LONG TERM CARE INSURANCE

LONG TERM CARE INSURANCE

Long Term Care Insurance

It provides the financial support you need if you have to pay for care assistance for yourself or a loved one. Long-term care insurance can cover the cost of assistance for those who need help to perform the basic activities of daily life such as getting out of bed, dressing, washing, and going to the toilet.

You can receive long-term care in your own home or in residential or nursing homes.  Regardless of where you receive care, paying for care in old age is a growing issue. Government benefits can provide some help, but they may not be enough or may not pay for the full cost of long-term care.

A popular option for long-term care insurance is to purchase a life insurance policy with what is known as an either/or policy feature. With this feature, if the insured passes away, a death benefit is paid out just like a normal life insurance policy would do. But if the insured needed long-term care before their death, those specified benefits are paid, taking precedence over life insurance. 

To qualify for benefits, most plans state you must be incapable of performing two or more activities of daily living by yourself, such as bathing, dressing or eating.

To receive benefits, you have two options:

» Be reimbursed for eligible expenses that you may have on a given date, up to a pre-determined maximum

» Receive pre-determined monthly payments

You’ll typically have to wait 30 to 90 days after becoming disabled before you get benefits. Some additional conditions and restrictions may apply.