SolveYourProblem Article Series:
Health Insurance

Long Term Health Insurance: Timing Is Important
    

When you are thinking about investing in your golden years with long-term health insurance, make sure you are middle aged and in as good of health as you can be. This will give you the option of a great benefit package at a really excellent cost. The better health you are and the better your life style choices, the better plan for your buck you are going to get. You don’t want to wait until you are in your 70s or 80s before thinking about this type of investment. Many middle-aged people are now dealing with the needs of their own parents and where they are to live once they can no longer care for them selves. That is the time to invest in your own future and make sure that you know what is going to happen and made provisions. No one want to think about getting to the point of needing in home assistance, nursing care, or living in a nursing home, but it s an unfortunate reality for many.

The earlier the better is the name of the game. Many policy sellers have age restrictions and health requirements. You don’t want to be in failing health when applying it will cost you more and it may not include assistance in your pre-existing illnesses. Deciding when to buy is only half the battle. You want to know what policies are available in the market. Seek out several companies and see what they have to offer as benefits and at what cost. There are so many plans out there to be had that you should be able to find what you want for an affordable rate. Be aware of which features are basics and which one will add to your over all premium. What you chose would be the key to determining its cost. Know you policy choices so you know exactly what you are buying and won’t be missing the benefits you truly need.

Policy Choices and What to Expect

Coverage: You can pick a plan that chooses to cover only one type of care (in home care or nursing home care) or you can chose a plan with a mixture so when the time comes you have a choice where you spend your benefit dollars. You can choose a mixture of in home care, assisted living, or nursing home care, so you can use the best option when the time comes.

Daily or Monthly Benefit: The daily or monthly benefit is the amount of money the insurance company will pay for which ever option you chose. If the cost of care is more than your benefit, you will need to pay the balance out of your own pocket.

Benefit Period: your benefit period is the time frame you have selected to receive benefits. You can pick 5 years, 10 years or till death, the more time the more the premium.

Elimination or Waiting Period: Is the period you must pay all of your long-term care expenses out of your own pocket. This period can last anywhere from 0 to 100 days. The longer the waiting period is, the lower your premiums will be.

Inflation Protection: This increases your benefit value as time passes to account for inflation.

Non-Forfeiture Benefit: Policies with this benefit will continue to pay for your care even if you stop paying your premiums. This policy feature can add 10-100 % to your premium.

Make sure your policy doesn’t require hospitalization prior to getting your benefits, not people need to be admitted to the hospital before getting home, assisted, or nursing care. The policy should have an automatic renewal as long as you make the payments on it. It should also be in your policy that once you start to receive benefits you don’t have to make premium payments anymore and get all your benefit money as directed and for as long as the original policy you purchased. Make sure your policy has only one deductible for life and automatically covers your pre-existing conditions disclosed at the purchase of the policy. Make sure you have at least a 5% compound inflation protection to handle the rising living costs each year. Also have a clause that allows you to downgrade your policy if you have a hard time paying the premium instead of canceling it and losing your investment. Get assured coverage for dementia. Your policy should clearly explain all your benefits fully.

Click here to to view health insurance quotes, compare plans side-by-side and apply for the most affordable health insurance within your budget. I did this myself (June 17, 2011) to change my health insurance policy. Saved me $84 per month (or $1,008 per year). It's my SolveYourProblem recommendation.

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by SolveYourProblem.com : 2006

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