Long term care costs can be prohibitively expensive for you or a loved one, making insurance policies essential. Most experts advise purchasing such policies to ease the financial strain on both parties involved while protecting retirement accounts or savings accounts from being depleted and saving loved ones from having to cover out-of-pocket payments themselves.
Long term care insurance costs depend on a range of factors, including age, gender and marital status as well as your policy type selection. You can purchase standalone long term care coverage or combine it with life policies for greater coverage at lower premiums.
Long term care insurance premiums increase exponentially with age due to an increasing likelihood of needing care as you enter your 80s or beyond. Some companies don’t accept applicants older than 79 as they may pose too great a risk to warrant acceptance into their policies.
When considering purchasing a standalone policy, make sure to compare its benefits and costs carefully. Factors which could impact your premium include factors like elimination period length and inflation protection rate as well as duration of benefits (three year benefits usually increase premiums). You could opt for shorter duration benefits (shorter than four years) which could bring down premium costs significantly.
When selecting an insurer and policy, take note of their financial strength ratings and customer service reviews, along with any relevant National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) complaint indices to avoid selecting one with too many complaints. Ideally, opt for one whose guaranteed issue policy means that no health or other reasons will disqualify you; noncancelable premiums won’t increase over time either.
Long term care insurance often offers tax incentives. If you are aged 62 or over, premiums can be deducted as medical expenses from federal taxes – thus lowering overall costs. Furthermore, certain states offer special tax breaks for purchasing long term care policies.
Your best bet in finding an economically priced long term care policy is to gather multiple quotes with similar coverage parameters and consider features like waiver of premium rider or shared care option, which allow spouses to pool benefits if either needs coverage.
Mutual of Omaha and Lincoln Financial offer discounts that you may take advantage of, such as traditional reimbursement policies that reimburse actual care costs from receipts or indemnity policies that pay benefits directly to you. Their hybrid universal life policies don’t require an elimination period and offer simplified underwriting without needing medical exams for underwriting; yet still hold onto an A+ (Superior) financial strength rating with AM Best.