We just got my parent long term care insurance that also is life insurance. Essentially it has a max benefit that can be used for LTC, and if you don't need it, it will be paid out as life insurance. It made sense for us. Lots of products out there.

Actually, my wife got long term care at age 54 for 2500 bucks a year. Apparently our experiences vary. I cannot afford it, diabetes makes my rates very high. I have arranged to be crated off to the VA if needed.

Our broker referred us to an independent agent who got us quotes. The broker pointed us to publications that rated the actual service of the providers.

Scary product if there are no refunds.

If they can keep raising the rates on you until you cry uncle and give up - they keep all the money you've paid to date ? Sounds like a scam.

I'm sure it would be worth it if something bad happens, but it also sounds like it's easy for them to take your cash and run.

I'll probably just rely on one of my two daughters watching out for me and making use of my retirement savings to do it..

quote:

Originally posted by 2Adefender:
LTC insurance is very expensive. We have policies purchased in our mid 40's. It was very affordable back then. Now, 15 years later, we've seen our premiums increased three times to maintain the same level of coverage.

It's worth having, but expect to pay a lot of money for it. And the newer policies have cut way back on the benefits available.

We will get to a point where we can't afford to maintain the policies if the rate increases keep coming

We purchased Genworth LTCI about 12 years ago when we were in our early 40's. We got about the best rates possible and have seen the premiums rise every few years. This year they have risen to $3800 for the two of us. I got sick of the rising premiums and have not paid by the due date, so now I'm sure it has lapsed, but I have not heard anything from them yet. We'll just have to self-insure, as I'd rather put the money towards a western hunt or family vacation.

Thank you for all the responses - I certainly now have the names of several companies I can contact for quotes.

Several of you expressed that this type of insurance sounds like a scam - although I suspect there could be some scams out there, I can assure you LTC insurance from a good company is not a scam.

My mother recently died at 94 - almost making it to 95. She had LTC insurance. She lived in assisted living for about 8 years before going into a full-blown nursing home/memory unit (severe dementia). Before she went into the nursing home, she was on the highest level of care offered in an assisted living setting. That was costing her about $5,000 a month. I do not know exactly how much the memory unit nursing home was costing, but she was in it for a couple of years before she died. She had excellent care for the duration, and I am confident she would not have been able to afford as good a place were it not for her insurance. In fact, she left a pretty nice inheritance. Had she not had the insurance, she would have spent all her assets for her care.

Some of you asked, "what happens if you stop paying the premium? Do you get that money back?" The answer is - of course not. Just as with Life insurance, if you die during the time the premium is paid, you're covered. If you don't die during the life of the policy - was it wasted money? In my view, no, because you were covered and protected during the time the policy was active. That's how insurance works!

Perhaps some of you are in a situation where you have close relatives who can live with you and take care of you in your advanced years - if you are in that situation, consider yourself lucky - but if I follow in my mother's footsteps and become cognitively impaired, there is no way my kids would be equipped to care for me in that case, and I would not want them to be burdened with my care. In a big sense, LTC insurance is as much for the next generation of your family as it is for yourself.

Anyway, the wife and I are going to look for a policy and work with our financial advisor to select the best one for us.

I think the issue comes down to 1) if you can afford it and 2) are you trying to protect something or someone.

If the something is money you're trying to protect for the next generation or someone who will have the stress and burden of providing for you and you can afford it, then you should.

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
I have a gun and one bullet.

That's my thinking as well.

I have seen too much of the inside of an Assisted Living Facility with my father.

Instead of LTC insurance premiums, I would invest the money long term with Zacks.

quote:

Originally posted by btanchors:
Thank you for all the responses - I certainly now have the names of several companies I can contact for quotes.

Several of you expressed that this type of insurance sounds like a scam - although I suspect there could be some scams out there, I can assure you LTC insurance from a good company is not a scam.

