Friday 27 January 2017

long term care insurance

How to select a long term care insurance provider and policy

Health-related emergencies such as illnesses, injuries or anything else, can strike at any moment.
The risks of these emergencies can be catastrophic in certain cases. These events often have the potential to deal a devastating blow to one’s financial standing and could even lead to bankruptcy. In addition to this, the fact that such risks exist can cause a great deal of mental anguish to the concerned individual.
Therefore, being prepared for such emergencies is necessary to ensure that such risks can be minimized or if possible, even eliminated. This is where the insurance provider steps in to ensure that the risks are properly managed, through insurance policies.

When it comes to long term care insurance, just like any other insurance, it is necessary to ensure that proper care is taken to properly verify the insurer.
This is to ensure that one is able to get adequate coverage at a price that they are able to afford. Also, they will need to ensure that the insurer is a genuine service provider.

While this list isn’t exhaustive, it does give a general set of guidelines when selecting a proper insurer and insurance policy:

A.) INSURER:
1.) Legitimate/Genuine:
With insurance being big business, there are plenty of players in the market who are into making a quick buck.
Check to make sure that the insurer is a genuine one, which can be done through the local or national bodies that regulate insurers.
2.) License:
An insurer may not be permitted to operate in all markets. Check to ensure that the insurer is permitted to operate across the market where you are buying your policy.
3.) Track record:
Just because an insurer is genuine doesn’t mean that one should go for it. What also matters is the overall track record of an insurer. If the insurer declines to approve and settle a claim when it is really necessary, it will turn out to be a real nightmare.
This can be done through the help of a national claims database, which has a record of a company’s claim history.
4.) Financial Stability:
Select an insurer who has a solid financial base, as that’s what matters when it comes to settling your claims.
This is possible with the help of numerous independent rating agencies.
5.) Service:
The company should be friendly in terms of service and must be available to help you out whenever you need it. Make sure that the company has a good system of customer service.

B.) INSURANCE POLICY:
1.) Duration:
The policy that you are choosing handles long-term care. Therefore, it is necessary that you check the exact duration of the insurance policy before you go for it.
Remember that this is something that will likely extend into a person’s old age, which means it’s best to have a policy that covers one’s entire lifespan.
2.) Coverage:
Not all policies cover everything. Quite often, something is left out in the policy, which makes it cumbersome later on to include it.
Make sure that the policy covers everything that you need before you accept it.
2.) Cost:
long term care insurance quotes are in general expensive, due to the fact that they are covering for a risk that extends over one’s entire lifespan.
Regardless of this fact, it is possible to find providers of insurance policies who will be able to cover all the necessary details without overcharging you.
Spend some time to research on the best available quotes and pay only after you are convinced that you are getting the best value for your money.
3.) Read the fine print:
Not all details are given in bold or italic.
It is a customary practice in the business world to include a few important details in the fine print, which must be read before going into any agreement.
Make sure to read the terms and conditions, as well as any other paperwork you might be given before you sign the papers.
4.) Check the tax-benefits:
Some of the insurance policies qualify for tax benefits.
Make it a point to check whether the policy that you are about to purchase is one which qualifies for tax benefits.

To sum everything up, long term care planning with regard to insurance requires that all of these factors be considered before availing any policy.
If done right, one should be able to get a great coverage deal for something that isn’t hard on the pocket. It might not be easy but most certainly possible.
Long term care insurance is important. But at the same time, so is the initial process of selecting one.

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