Should you buy long term care insurance? Identifying the different factors in relation to Ltci will help you make a decision on why you need coverage during your senior years. Here is a simple and easy guide to help you understand more of the many benefits that LTC insurance will provide for you (and your loved ones).

Find out How Your Coverage Works

Learn how the LTCI Policy you plan to purchase works by carefully reading the documentation. Some ideal parts of a policy documentation that you may want to take into consideration are:

In-home Care

Find out if the plan offers caregiver assistance in the comfort of your home. Consider this option by taking a look back at your family history. If you or family members have any history of long-term diseases that needs to be maintained within the confines of your home (isolation from other people because of viral properties, the need to be with and in contact with loved ones, etc.), work circumstances (for sole-proprietorship business owners, who even during their twilight years, have a stake and need to stay in touch with the companies they’ve built), and simply looking forward to staying at home with spouses, partners, or immediate family members.

Nursing Home

This particular option works best for individuals who plan to stay in a care facility. Some benefits that this option offers are immediate and constant attention from medical practitioners, access to care and welfare programs with other members of the care facility, round-the-clock security and assistance from available staff, and opportunities to meet and associate with other individuals staying in the facility.

Additionally, understanding your LTCI plan will give you much-needed insight into these details:

Policy Exclusions

Always make sure to find out the exclusions included in the policy you plan to buy. The entire policy may look good on paper, but not all of the benefits listed may apply to certain individuals. Take for example long-term medical diseases or conditions – emphysema from heavy smokers are excluded from nursing home care, or buyers with special-case scenarios such as Alzheimer’s may need constant medical attention only found in care centers.

Policy Upgrades

Find out of policy add-ons available for your LTCI, in case you need to upgrade at a further time. This will help you consider making new and better decisions once the right time comes. Also, the policy add-ons will help you create alternative plans, in case your circumstances change or if your health needs new and better medical attention.

Coverage Limitations

Regarding planning, find out of your long term care insurance policy’s limitation. This will allow you to tailor-fit the service you’ll be receiving, whether it may be daily, monthly, annual, or lifetime support.

Consider the Costs Involved

An important factor to consider when deciding if you should get a long-term care insurance policy or not is your capability to invest in a plan. As a rule of thumb, purchasing an LTCI plan at an earlier stage of life may be a more affordable investment for you since policy premiums increase in comparison to a holder’s age. Also, make sure to take note of premium increases stated in the plan’s documentation. LTCI plans are termed as “guaranteed-renewable” policies. This means that insurance companies cannot cancel LTCI policies, but can raise premiums at certain periods of time.

Remember that the more money you invest in a plan, the higher level of care and service you will get in return. Just make sure to plan this carefully out – you will need to make sure that you have the right budget for this, whether the funds are available now and if it is enough to support the policy in the future.

Miscellaneous Costs Outside the Scope of LTCI

In relation to costs for long term care insurance products, make sure to also consider expected expenses that you may encounter during the twilight period. Some examples of miscellaneous costs to take into consideration are bills (TV, phone, computer, etc.), expenses for loved ones and others, such as groceries and food products (if applicable).

Do Your Homework

Perhaps it’s a given that long term care insurance isn’t a popular policy that most people will ever decide on purchasing. In fact, sales of individual long-term care insurance policies have declined from 2008 to 2013. An observation on why this is so is because that most buyers consider LTCI a product that offers a future that isn’t an ideal scenario – one that most would hope for is that they wouldn’t rely on others for help and care.

Still, it all boils down to one’s circumstances and in preparing for the worst-case scenarios. Being prepared for the worst is definitely much better than facing a future with no hope at all.

To help you in doing your research for LTCI policies, consider these topics:

Identify the Different Carriers in the LTCI Industry

Get the most out of your LTCI policy investment by requesting for different quotes from multiple long term care insurance agencies. This way, you’ll find a plan that will best match your budget and circumstances.

Identify the Types of Long Term Care Insurance

From getting multiple quotes, choose which type of plan will work for you (and/or your partner). LTCI plans come in different types such as employer-sponsored plans (policies offered and negotiated by the holder’s employer), individual plans (purchased from an LTCI agency or broker), state partnership programs (mandated by several states, wherein holders are allowed to maintain their assets while still having access to use support such as Medicaid), organizational plans (group rates sold by agencies that offer better benefits at an affordable price than individual packages) and joint policies (shared policies that allow coverage for married spouses or domestic partners).

Identify LTCI Support Groups

The best way to stay updated with LTCI news and other changes is by getting in touch with LTC insurance agents or brokers. To further help you out on this, do a simple online search to find out of websites or online groups (such as LinkedIn) that can help you provide in-depth information on LTCI.

With the points listed above, getting a long term care insurance policy is definitely a way to secure your future. Please use this guide as a reference to find a plan that will work for you. Also, please visit our blog for more news, tools, and guides on helping you get an LTCI plan.