Your Long Term Care application declined? Now What?

It can be one of the most frustrating experiences you’ll ever have with an insurance company.  Here you are finally wanting to purchase that expensive Long Term Care Insurance Policy and the insurance carrier rejects you.  What a terrible feeling.  They don’t want me…I feel good, I look good, they don’t know what they are talking about!  These are normal feelings to have when you are declined.

So now what do I do?   First, try not to be too frustrated.  There’s more than one fish in the sea.  Second, go forward with your spouse’s approval.  Too often we see a couple apply together, one spouse receives an approval and the other spouse gets declined.  Out of frustration, often the approved spouse declines to accept their policy.  They feel that they’ll show the insurance company who’s boss.   Let’s think about this one….here’s an analogy:  Would you drop your spouse’s auto insurance if you were turned down by an insurance company?  Of course not.  So why reject LTC insurance?

Finally, work with an independent agent that specializes in Long Term Care policies.  That agent will have access to several carriers including ones that deal with tougher health situations that caused your declination in the first place.  It’s also important to design the policy correctly.  You can read a good article on 6 tips for Getting the Best Coverage.

Long Term Care Insurance - don’t leave this critical protection out of your Estate Planning

One of the most important parts of any properly designed estate plan is to have a Long Term Care Insuarnce policy in place.  At this point in your life you most likely have all of your finances in order including having your portfolio properly protected from market changes. 

Sadly, far too many Americans still have far too much risk in their estate plans.  The missing element that can literally wipe out your estate is having to pay for extended periods of care as we age.  A fantastic way to mitigate this risk is by having a properly designed Long Term Care Insurance policy in place.

Long Term Care Policies are becoming more and more popular every year and more popular with the last of the baby boomer generation.  Take this simple self test regarding paying for the costs of Long Term Care.  At today’s rates the average nursing home costs approximately $6,000 per month or $72,000 a year.  Now take your liquid assets and divide that number by $72,000.  This will give you how many years your estate would last if you needed extended care.  If you are married, take the number of years and divide that number by two…since there are two of you to pay for.  Pretty scary huh!

This little exercise can be an eye opener for most.  And that was based upon today’s costs.  Is your portfolio growing at the rate of health care costs?  Hopefully so, if not, then your assets could be depleted that much faster.

The solution to protecting your estate is to have a properly designed Long Term Care Insurance Policy in place.  Several large insurance carriers offer these great plans such as Allianz, Genworth, John Hancock and MetLife. 

Thankfully, most qualified Estate Planners understand the value of having this type of plan in place.  You can read a great article from Bacon/Wilson, Attorneys at Law, on this subject here.

Get a fast, easy, and free quote on Long Term Care Insurance of all types. Please click and fill out the form for a no-obligation long term care quote.

 

What’s the correct Long Term Care Policy daily benefit amount?

I’m often asked when meeting with clients “what daily benefit dollar amount should we select?”.  The quick response is “as much as you can afford”.  The policy price is determined by your health rating, length of benefits and of course, the amount of that daily benefit.  When Long Term Care policies first came out years ago most agents were recommending $100/day.  With the cost of care increasing with inflation, the amount you should select now really depends on your financial situation, age, geographic location.  If you are in a metro area and plan of retiring in an high cost of living area then a higher daily benefit will help.  A good way to do a little homework is to call a local nursing home.  If the going rate in your area is $6,000 per month…and you divide that by 30 days then we know $200/day would cover most of your costs today, assuming you add inflation protection to your coverage (which is a must for anybody purchasing a policy that is less than about 72 years old).  I typically recommend a range of $150/day to $220/day depending on your assets, age, and where you plan on retiring to.  Also, if this policy will be your only way to cover your long term care costs…then a higher daily benefit is needed.  If you have substantial assets and this policy is going to be used to mitigate most of your costs….then you could select a slightly lower daily benefit.  $200/day is typically what most of my clients purchase today.

Get a fast, easy, and free quote on Long Term Care Insurance of all types. Please click and fill out the form for a no-obligation long term care quote.