Long term care insurance?

[kerry]

Having recently dealt with nursing home choices for my father in law and having friends whose dad is trying to get rid of his assets as he approaches the need for nursing home care, I'm giving some thought to long term care insurance. My retirement association offers it. Anyone here bought any? Anyone know the ins and outs of the choices?

[kerry]

Ok what's going on? All the libertarian individidualist anti-socialist posters here and nobody has insured themselves for care in their old age?????

[t walgamuth]

None of us are planning to get old.

This is like for nursing home care? If so my wife has it. iirc it is costing us 175/mo. We did some research and got it from State Farm.

Tom W

[kerry]

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

None of us are planning to get old.

This is like for nursing home care? If so my wife has it. iirc it is costing us 175/mo. We did some research and got it from State Farm.

Tom W

Yes that's it. Price varies depending on what age you are when you purchase it (I think). How old is your wife and how old was she when she got the policy?

I suppose there is an alternative. Budget up to age X or in need of long term care, and then just move to Oregon and exercise one's constitutional right.

[Brian Carlton]

Originally Posted by kerry edwards

Having recently dealt with nursing home choices for my father in law and having friends whose dad is trying to get rid of his assets as he approaches the need for nursing home care, I'm giving some thought to long term care insurance. My retirement association offers it. Anyone here bought any? Anyone know the ins and outs of the choices?

I'm subscribing to this thread. I'm quite interested myself.

My mother has the insurance, however, I don't even know the details.

[Brian Carlton]

Originally Posted by kerry edwards

Ok what's going on? All the libertarian individidualist anti-socialist posters here and nobody has insured themselves for care in their old age?????

No, they don't need it. They'll take care of themselves.........

[Botnst]

My regular insurance policy covers long-term care as an option (which I opted for -- it's cheap). On retirement it is convertible, which is what I will do, also.

[Brian Carlton]

Originally Posted by Botnst

My regular insurance policy covers long-term care as an option (which I opted for -- it's cheap). On retirement it is convertible, which is what I will do, also.

Is this your regular life insurance policy??

[kerry]

I just ordered the enrollment package thru my retirement plan but I'm heading out on a one month roadtrip so I won't get the info for a while. I know there are different amounts of coverage (per day $130-180 I think) and varying lengths of coverage, 3 yrs, 5 yrs, lifetime.
The father of a friend of mine had purchased coverage for his wife shortly before she showed signs of Alzheimer's. She spent many years in a nursing home, paid by the insurance and the husband did not have to spend down his assets to be eligible for Medicare.
I'm curious as to whether Bot means life or health insurance.

[Honus]

The smartest investment my family ever made, which isn't saying much, was GE Capital long-term care insurance for my mother. It was expensive, but she is getting over on them now. They have always paid without any run around. I recommend it highly.

[kerry]

Originally Posted by dculkin

The smartest investment my family ever made, which isn't saying much, was GE Capital long-term care insurance for my mother. It was expensive, but she is getting over on them now. They have always paid without any run around. I recommend it highly.

Under what conditions did you purchase it? How old was your mother, was there any indication of health problems? Any idea of the premiums?

[cjlipps]

It's a great idea. It's something that many of us will need and many companies offer a return of premium if you don't use the benefit after so many years of holding a policy. In addition, all the better providers pay for at-home care as part of the package so coverage isn't limited to a facility as in years past.
You do have to qualify, the benefits are very flexible as to amount, duration, etc. and the premiums go up the longer you wait to get coverage.
It's a part of my business and I am fairly knowledgeable so feel free to PM or e-mail me and I can go into more detail.

[Mistress]

Originally Posted by kerry edwards

Having recently dealt with nursing home choices for my father in law and having friends whose dad is trying to get rid of his assets as he approaches the need for nursing home care, I'm giving some thought to long term care insurance. My retirement association offers it. Anyone here bought any? Anyone know the ins and outs of the choices?

Kerry- I am sorry you have to go through this and to let you know it's a good idea to check with an attorney on disbursing assets, there is something funky in a few states about a time frame involved for getting rid of said assets before he goes into a facility also, make sure one of you is assigned as "durable" power of attorney not just power of attorney. starting age for long term insurance is at age 55 you can actually contact the company that handles your home owners insurance and or car insurance for more info. hope this helps.

[Honus]

Originally Posted by kerry edwards

Under what conditions did you purchase it? How old was your mother, was there any indication of health problems? Any idea of the premiums?

She was 70 years old and in excellent health. The premiums were about $7,000 a year. The policy provides benefits upon certification that the policy holder is unable to meet 2 (I think) of the 5 activities of daily living or is in need of assistance to protect her health and safety. Once you meet that threshold, the policy pays the benefits and the policy holder pays no more premiums. My mother started receiving benefits when it became clear that she was screwing up her blood pressure medications, which was a big health issue. GE Capital paid for a nurse to come by every morning to administer her meds. She has since developed conditions that require much higher level assistance. GE Capital has stepped up to the plate with only a moderate amount of red tape.

[suginami]

My fee only Certified Financial Planner recommended that Long Term Care Insurance is something we should all have. The costs of nursing home care is so expensive that you'd have to be extremely wealthy to be able to afford it. If you are one of the middle class, it will surely deplete all of your assets in a few years.

Naturally, the younger you are when you enroll, the cheaper the annual premiums are, but my CFP as a general rule recommends that people enroll at about age 50.

My mother has long term care insurance, and I plan to purchase it as well.