Is Your Benefit Period Suitable For Your Needs?

Buying a long term care insurance policy entails careful study of its various components such as the long term care insurance benefit period, maximum benefit amount, inflation protection, and the elimination period. While the total amount of insurance benefits that you must receive from your policy is emphatically important, you should not brush off the fact that your benefit period is another determinant of your premium for coverage. The benefit period of a long term care insurance (LTCI) policy is the period of time or duration that you will receive benefits from your LTCI policy. Shorter benefit periods equate to lower annual premiums while longer benefit periods require higher premiums. Though it is ideal to get lifetime coverage, this will cost you a lot of money. Besides, it is pointless to do so if your family history does not reveal cases of Alzheimer’s or other health disorders that will require long term care (LTC). Meanwhile, if the main cause of death in your family is a chronic illness that will require five to 10 years of care, you have every reason to settle for an LTCI policy with a benefit period that exceeds three years. If this is your plan though secure your policy early on in life lest you risk depleting your assets to your policy’s annual premiums. How to Secure Affordable Long Term Care Insurance Benefit Period As mentioned earlier, you can save on your annual premium if you will settle for an LTCI policy with a three-year benefit period as this is, after all, the average length of time that an individual will require care. Now let’s say you have a predisposition to Alzheimer’s and you are aware that you will require years of care. Unfortunately, you cannot afford an LTCI policy with a 10-year benefit period. Experts say a good alternative to this would be a policy which complies with the Partnership Program. With a partnership LTCI policy you can settle for a short benefit period such as three years and in the event that you will need further care you can instantly apply for Medicaid assistance without spending down the amount of your assets that is equivalent to the benefits which your policy has paid out to you. Partnership qualified LTCI policies offer more things other than affordability. Individuals who own this type of LTCI policy have the freedom to choose where they want to retire someday. They just have to see to it that the state they will move to participates in the partnership program’s reciprocity agreement to ensure that they will receive Medicaid Asset Protection in case they will apply for Medicaid assistance in the future. Using Medicaid for supplemental care, however, is the farthest thing from some people’s minds. If you happen to be one of them, you can ask your LTCI agent what other options are available to you. Your long term care insurance benefit period will definitely require a lot of thought, but once you have made the right decision you can enjoy the retirement phase of your life.