A general introduction to long term care insurance
Insurance can be defined as a form of risk management, used to hedge against the risk of any kind of losses. When it comes to health insurance, it is the insurance which is provided to cover for the financial costs that may arise due to health related issues.
The concept of insurance is very simple, which is that an insurance provider, a.k.a. an ‘insurer’ comes into an agreement with a customer to pay a certain amount of money i.e. a ‘claim’, if in case a certain unseen risk affects the customer during the period when the insurance policy is valid. The customer in turn, is obliged to pay to the insurer a regular payment, be it monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or annually, depending on the terms and conditions of the insurance agreement.
Long term insurance, abbreviated as LTC or LTCI, is an insurance product available in certain countries which covers the cost of long-term care beyond a set period of time.
In general, it is the insurance coverage provided for those aspects of care which is not provided for by general insurance or specialized systems such as Medcaid or Medicare. These can include skilled nursing, intermediate nursing and custodial care. The care that one receives largely depends on your physical health and situation. Also, the individuals who require long-term care are not sick in the traditional sense, but are unable to perform the basic activities of daily life like bathing, dressing, eating, walking, driving, etc.
It is in other words, exactly what it says, which is insurance that covers the cost of care over the long term. It’s necessary in cases where a patient is need of medical care over an extended period of time, especially in cases where it involves large financial costs and are not covered through other insurance policies.
Due to the large financial costs involved, the long term care insurance quotes on the policies are generally higher than other policies on the market.
The purpose of long term care insurance is to ensure that should a person become physically disabled or terminally ill, there will be no issue of a financial crisis or emergency. Most forms of insurance or government-sponsored programs only provide for doctor bills, hospital bills and medicines. But beyond this, all other costs like nursing home care or in-home nursing care are uncovered, leaving the patient to bear all costs, which can become astronomical.
It is usually considered unnecessary by the vast majority of the people as they feel there is no need to get long-term care. However, the chances of one needing such an insurance is higher than one might expect, with, for example, about half of all Americans needing some form of care over the age of 65.
In addition to this, may are of the opinion that they are in a secure financial position to fund their own long-term care, if such a need arises. Unfortunately, many of them underestimate the costs which can have an adverse effect on one’s life savings, should they become too expensive to afford. Also, don’t take into consideration the fact that factors like inflation and demand can have long-term effects on the cost of everything.
Regardless, long term care planning with regard to insurance provides a lot of benefit to whoever is availing it, when done right after considering the price, coverage and overall effectiveness.
In all, long term care insurance plays an important role in risk management. While it can seem like an unnecessary and sometimes an expensive excess to get involved with, it can prove to be very useful when planned and implemented properly.
~*~*~
Insurance can be defined as a form of risk management, used to hedge against the risk of any kind of losses. When it comes to health insurance, it is the insurance which is provided to cover for the financial costs that may arise due to health related issues.
The concept of insurance is very simple, which is that an insurance provider, a.k.a. an ‘insurer’ comes into an agreement with a customer to pay a certain amount of money i.e. a ‘claim’, if in case a certain unseen risk affects the customer during the period when the insurance policy is valid. The customer in turn, is obliged to pay to the insurer a regular payment, be it monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or annually, depending on the terms and conditions of the insurance agreement.
Long term insurance, abbreviated as LTC or LTCI, is an insurance product available in certain countries which covers the cost of long-term care beyond a set period of time.
In general, it is the insurance coverage provided for those aspects of care which is not provided for by general insurance or specialized systems such as Medcaid or Medicare. These can include skilled nursing, intermediate nursing and custodial care. The care that one receives largely depends on your physical health and situation. Also, the individuals who require long-term care are not sick in the traditional sense, but are unable to perform the basic activities of daily life like bathing, dressing, eating, walking, driving, etc.
It is in other words, exactly what it says, which is insurance that covers the cost of care over the long term. It’s necessary in cases where a patient is need of medical care over an extended period of time, especially in cases where it involves large financial costs and are not covered through other insurance policies.
Due to the large financial costs involved, the long term care insurance quotes on the policies are generally higher than other policies on the market.
The purpose of long term care insurance is to ensure that should a person become physically disabled or terminally ill, there will be no issue of a financial crisis or emergency. Most forms of insurance or government-sponsored programs only provide for doctor bills, hospital bills and medicines. But beyond this, all other costs like nursing home care or in-home nursing care are uncovered, leaving the patient to bear all costs, which can become astronomical.
It is usually considered unnecessary by the vast majority of the people as they feel there is no need to get long-term care. However, the chances of one needing such an insurance is higher than one might expect, with, for example, about half of all Americans needing some form of care over the age of 65.
In addition to this, may are of the opinion that they are in a secure financial position to fund their own long-term care, if such a need arises. Unfortunately, many of them underestimate the costs which can have an adverse effect on one’s life savings, should they become too expensive to afford. Also, don’t take into consideration the fact that factors like inflation and demand can have long-term effects on the cost of everything.
Regardless, long term care planning with regard to insurance provides a lot of benefit to whoever is availing it, when done right after considering the price, coverage and overall effectiveness.
In all, long term care insurance plays an important role in risk management. While it can seem like an unnecessary and sometimes an expensive excess to get involved with, it can prove to be very useful when planned and implemented properly.
~*~*~
