The past couple of decades have seen long term care insurance changing considerably. As the population ages, long term care insurance becomes even more important. Whereas many individuals relied on their family to take care of them in the past, people today are making sure they are insured. And that means that there are both more policies and more claims.
More People Are Focusing on At-Home Care
At-home care has become very popular among the elderly population. Though at-home care is generally very expensive, it's also far more comfortable. At-home care can cover the need for 24/7 nurses or emergency nursing services, in addition to fitting out a home to be safer for the elderly patient. Many policies now cover both nursing home and at-home care, with the expectation that at-home care will be used until nursing home care becomes necessary.
Nursing Home Benefits Have Been Reduced
By the same token, the amount of benefits for nursing homes has been reduced in response to an increase in at-home care. Previously, nursing home care benefits lasted on average about five to six years. Today, they last about three to four years. Of course, this also depends on the policy -- this is just an average. But it does mean that people have to factor this into their planning, when they are considering going to a nursing home.
Premiums Have Increased Considerably
Annual premiums have over doubled over the course of the last few decades, but that isn't as much as it may sound. An annual policy today may be slightly less than $3,000 a year, but the cost of home health care itself can be about this much per month. Consequently, though insurance policies have increased in price, they are still extremely valuable for those who expect to use long term care in the future.
The Waiting Period for Benefits Has Increased
Finally, one notable change is that the elderly often have to wait longer for their benefits to be paid out. Before the wait was about a month long; now the wait can be up to three months.
What can you do to improve the usefulness of your long term care policy? Getting a policy early is generally best. The earlier you get your policy, the lower your rates will be. Because of the above changes in the way that long term care insurance is managed -- and the rising cost of care -- it's impossible to predict how expensive care will get even within the next ten years. The worst mistake an individual can get is not having care insurance at all. For more information, contact companies like Veltkamp Agency Inc.
Share15 March 2017
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