Long-Term Care Insurance

Like with other insurance plans, there are many different types of policies available. Because one can not predict the future, many choose to go with a flexible plan. When determining your needs, there are various factors to take into consideration which include age and health, income, policy premiums, savings and investments, taxes and family and friends support.

One of the most important things to consider when determining your Long Term Care Insurance needs is covered services, and how those services are paid for from a policy. Some policies reimburse policyholders for expenses they have paid for covered services under a policy (up to the policy’s stated limits), while others may provide a cash-like benefit, that the policyholder can use to pay for those same covered services, or even for ancillary services and needs that a reimbursement policy may not cover.

The 4 main decisions one must make when designing an LTC Insurance policy include:

The Benefit Amount – how much per day (or per month) do you want the policy to pay vs. how much the policyholder may be willing/able to pay out of pocket
The Benefit Period factor – most policies operate on a “pool of money basis, which is generally calculated by multiplying the Benefit Amount by a stated period of time (e.g. 3 or 4 years) to arrive at the total benefit pool. Policyholders who utilize less than anticipated each day, month or year, may find that the actual period of time the policy pays may be beyond the initial Benefit Period factor.
The Elimination Period – this is the number of days the policyholder is will to pay for care out of pocket (or, with some policies, the number of calendar days without regard to actual costs incurred) once he or she has been certified as qualifying for benefits under the policy.
Inflation – there are a number of potential inflation options available, that may help the policyholder keep up with increasing costs for care over time.
It is important to note that one must qualify medically for most LTC Insurance policies. However, there are still options out there and Michele Sanchez can help you find them.

While for some Long Term Care may seem like it is far off, buying into a Long Term Care Insurance plan sooner than later will help reduce your premiums. Michele Sanchez understands that everyone’s needs are different and has built relationships with a multitude of insurance carriers to ensure after needs have been determined that are able to connect people with the best options.