by Guest » Mon Dec 28, 2009 06:47 am
Do we look for LTC insurance online or is it better to sit with an independent agent?
I guess there are certain things that we should keep in mind while applying for LTC and I'm not too sure of these factors. I'd really like to know about how we may rate LTC insurance carriers and obtain cheaper quotes from them.
I guess there are certain things that we should keep in mind while applying for LTC and I'm not too sure of these factors. I'd really like to know about how we may rate LTC insurance carriers and obtain cheaper quotes from them.
Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2009 10:18 pm Post Subject:
You need an independent agent. Even if you do it on-line, you are still using an agent. You don't want cheaper quotes. A quote is meaningless. With all things being equal, you want the cheapest rate. Even this isn't good enough. You must be aware that the price is not guaranteed with Long Term Care insurance. There are some companies that are much more likely to raise rates with existing clients than others. Get a good agent!
Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 12:16 am Post Subject:
All true, eventually an agent of some sort will sell the policy you buy.
When it comes to deciding what you need, sit down with an agent or financial professional and discuss what you are hoping to accomplish with your long term care insurance purchase.
There are a lot of factors involved here. When it comes to evaluating company. Talk to the professional you sit down with about company financial strength. The Comdex is an aggregate of all credit ratings and ranks all major insurers on a percentile scale with 100 being the best. I'd look for companies that are 90 or above.
Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 06:42 am Post Subject:
There are a lot of factors involved here.
Are there any other factors that have to be counted other than the financial strength of a carrier?
How are these insurer ranks determined? Is it a better settlement performance than the competitors?
Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 12:05 pm Post Subject:
Bill, you really need to talk to a good agent. All of the companies are pretty similar when it comes to claims.
Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2009 05:33 am Post Subject:
Are there any other factors that have to be counted other than the financial strength of a carrier?
Generally, one should always make sure of the price and the benefits. Try and shop for the guaranteed renewal. It safeguards you from the cancellation or non-renewal of your policy.
You'll often come across carriers who'd cancel or deny coverage if the insured has grown too old or if he's undergone any physical or psychological problem.
Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2009 07:02 pm Post Subject:
ALL tax qualified policies are guaranteed renewable.
Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2009 05:37 am Post Subject:
Check if you have any protection from inflation or Ltc cost hike. If you have such offers, check out the duration and the applied rate. The inflation adjustment clause states that the benefits would show the ltc cost for that phase only.
Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2010 08:10 pm Post Subject: Not a fan
Not a fan of LTC insurance. If you don't use the coverage, you lose all the money you paid. Midland National Life offers a life insurance policy that will allow you to use 2% of the death benefit per month to pay for LTC cost. If you don't use it, you will die one day and your heirs will get the death benefit. Costs a little more than traditional LTC but worth it.
OR
You can invest money into a fixed annuity with Guaranty Income Life. This annuity will triple in value if you need LTC care. Product is called Annuicare 10
dhop1070@yahoo.com Im licensed in many states email me and I will help you.
Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2010 03:57 am Post Subject:
Not a fan of LTC insurance. If you don't use the coverage, you lose all the money you paid. Midland National Life offers a life insurance policy that will allow you to use 2% of the death benefit per month to pay for LTC cost. If you don't use it, you will die one day and your heirs will get the death benefit. Costs a little more than traditional LTC but worth it
With the average monthly cost of skilled nursing LTC in California estimated at a little more than $6,000 per month, one would need a $300,000 policy to cover the cost at a 2% takeaway. That's a far cry from the average $97,000 individual cash value life policy most people buy on their own (and average $290,000 policy a person gets when working with a financial adviser).
Be that as it may, insurance is an "aleatory" contract -- there is an unequal giving and receiving. You could pay just one or two LTC monthly premiums and obtain hundreds of thousands of dollars in benefits. But would you really want to (collect)? Admit it, life is better when you have no insurance claims.
Betting red and black on the roolette (yes, it's spelled incorrectly -- try it and find out why) wheel cannot guarantee you will never lose your bet. They put the green on the wheel specifically to give the house an advantage against what would otherwise be a non-bet. (They already have the advantage when they pay 35-for-1 for single number bets instead of 35-to-1 that the odds demand!)
You don't get auto insurance that gives you money to buy a new car if you have no claims in 20 years, and you don't get health insurance that pays for an unnecessary operation if you're still healthy and had few claims after paying premiums for 20 years. So why is there cash value life insurance? Because the insurance companies created it to give them more money to play with than what they would have as the result of a pure term insurance bet.
As much as I believe in the need for life insurance when appropriate, I'm not a fan of LTC riders on life policies. Locks you into keeping the life policy even when you might not need it, want it, or at a point that you can least afford it -- like being on the verge of needing LTC, but not there yet.
That's not to say that an LTC rider has no value. It most certainly does. But if you never use it, did you need to pay for it? (Assuming there is a separate charge for the rider (a few companies don't charge, but many do). If there is, it's not going to the policy cash value, so it, too, would be "lost" just the same. So your premise is a bit flawed.
Life insurance, in its most basic sense, provides protection against dying too soon. Annuities provide protection against living too long. LTC provides options for independence in the face of a chronic illness or debilitating event that could lead to either dying too soon or living too long.
Each has its place, but you don't get life insurance with an annuity rider, or an annuity with a life insurance rider, so why muck things up by converting a life policy into an LTC payment plan, when there may still be a need for the life insurance after the LTC benefit disappears?
There's also a tax benefit available, depending on a person's situation, for LTC premiums that is not available for life insurance premiums.
Just too many "what ifs". That's why there are dozens of different types of insurance contracts. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. Most needs are more efficiently covered by a specific type of policy designed to meet those needs.
LTC riders on life policies sound good in theory (and certainly saves a boatload in separate LTC premiums, for sure), and may work out to the benefit of some, but they're still dubious in my opinion. Better to have the right protection for the right need than to cobble together something that mostly has the insurer's desire for cashflow in mind.
You can invest money into a fixed annuity with Guaranty Income Life. This annuity will triple in value if you need LTC care. Product is called Annuicare 10
Would I really want to recommend an AM Best-rated "B" company such as Guaranty Income Life to a client when there are dozens of A++, A+, and A-rated insurers out there willing to do annuity business? I don't think so.
At it's core, insurance provides something that almost nothing else in life can offer: peace of mind. Knowing that I'm protected is comforting. Not needing to use my coverage is more comforting . . . despite the cost.
Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2010 05:22 am Post Subject:
Hi Max, even I wouldn't choose to go for a "B" rated company. But I don't understand this difference between the grades "A+" and "A-". How do they differentiate between these grades?
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