Long Term Care Insurance (LTC)

LTC insurance (or Long Term Care Insurance) provides skilled medical treatment such as custodial care and nursing to a patient, whether the insurance policyholder lives at home or in a convalescent home. Generally, people over the age of about 65 seek this type of insurance. With long term care in place for a reasonable rate, you could rest easy knowing that you will be cared for (or that your loved one will be cared for) for a significant amount of time.

Nursing home insurance covers a policyholder’s time in a nursing home. That seems pretty simple, and it is – it’s just that many people do not know that there is excellent nursing home coverage available to them or their loved one. While this type of insurance is not talked about as much as other kinds like car, home and life insurance, statistics show that far more people will experience the need for long term care (as much as 50 percent) than the number of people who will experience a serious car accident or calamity at home.

Since the probability that you will need LTC coverage is so high, there are many companies out there that offer it. Having evolved out of income disability insurance, LTC coverage doesn’t offer any cash value incentives, and you do need to pay a regular insurance premium in order to keep the coverage going.

The three main choices to make about LTC coverage are as follows:

• Benefit Period – The length of the LTC policy (usually from 1 to 3 years).
• Daily Benefit – The daily amount you will receive for your long term care from the insurance company (typically between $50 and $250 a day).
• Elimination Period – The number of days you’ll need to pay for until the insurance for LTC starts to pay (for example, 0 to 100 days).