Hopefully, nothing will happen to you as you age, but if you do live a long life, you could become frail at some point and maybe even need care at home for an extended period of time. You have probably seen this with family members or friends.
As you may know, some people acquire long-term care insurance in order to mitigate the financial, physical and emotional burden to family members who would otherwise provide and/or pay for care.
While most people recognize the value of long-term care insurance and the benefits these policies provide, some have not taken the important first step of applying for coverage. History has shown that the longer you wait to purchase this insurance, the more expensive the premiums become.
Furthermore, you run the risk of having a health event that could preclude you from qualifying.
This is true again today as Genworth, a leading carrier with some of the most affordable premiums available, will be eliminating some of its premium discounts and restricting its underwriting as of Sunday.
This is in part due to the low interest rate environment and the fact that carriers are paying more claims, in larger amounts, and for longer periods of time. Insurance companies need to make responsible business decisions to in order to pay the benefits promised to policy holders.
If you’ve been on the fence about buying long-term care insurance, this may be your opportunity. You might want to consider submitting an application to Genworth before Sunday to lock in better pricing, benefit options and take advantage of less stringent underwriting.
Please contact me to explore what these policies cover and what they cost. Why pay more for the same coverage when you don’t have to?
— Brad Tisdale, MS, CSA, is the director of insurance services at Mission Wealth Management. He can be contacted at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or 805.690.3874. Click here for more information.