My mother recently died at 94 - almost making it to 95. She had LTC insurance. She lived in assisted living for about 8 years before going into a full-blown nursing home/memory unit (severe dementia). Before she went into the nursing home, she was on the highest level of care offered in an assisted living setting. That was costing her about $5,000 a month. I do not know exactly how much the memory unit nursing home was costing, but she was in it for a couple of years before she died. She had excellent care for the duration, and I am confident she would not have been able to afford as good a place were it not for her insurance. In fact, she left a pretty nice inheritance. Had she not had the insurance, she would have spent all her assets for her care.

Some of you asked, "what happens if you stop paying the premium? Do you get that money back?" The answer is - of course not. Just as with Life insurance, if you die during the time the premium is paid, you're covered. If you don't die during the life of the policy - was it wasted money? In my view, no, because you were covered and protected during the time the policy was active. That's how insurance works!

Perhaps some of you are in a situation where you have close relatives who can live with you and take care of you in your advanced years - if you are in that situation, consider yourself lucky - but if I follow in my mother's footsteps and become cognitively impaired, there is no way my kids would be equipped to care for me in that case, and I would not want them to be burdened with my care. In a big sense, LTC insurance is as much for the next generation of your family as it is for yourself.

Anyway, the wife and I are going to look for a policy and work with our financial advisor to select the best one for us.

I used to sell the stuff. A coworker of mine bought a policy for his father. A few years later he developed Parkinson's, and eventually dementia/Alzheimer's. He lived in nursing home with 24 hour a day care. He was lucky and got a lifetime benefit and a high daily benefit. He was able to transition from inhome nurse care to live in facility and have benefits the entire time. It was just a few years after signing up for the policy that his father fell ill. IIRC he needed care for 15 years. The inheritance (small) was protected and his father got the care he needed.

I much rather I (or loved one) went that route then spending down to get medicade/medicare to pay for it. There's also a look back period too, if you give away or spend your assets to qualify they can deny or make you repay the money first.

I have been out the biz for a while, so the best advice I can give is you are doing the right thing looking into it. It's not a scam, it's insurance. I pray you guys never need it, but if you do your kids will thank God you had it.

LTC is complicated stuff. If there's just one person, and you don't want/need to provide an ineritance, Medicaid will pay for your long term care. But...

>There's also a look back period

Yup. Five years. Your eligibility for Medicaid is reduced in proportion to any money spent in the five years prior to your Medicaid application.

It prevents rich people from giving away their money, and in the following year getting Medicaid to pay for their nursing home care because they're now destitute.

The Medicaid LTC benefit is about half the daily rate charged by most nursing homes. In most places, it's hard to find a bed if you go in with Medicaid. If you go in private pay, however, most "good" facilities will let you stay if you spend down all your money and have to rely on Medicaid.

Why do I know this? I just moved both my parents (ages 87 and 94) to a nursing home, from their former home in assisted living. They're living off their hard-earned life long savings... may they live long enough to spend it all and leave me nothing :-)

My mom signed up for the AARP long term care insurance, and it really worked out well. A few years after she got it, she needed to go to assisted living. I was burned out, and her problems had gotten to the point she needed to go somewhere other than home. She didn't like it, but it turned out she would have had to go anyway as I was severely injured in a fall in August, a few months after she moved to assisted living. The AARP policy paid for her rent and food (Sometimes, calling it food was being generous) for 36 months. When it was about to run out, the government made a change that allowed people to stay in an assisted living or nursing facility until the end. So, she was allowed to stay, and the only inconvenience was her SS was taken away except for $50 a month. It was still a bargain and she remained there until her death at 87. She was sharp as a tack until the end, and she was relieved that I wasn't going to go broke trying to take care of her. I'm almost 61 and will soon be signing up for it. I don't have any organ issues, just mechanical, so the price won't be too awful.

My wife and I have started to look at Lincoln MoneyGuard II.
She is in her late 40's and I am in my early 50's.

