Comparing Long Term Care Insurance Costs

    The issue of how much long term care insurance costs has made most Americans reconsider buying a policy. Certainly, the price of premiums for all but the cheapest plans represents a hefty bite on an individual’s budget, and this has caused many to hesitate and think twice whether adding another bill to pay is worth it.

     However, for those who can really see the true value of an LTCI policy, the choice on whether or not to buy is already settled. Being able to have the funds necessary to pay your long term care expenses at the time that you’d be weakest is something you’d be grateful for when that time comes. Not only do you protect your health by being ready for treatment and therapy costs, you also protect your finances, since you can leave your savings and assets untouched.

Controlling costs

     The question then becomes, how can you pay the least in order to get the most out of your insurance policy? Actually, LTC coverage is highly flexible, and you can modify the terms and values involved in a package to get the kind of deal you’re looking for. Though insurance companies differ in underwriting and giving quotations, you can work with them in order to come up with a policy that will work for you.

     Some of the variables you can tweak include your maximum daily benefit and your benefit period – these control how much your insurance will cover when you require care and for how long. Adjusting these to lower values would let you decrease long term care insurance costs. You can also select your elimination period, which is the time after a benefit trigger kicks in but before the insurance will cover the expenses. Setting this to a longer time will also grant you lower premiums.

Buying early

    The biggest factor though, by far, on how much your policy will cost is the date when you actually purchase it. Specifically, your age at the time you acquire it dictates the base calculations for your premium. Those who buy at a young age can be offered as low as $500 in premiums along with a possible ten to twenty percent discount for good health. Sadly though, the number of individuals below 40 with a policy is very low.

     The majority of policyholders are aged 50 and above, but only 46 percent of those between 50-59 years old received health discounts, since their older age places them at a higher risk of showing major symptoms and needing to claim their benefits real soon. Thus, policy premiums for those older than this continue to be much higher, and this is the main obstacle for those buying at an older age.

     While purchasing a policy early on in your life will definitely shore up your long term care insurance costs, it’s not too late for those older to still be able to get affordable deals and be able to end up with the coverage they want for the price they can afford. Make sure to speak with a licensed insurance professional to check your best options and get possible recommendations. 

Sources:

www.acsia.com/overview.php

www.insurance.ca.gov/0100-consumers/0060-information-guides/0050-health/ltc-rate-history-guide/

www.tdi.texas.gov/pubs/consumer/lrg01.html