Long Term Care Insurance

5 essential tips when buying a long term care insurance policy

Long term care insurance provides individuals with a weekly tax free benefit in the event that they would require assistance with 2 of the 6 activities of daily living. Those activities include bathing, dressing, eating, maintaining continence, toileting, and transferring (Check the appropriate policies for more details). The proceeds received from a long term care policy can help prevent individuals from having to deplete their saving and/or forcing their family into debt due to unforeseen or unplanned for medical expenses. There are several factors to investigate when determining which long term care policy is right for you.

1. Does the policy have limitations on when and how you receive your benefits? Many LTC policies will payout only if you require facility care assistance.
2. Determine the elimination period and/or benefit period which best suit your needs and budget. The elimination period refers to the amount of time which must pass before you begin to receive your weekly benefit, and the benefit period refers to how long you'll receive that coverage for. Those 2 variables combined with your daily benefit will help determine your monthly premium.
3. Determine if there's a premium cap on the policy. Most long term care policies in Canada offer guaranteed premiums for only the first 5 policy years.
4. Determine if you need any riders such as cost of living adjustment and/or return a premium rider. The former allows your benefit to increase in line with inflation, whereas the return of premium benefit returns the premium to your beneficiary in the event you pass away.
5. Be sure to work with a trusted independent broker who can provide you with unbiased independent advice when purchasing a long term care policy.

Be sure to also check out our Long-Term Care - Basic Vocabulary and Definitions, as well as our Critical Illness and Disability Insurance Tips section.

Long Term Care News

• Titan of Social Justice Could’ve Been Helped by Long-term Care Insurance

  10/30/2011

  NDP crusader Dan Heap protests in 1984. Photo by Anne Levenston/Toronto Star. Dan Heap is now a shadow of his former self. According to the Toronto Star, the man who once advocated for refugee and workers' rights is now ailing in a retirement home following a heart attack and a 2005 Alzheimer's diagnosis. He is [...]

• Manulife Financial’s Disability Insurance to Long-Term Care Conversion Feature

  12/10/2010

  Turn Disability to Long-Term Care with Manulife's Conversion Feature. Photo by Michael Carian Manulife Financial offers non-medical conversion from its Disability Insurance policies to its Long-Term Care Insurance program. The following is an example of how the program works: A Manulife client who has a $2,000 monthly indemnity disability plan would be able to convert [...]

• Long-Term Care Insurance: An Under-Served Market

  01/23/2010

  Are advisors missing an opportunity with Long-term Care insurance? Photo by Edwin Kelly Tofslie Recent statistics compiled by the Life Insurance Marketing Research Association [LIMRA], and published in the January 2010 issue of the Insurance Journal,  have shown that there were only 7,847 long-term care policies sold in 2008 - marking a decline compared to [...]

• Five Long-Term Care Insurance Myths

  12/19/2009

  Man by Michelle Tribe While the number of long-term care policies being sold in Canada is rising, the number of Canadians who are properly insured is still extremely low. In some instances, its due to misunderstanding and myth. The following are five myths surrounding Long Term Care Insurance: "My Family Will Take Care of Me" [...]

• Long-term Care Consumer Report

  12/02/2009

  
  Growing 2 old has never
  been easier with Long
  term care insurance.
  photo by Edwin Kelly Tofslie

  We're always surveying the latest and greatest in insurance plans available in Canada and today we're breaking down the advantages and disadvantages of some of leading long-term care plans in Canada. We do the work, so you don't have to.

  In 2008, LIMRA, a financial research firm, introduced stats that underscore the importance of getting long-term care insurance early. These include the following:

• Long-term Care Insurance: Why You Should Buy Now

  11/30/2009

  
  Thinking about Long-term
  Care? Don’t wait any
  longer, buy now.
  photo by Doug Sheffer

  Long-term care insurance was first sold in the U.S. in 1987, with Canada following in the early 90s, and there's still a limited number of Canadians with long-term care policies. That's why we have seven reasons why you should consider buying long-term care insurance now.