Anyone have thoughts, on the MoneyGuard II plan?

quote:

Originally posted by kimber1911:
My wife and I have started to look at Lincoln MoneyGuard II.
She is in her late 40's and I am in my early 50's.

Anyone have thoughts, on the MoneyGuard II plan?

Kinda early for money guard. You're basically loaning them money for 6x leverage for LTC and guaranteeing zero growth. I would either wait unless you have potential morbidity issues on the rise or if your dead set on being covered there are a few LTC annuities that offer 3x leverage but offer an interest rate. Also consider a life w LTC rider.

Giving advice on ur situation without a picture of your whole financial plan is folly and I dont exoect you to share that online so standard answer, find a financial planner who knows thier stuff.

I also prefer indemnity vs. Reimbursement coverage. MGII is reimbursement.

LTC insurance can be an important part of a person's financial plan. If you have legacy goals and are concerned about spending down your assets for your care, a policy can provide some asset protection. Generally, your net worth needs to be over $1,000,000. If you have less, you probably will not be able to afford the coverage long term.

I have been in the industry for a long time. I will not admit how long...

There are essentially 3 versions available today

1. Traditional Long Term Care Insurance.

This type of policy works a lot like your car insurance, you pay every month, if you need the coverage, the insurance picks up the bill. This type of policy has serious downfalls for the Insurance Company and the Insured.

For the Company, it is difficult to measure the actual risk and claims experience. This is why so many companies have been getting out of the business. Initially, these policies offered unlimited benefits. Those policies are no longer available. Today's policies have a limited number of years of coverage typically 3-5 and have a specific daily maximum dollar amount limit.

The biggest downfall for clients with this type of policy is that the company has the ability to raise the costs as they see fit. The client gets the premium increase notice and generally has 3 choices, Pay the increased premium, Pay the same with reduced benefits, or quit paying and take a paid up policy that will essentially only offer benefits equal to a refund of the premiums if you ever need LTC. The client's choices all suck and since this product relies on your health, it is almost impossible to cancel and get coverage somewhere else.

2. Asset Based LTC Policies - Lincoln Moneyguard and PacLife PremierCare are the two biggest

Both of these policies are built on a Life Insurance policy. Generally they offer the ability to get a refund of your premiums if you ever change your mind. Depending on your age and sex when issued, the LTC benefit is going to be 3-6 times the premium put in. If you die without using the policy, your beneficiary gets a life insurance death benefit at least equal to the premiums paid. The biggest concern for the client is that you need to fund these policies with $50k-$100k at a minimum depending on your age. There are multipay options but the premiums are still "Asset Based" so you need to have the assets.

3. Life Insurance and Annuities with a LTC rider

There are numerous versions of these types of policies. Generally, the ones I have researched are mostly the life insurance or the annuity policy with a side of LTC. If you want LTC, buy 1 or 2. Avoid these.

I hope this helps. Email in profile if you have specific questions and don't want to share personal financial details on the Forum.

My MIL bought a policy several years ago thru Starmount Life. It's a smaller company in La. Had not heard of them but she checked them out and felt good about them. Last year she went into the nursing home. They are paying like clockwork and since she in the nursing home she does not have to pay any premiums.

12 years ago I started my own business and purchased a 25 year life insurance policy that will lapse when I'm 84. The policy provides a Death Benefit of $400,000 with a rider to the policy that allows me to reach into the Death Benefit if I'm admitted to a nursing home. I can access 40% of the Death Benefit in advance of my death. My wife has a similar policy with a $200,000 benefit.

One out of every three people will spend time in a nursing home before they die. I considered a Long Term Care policy but determined that the money spent on premium payments would be lost if I didn't go into a nursing home. I also concluded that the odds were pretty good that I would, at some point, die.

The policy costs me about $450/month. As long as I can manage to die before the policy lapses I win! If I go into the nursing home before I turn 84, I win!

I'm now 70 and starting to worry I'll actually live to past 84. To remedy this problem I've stopped eating bran muffins and started eating bacon and running with scissors.