Archive for the ‘retirement’ Category
Long term care insurance is an insurance product that is design, not to cover your basic medical care, but rather to cover the gaps that your other health care insurance products have. These gaps are created by high deductibles, coverage limits and lack of coverage of certain services. If you are going to be retiring soon, it is important that you check out your long term care insurance options.
Low Risk Retirees
The answer to the question, “is long term care insurance necessary for retirees?” all depends on your risk factors. If you are a low risk retiree then you may not need to purchase long term care insurance. However, it is better to have this insurance and not need it, then it is to not have this insurance and need it.
Low risk retirees are going to be people that are generally healthy, that do not smoke and that lead a relatively safe lifestyle. These retirees also will have a major medical health insurance policy already in hand or they will be eligible for Medicare or Medicaid.
Being a low risk retiree is very advantageous. When you have low risk factors you will have lower LTC insurance costs. This will allow you to buy more insurnace for less money and it will provide you with the coverage options that you want most for the best price possible.
High Risk Retirees
High risk retirees are most likely going to be the people that are the most interested in buying long term care insurance. High risk retirees include people that are overweight, that are out of shape, that smoke and that have risky hobbies. They are also going to be the people that have family histories of chronic illnesses like diabetes, heart disease and strokes.
Being a high risk retiree means that you will need to be more selective about the coverage you select. The prices that you are quoted are going to be higher than people with lower risk factors. However, your risk factors change as your health changes so you have the opportunity to improve your risk factors before buying an insurance policy.
To lower your risk factors you can do several things. To start with you will want to lower your weight if you are overweight. This will solve many of your health problems and lower many of your risk factors. You can also quit smoking. These two actions will dramatically reduce how much your insurance is going to cost.
Conclusion
Long term care insurance is necessary for retirees regardless of their current health or their risk factors. This is because at some point, everyone is going to need some form of help. This help may be as simple as housekeep or transportation, or as complicated as full institutional care.
