Many considerations contribute to securing the best long-term care insurance policy for your situation. A few are discussed below.

The Right Carrier

Insurance is only as good as the insurer's ability to pay claims. For that reason, the quality of the insurance company is very important.

A plethora of insurance companies exist, and many offer long-term care insurance policies. Make sure that you choose a provider that meets your needs and covers the type of long-term care you desire.

Benefit Eligibility

Insurance companies outline in their policies when you will become eligible to receive benefits under the terms of your policy contract. When evaluating insurance companies and the policies they offer, it is important to be comfortable with the way your policy determines your need and eligibility for long-term care.

An excellent resource on long-term care insurance, Guide to Long-Term Care , is provided by the state of Wisconsin for individuals interested in purchasing coverage in that state. You will need an Adobe Acrobat reader to view this document.

Types of Care Covered

An important consideration when choosing a policy, is the form of long-term care that will be covered. Because a broad spectrum of long-term care is available -- including home health care, nursing home care and hospice care, to name a few -- it is important to purchase a policy that covers your desired form of long-term care.

Equally important is the daily benefit amount of the policy. This is the limit imposed on the daily benefits you are able to receive from your policy for the costs of your long-term care. The daily benefit you select should be based on the long-term care cost for the area in which you will be seeking care.

Finally,  the lifetime limit of the policy must be considered. Most insurance companies set a limit on the amount of benefits the policy will pay. This limit is usually set in terms of years or dollars, but not both.

Elimination Period

The time between when you begin receiving care and the policy begins paying benefits is called the "elimination period". Most policies give you a choice of periods, like 20, 60, 100, 180 or 365 days. The shorter the elimination period, the sooner the policy begins paying benefits and the more expensive the policy will be.

Inflation Protection

Long-term care costs are expected to rise in the future, which is why some policies allow for annual increases in the daily benefit. Usually, this option is available at an additional cost.

Contact us to discuss your need for long-term care insurance today!