Long Term Care Insurance – 10 Resolutions for 2009

New Year’s Day of course means it’s time for you to make your resolutions for the upcoming year. It’s well documented that the two most common New Year’s resolutions are losing weight and financial type resolutions (debt reduction, pay increase, etc.)

If you are over 40 years of age, now is the time to finally take a serious look at purchasing a long term care insurance policy to protect your assets.

Here are my top 10 resolutions specific to deciding on a long term care insurance policy:

Resolution #1 – Read the LTC Shoppers Guide. This is a great document to give you the basics of long term care insurance. It covers all the basics and helps you understand the many options that are available. Download the Long Term Care Shoppers Guide. 

Resolution #2- Start doing your homework.  The internet has thousands of pages, blogs, advise columns, experts, and government agencies that can help you start your research.  A few of my favorite Long Term Care Insurance providers are Allianz, John Hancock, and Genworth.  These three are top rated companies and provide fantastic individual plans as well as discounts for couples applying together.

Resolution #3 – Review Your Medical Records.  Since the major factor in qualifying for a policy is your current and recent past health history, it’s a good practice to understand what is in your medical file.  Even though you feel healthy, that past ailment you went to see your doctor about may come back to haunt you.  Understanding how your doctor perceived and documented your issues is important.  Policies are underwritten based upon your health and you’ll end up paying more or worse, be denied due to your problems.  Long Term Care Insurance is designed for healthy people.

Resolution #4- Schedule a physcial with your doctor.  Most companies require that you’ve been to see a physician within the past 18 months.  This makes sense even if you aren’t considering a policy.  Don’t be afraid of that doctor (especially the men reading this article).

Resolution #5- Ask your financial planner their view on Long Term Care Insurance.  This is always a good litmus test for your financial planner.  If they are negative on a plan….then I suggest you fire that planner immediately.  Long Term Care isn’t new anymore.  It’s been around for over twenty years and many of the nations top personal financial authorities strongly believe it’s a large piece of your financial planning puzzle.  Suze Orman and Dave Ramsey are big fans of Long Term Care policies.

Resolution #6- Talk with your children/parents.  If you parents are under 80 and haven’t yet purchased a policy, now’s the time to discuss this with them.  You may even have seen your own family torn apart by the catastrophic cost of providing care for a loved one.  Nursing homes and home health care options are expensive if you have to pay out of your pocket.  We all love our parents…of course we’d want to take care of them.  But can we?  The average cost of a nursing facility is over $60,000 per year. 

If you have adult children, let them know you are considering this so you can protect your assets and relieve the stress that they’d be under trying to care for you.

Resolution #7- Call/Visit a local nursing facility.  To truly understand the costs and more importantly the envirnoment, go take a tour of a local nursing facility.  Most are nice places to visit, but can you see yourself actually having to move in there?  I’d prefer to receive my care at home.  Today’s long term care policies offer provisions for home care.

Resolution #8- In Denial – Get Real.  Statistics tell us that 1 out of 2 americans will need long term care help as they age.  Most of us have homeowners insurance and we only have a 1 out of 12,000 chance that our house will burn down.  So why would you bet your life savings on a 50/50 chance you’ll need care?  And if you are married…..we’ll you get the point.

Resolution #9- Contact an Independent Long Term Care Insurance Agent.  The best way to review all of your options is with an independent agent.  They aren’t loyal to one company, therefore, they’ll work hard to find you the best priced product you can qualify for.  Insurance doesn’t have markups.  The agent is marking up your premium, the carrier sets the premium.  Your local auto agent most likely doesn’t have expertise in long term care, plus your local auto agent most likely is a “captive” agent and can only offer your one option.  Your independent agent can quickly compare dozens of companies and offer you several different options.  Request a long term care insurance quote.

Resolution #10 – Apply Today.  It doesn’t hurt to apply and learn if you’ll qualify or not.  Not everyone does.  The younger and healthier you are means the lower the premium you’ll pay, which can add up to thousands of dollars saved over your lifetime.

Here’s to a healthy 2009!