• Long-Term Care Insurance: The Top 5 Reasons People Claim Benefits

  11/30/2009

  Alzheimers disease is the top reason people claim long term care benefits. photo by Michael Carian People claim Long-term Care benefits for a variety of reasons, but Life Plans has released the definitive top five reasons the average claimant (about 61.6-years-old) files a claim. The top five reasons that long-term care policy holders go on [...]

• LIMRA’s Long-term Care Statistics

  11/29/2009

  LIMRA's long-term Care statistics for 2008 shows that, while the number of long-term care policies being sold in the United States is rising, the number of Americans who are properly insured is still extremely low. The data they reveal include the following: One in five Americans over age 65 will require some form of long-term [...]

• Sun Life’s Long-term Care Plan

  11/20/2009

  Many Canadian insurance companies carry a Long-term Care plan, but we know how hard it can be to tell the differences between them all. That's why we've taken the liberty of breaking down three Long-term Care plans from three of Canada's leading insurance providers. First in this series is Sun Life Financial:

  Pros

  • Rolling five year guarantee (guaranteed to remain the same for five years).
  • Zero elimination period available for facility care.
  • No waiting period if there's a relapse of illness within 180 days of recovery.
  • Payment for the longer of 20 years or until the age of 55 is available.

  Cons

  • Comprehensive benefit has to be purchased for home care services.
  • The client must submit receipts to claim benefits.

• Manulife Living Care Underwriting Made Easy

  10/28/2009

    The following is a snapshot of Manulife's underwriting requirements on their Long-term Care plan called Living Care. They do have the right to alter those requirements depending on the insured's health history. Age 70 Living Care application Telephone interview Age 71 or older Living Care application Face-to-face interview The insured's doctor will also be [...]

• Manulife’s Long-term Care Plan LivingCare

  10/22/2009

    Manulife's Long-term Care plan, called LivingCare, is unique to the industry in that it is available on a single-life basis or a shared coverage option. Additionally, rather than having a set weekly or monthly benefit, Manulife allows the insured to choose a maximum benefit of up to $1,000,000 for single-life coverage or $2,000,000 for [...]

• Random Facts About Long-term Care Insurance Everyone Needs to Know

  10/21/2009

  Before you buy Long-term Care, there are some things you should know. image courtesy Ian Mackenzie There are certain things all potential applicants should know before buying Long-term Care Insurance. It's our hope that the following facts will arm you with the valuable information you need to make the right decision for you and your [...]

• Penncorp Life: One Step Long-term Care

  10/10/2009

  Penncorp Life Insurance specializes in disability insurance for self-employed individuals and small business owners. On Nov. 14, 2008, the company announced the launch of their Long-term Care plan, called One Step Long-Term Care. Other Long-Term Care plans in the Canadian marketplace require that the insured is unable to perform at least two basic activities of [...]

• CARP’s Long-term Care Insurance Plan

  09/28/2009

  CARP offers Long-term Care insurance for its members. The Canadian Association for the Fifty-Plus (CARP), formerly known as the Canadian Association of Retired Persons, offers a Long-term Care insurance program to its members that is underwritten by Desjardins. The program offers essentially the same features and pricing as the plan offered by Desjardins independent brokers. [...]

• Long-Term Care Insurance Underwriting

  09/21/2009

  Applying for Long-Term Care? Know what the underwriters are looking for. The underwriting criteria for Long-term Care insurance can be significantly different than for life insurance. Life insurance looks at mortality risks such as heart disease, build or lifestyle, but Long-term Care looks at mobility and cognitive issues. These factors can significantly increase the likelihood [...]

• A Closer Look: Long-Term Care Insurance

  09/18/2009

  Manulife's 'Shared Coverage Option' is just one way you and your spouse can live out your twilight years. Nearly half of all Canadians over the age of 65 will need some sort of long-term care. While the government will cover some of these costs, there are limits not only to how much they will cover, [...]

• Long Term Care Insurance – Home Care vs. Facility Care

  04/18/2009

  by Pablo Prez Most Long Term Care insurance policies in Canada will pay a tax free daily benefit once the insured's physician provides certification that the insured requires care in a facility or at home because of his/hers inability to perform two or more specified activities of daily living — bathing, dressing, eating, maintaining continence, [...]