In a new survey commissioned by Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company, researchers discovered that family considerations have a major impact on consumers’ decisions to buy long-term care insurance.
Nearly 41% of the long-term care insurance purchasers polled said their main reason for buying coverage was to avoid becoming a burden on their family.
The researchers also discovered that:
- 65% of those surveyed had talked about long-term care coverage with family members.
- 53% said family members were involved in their decisions to buy long-term care insurance.
- 78% said that they had a family member who had needed nursing home or home health care.
The findings revealed that purchasers often bring their family members into the decision-making process because purchasing long-term care insurance affects the entire family.
Many current retirees have had to care for a parent or place a parent in a nursing home. They said they didn’t want their children to have to go through the same situation.
The survey also uncovered the fact that the general public is aware of the shortfalls of Medicare in providing for long-term care. They are also mindful of the need to protect their assets.
If you have significant assets to protect, rather than gamble on not having an illness that requires extended care, you may want to consider long-term care insurance.
Getting the right coverage
However, since not all policies are the same, you should consider the following before making any purchase to be sure you get the coverage that’s right for you:
- What conditions must be met in order to collect benefits?
- How long must you wait before benefits start?
- How long will benefits last?
- Does the policy pay for any type of nursing home costs, or just the costs of nursing homes that provide skilled care?
- Does the policy pay for custodial home care or hospice care? Some policies will only pay for care received in facilities that meet the insurer’s definitions of skilled, intermediate or custodial care.
- Are there benefit increases to allow for inflation?
- Are there provisions that would offer coverage if your policy lapsed?
- Are expenses outside your local area covered?
- What is excluded from coverage?
- Will you have to continue paying premiums if you are confined to a nursing home?