injury, old age, or cognitive impairment. Insured folks will be able to obtain daily assistance and care from a home health aide or a skilled nurse without using up their assets because their policies will provide them with partial or full coverage.

The purchase of an LTCI policy, however, has to be done at a specified time perhaps somewhere between the ages of 40 and 60, and while the buyer is still active in the workforce. If he waits to retire before buying a policy he will either receive a rated coverage or be declined by an insurance firm especially if he has started to manifest unpleasant changes in his health.

Aside from getting instant access to quality LTC services, an individual with an LTCI policy qualifies for huge tax deductible because the premium that he pays into his policy is treated as a medical expense and all medical expenses according to Section 213(d) of the IRS Code is deductible.

According to the records of LTCI companies, a big percentage of their new policyholders are comprised of senior folks between ages 56 and 65. Only a handful of adults between 45 and 55 made a purchase even though it’s they who should buy long term care insurance for they can easily qualify for the preferred health discount that LTCI firms offer.

Saving or overspending on LTCI premiums is not up to an insurance firm because it’s the buyers who make the final say. If you want to save, buy your policy early.

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