What Is LTC Insurance, And How Can I Save On These Premiums?

Long term care insurance, also known as LTC insurance, is coverage that protects you if you need long term care. This insurance will cover adult day care, personal care, care in a nursing home, and home health care for a person who is over sixty five years old or who has a disabling or chronic condition which requires supervision constantly. Many individuals need care as they get older, and this care can be prohibitively expensive, sometimes costing eighty to one hundred thousand dollars per year. Unlike public assistance programs, which have very narrow coverages and no flexibility, long term care insurance allows many more options for the care and is much more flexible. A decent nursing home may charge between one hundred and fifty to three hundred dollars per day, and even just having a home health aide come in a few times a week for an hour each visit may cost a couple of hundred dollars per week, which is around ten grand a year, on top of all the other expenses everyone faces, such as rent, utilities, food, and other living costs.

Long term care insurance can be costly, with the typical premium for a single individual costing between one and three thousand dollars a year, or between one and three hundred dollars per month. The actual cost of your premium will depend on many variables, such as your age, health, medical history, where you live, and many others. This does not mean that you have to pay more for LTC insurance though, because there are many ways that you can save money on these premiums and still be covered where it counts. The first tip to saving money on LTC insurance costs is to buy your policy early in life. This may seem absurd, because the odds of you needing this insurance right away is small, but the younger you are when the policy is started the lower your rates will be.

Savings can be had on the cost of LTC insurance if you keep yourself in good shape and take care of your health. A person who has a health history which shows good health may get a good health discount, which can lower your LTC insurance premiums as much as one hundred and fifty percent. If your health is poor and you have a medical condition, you may have to pay outrageous rates no matter which insurance company you choose, if any of them will give you coverage. You may also save money on this expense if you are married and your spouse is included in the policy, anywhere from ten percent to thirty five percent of the premium total. This amount is not small, and some insurers may extend this discount to couples who are living together but not married, or even siblings who share a residence.

One way to save money on LTC insurance is to make one payment every year instead of monthly payments. This option may save you up to ten percent of your annual premium, simply by making your payment all at once instead of in installments. Many employers may offer a long term care insurance policy as a benefit to their workers, and this usually offers a group discount because of the group of employees, which can give you incredible savings on this coverage.