A vital ingredient in any successful long-term care insurance plan is to have a cheap policy without having to give up on good coverage. If you have recieved quotes from several highly rated insurers and yet find that the premiums are still too much to bear, there is no need to panic and assume that long term care insurance costs too much. You may be able to adjust the benefit amounts of the original quotes to bring the premiums more in line with your expectations, thus ensuring an affordable policy.
Know the Costs of Long-term Care Where You Live
One way to lower premium costs is to make sure you know what the actual costs of care are in your area. There are many statistics used when discussing long-term care costs and often these are based on national averages. The actual cost of home care, nursing homes and assisted living facilities in your particular area may be much lower. You can find out about local long-term care costs by either downloading the latest Genworth Cost of Care Guide or by calling a few local home care agencies and long-term care facilities to ask for comparison rates.
Adjust Your Benefit Period
Another different method to lower long-term care insurance premiums is to use a shorter benefit period. Many consumers feel that unlimited benefits are necessary for good coverage. A recent study published by the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance in their 2009 Sourcebook revealed that only eight percent of those who buy a three-year benefit period exhaust the policy and still need care. Only a little over one percent of those with a five-year benefit period will see their claims closed due to policy exhaustion. This means that lowering the benefit period can be a practical way to lower insurance costs without giving up vital coverage.
Reexamine the Elimination Period
One way to bring down long-term care insurance premiums is to increase the elimination period (the number of days after your care begins that precedes the insurance company’s first payment of claims).
Take note that almost 90% of individual continuous care insurance policies uses a period of elimination between ninety and one hundred days according to the same 2009 Sourcebook referenced above. If you have initial quotes used a thirty-day or sixty-day elimination period, you may have the ability to significantly lower the premiums by choosing a ninety-day elimination period instead. There are other ways that an experienced long-term care specialist can help make this kind of insurance which is affordable for you. If you ask for suggestions on bringing down your premiums, the specialist will be happy to work with you to craft a long-term care insurance policy that is effective and affordable.
