Just read a great article breaking down some of the issues surrounding Long Term Care Insurance.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443890304578006581060363270.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Here are some of the highlights.
Long-term-care insurance is the financial equivalent of gum
surgery: something that is often seemingly necessary, but just as often avoided
at all costs.
Now, to add to its unpopularity, soaring prices are prompting consumers to
rethink how much coverage they need and to experiment with other types of
policies.
Long-term-care policies help pay for nursing-home,
assisted-living and home care costs. In just the past year, premiums have risen
by as much as 17%, according to the American Association for Long-Term Care
Insurance, a trade organization for insurance agents.
Yet the need for some kind of long-term-care planning
remains greater than ever, experts say. Seventy percent of individuals over age
65 will require prolonged care at some point during their lives, according to
the National Clearinghouse for Long Term Care Information website, which is
maintained by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.\
Fortunately for those who hope to buy long-term coverage, a growing number of alternatives to traditional insurance are gaining in popularity. Sales of hybrid products—those that combine some type of life insurance with a long-term-care benefit—have been rising as traditional policies have faded. Limra says sales of such "life combination" products jumped 56% in 2011, the third consecutive year of double-digit gains.
Talking with one of my life insurance companies the other day about their hybrid products and they are a really neat tool to provide both a benefit to your children and offset some of the costs of Long Term Care.
If you are interested in learning more or have any questions call us at 229-246-4483 or email me at andy@reynoldsjeffords.com
