The American Association for Long Term Care Insurance suggests the following tips that can help you significantly reduce the cost of insurance coverage.
- Leverage Your Good Health:Insurers will require you meet certain health qualifications to obtain coverage. Discounts are provided to those in good health and 62% of applicants between ages 40-49 qualified in 2009. The percentage drops to 46% for ages 50-59 and only 38% for ages 60-69. Once obtained, the preferred health discount is not lost when your health changes. In short - the younger you buy, the healthier you are, the less expensive it will be on an annual basis.
- Right-Size Your Coverage: Some long term care insurance is always better than none. Factor in other sources of income such as Social Security, pension and 401k plans that can pay costs and allow you to add money-saving options such as a 90-day deductible (elimination period) or consider a limited-pay plan with a Shared Care option that allows two spouses to share a common benefit pool.
- Compare Coverage: Each insurer established it's own rates, health standards and available discounts. As a result, virtually equal protection from two highly-rated insurers can vary between 30% and 80%. Make sure your insurance professional has access to policies from more than one carrier (R&R has access to multiple long term care insurance providers).
For more questions on long term care insurance, contact our Certified Long Term Care Specialist Jane Shevey at jane.shevey@rrins.com or call her - 262-953-7123.
