Paying Close Attention To Your Elimination Period

Did you know that your long term care insurance elimination period will decide whether you will receive your benefits from your long term care insurance (LTCI) policy or not? Yes, that’s how important it is and thus it requires serious attention. Also called the waiting period, your policy’s elimination period should be taken very seriously because failure to comply with this provision will put all the money that you’ve paid into your long term care insurance (LTCI) policy to waste. Now if you’re wondering how do you exactly decide how long your elimination period should be, check your savings account first and other assets. During the waiting period you are expected to pay all of your long term care (LTC) expenses using your personal resources for a specific number of days. After you have satisfied your elimination period that is the only time that your benefits will start pouring in. For example, if your policy’s elimination period stipulates 90 days then you have to pay for all the LTC services that you will require within this number of days. Your elimination period takes effect the moment that you have satisfied your policy’s benefit triggers. Most insurance companies simply require policyholders to comply with the number of days that is stipulated in their elimination period then they can subsequently receive their benefits. However, there are some companies that count the days a policyholder had actually received care because it has to be equivalent to the elimination period stipulated in his or her policy. For instance, an insured individual’s elimination period is 180 days so his insurer expects him to receive and pay for care out-of-pocket for 180 consecutive days. If he fails to acquire care for one or two days, he will not be able to receive his benefits. Planning Your Long Term Care Insurance Elimination Period You’re lucky if your insurer simply requires you to complete the number of calendar days stipulated in your policy’s elimination period before it starts paying out your benefits. Say if your policy notes an elimination period of 180 days, all you have to do is wait for 180 days to pass as you occasionally acquire LTC services from a licensed caregiver, while the bulk of the care that you receive comes from family members. Insurance companies marketing LTCI policies vary in so many aspects that is why it is advisable to start your LTC plan early. Just scouting for a reliable company which provides topnotch service at a price that you can afford will take a good amount of time. Then there’s also the time you will render in comparing LTCI quotes from different firms, analyzing each company’s provisions for the long term care insurance elimination period, and calculating your insurance benefits if you would consider acquiring an inflation protection rider for your policy. Considering an LTCI policy for your LTC needs will really entail a lot of work but in the end you will realize that the results are worth all your efforts.