Is LTCi for You? Here are 4 Tips to Help You Decide
May 22, 2014
Experts say that long-term care insurance is one of the must-have insurance policies because it offers coverage for a wide range of care services that a person may need due to a disability, medical condition, cognitive impairment or old age.
However, statistics show that only about 9 percent of Americans are covered by this type of policy.
One of the most common reasons cited for not having the insurance is that people are skeptical about the cost of LTCi and wonder whether or not they will actually use their benefits.
Here are some tips about how you can determine if LTCi is actually for you:
1. Do your homework.
Learn as much as you can about LTCi to have a better understanding of what it is and how it can help you protect your wealth, loved ones, and your quality of life. You can begin doing that here. ACSIA has a pool of essential information on LTCi that’s important for to you know. Likewise we can provide you with long term care insurance cost estimations based on a number of information that you provide. You need to simply fill out a short form and you can receive a no-obligation price quote from us.
2. Do a thought experiment.
Playing out certain scenarios in your mind can help you visualize possible situations and create courses of actions for them. For instance think about what will happen if your spouse needs long-term care. How will you pay for those care services? Will you choose to provide the care on your own in order to save? How will your lifestyle be affected?
Such scenarios will help you comprehend the importance of having long-term care insurance, or finding ways on how you’re going to pay for care services without affecting your family’s lifestyle and resulting to income loss.
3. Examine your finances.
LTCi is suitable for you if you have wealth and assets that will be easily depleted if you have to pay out-of-pocket for care, yet sufficient enough to pay the premiums.
According to the rule of thumb, LTCi is suitable for couples that have a net worth of more than $1 million, but less than $3 million. Also, LTCi is a good buy for single people who have assets amounting to half of couples’ net worth. Again this is just the rule of thumb. If you have an income that enables you to pay for LTCi premiums without compromising your lifestyle, purchasing LTCi is suitable for you.
4. Talk to an expert.
Insurance language can be difficult to comprehend and having someone explain the ins-and-outs will help you make a more informed decision. LTCi is complicated in a sense that no two policies are exactly alike because needs are unique for every policyholder. You need to be familiar with the features of a policy and how each works. This way, you’ll know the extent of coverage that you will purchase.
If you are unprepared, a long-term care event can drastically impact your quality of life and deplete your nest egg. As early as you can, look into your financial situation and see how LTCi can protect you, your wealth, and your family.