Thinking about aging and long term care health insurance may be difficult, but it is growing increasingly important as people are living longer lives; this long term care review can help.
It's important to gather as much information as possible, but not every source of long term care insurance advice has your best interest in mind. Learning to recognize misleading information can help your long term care planning process greatly.
Many people turn to their financial advisor or insurance agent for information and long term care insurance advice. If you don't already have an agent you trust, or your current agent doesn't have a lot of experience with long term care policies, you may be looking for a new agent. Or you have an agent, but want to shop around for the best long term care insurance quote. In either case, you will want to take care that your agent is offering you sound information with your best interest in mind.
There are several warning signs that tell you that an agent may be more interested in commissions than getting you the best long term care coverage. For example, an agent may try to convince you to by a policy because you can get a tax deduction. This is true, but if they agent doesn't explain that you must be filing itemized returns to qualify for the deductions, or that the amount you can deduct is limited by certain age brackets and your income, then they may be trying to mislead you.
Other common warning signs are when they tout insurance from companies with poor financial ratings, or they pressure you by promising your premiums will never increase if you buy right away. A new company or one with a poor financial rating has a higher chance of going under, or suddenly increasing premiums, despite promises not to. More established companies like John Hancock, Genworth (formerly known as GE), and MetLife long term care insurance are better, more stable providers.
A good agent will point out all relevant information about the policiies they recommend, good and bad. They can help make comparisons on coverage, and help you estimate the amount you will need, based on information from nursing homes or assisted living facilities in your area. If you're still looking for an agent, asking friends or financial advisors for recommendations can help make the process easier.
There are many resources other than insurance agents that can provide long term care insurance advice. Every state has a department in charge of insurance, and they can be a valuable source of information. They have pamphlets or information on their websites that can help you get information on insurance companies as well as Medicare and Medicaid eligibility and services covered. Other departments can offer advice on choosing a nursing home, as well as ratings of state-certified facilities.
Groups for seniors like the AARP offer information and long term care insurance advice for their members. There is also information put together by magazines or universities. Gathering long term care insurance advice from many sources can help you weed out the good information from the bad, and help you avoid buying the wrong insurance policy.
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