Long Term Care Insurance, also known as LTCI, is a challenge to define without saying, “Insurance for Long Term Care.” Imagining a little scenario might help convey its place in our lives.
Let’s say Dad is currently living at home alone. He’s been doing so since Mother died a few years ago. As a family, we’ve begun to notice some health issues and we think it is unsafe for him to remain alone. He needs some kind of care to help with his daily tasks such as eating, bathing, dressing, etc. So what should our family do?
Family members can coordinate many possibilities and LTCI can help make some of it happen:
- Have a family member help him at home.
- Coordinate adult day care.
- Hire a professional to help him at home.
- Move him in with a family member.
- Move him into an assisted living residence.
We love Dad so our priority is that he has his needs taken care of and that he is safe in his environment. The options to ensure his quality of life and safety need to be researched and considered and depending on our availability as family members, we’ll make a choice that we feel is best for everyone.
This is when Long Term Care Insurance becomes active. Depending on the specific policy, it can apply to such services as “help with activities of daily living, home health care, respite care, adult day care, care in a nursing home or care in an assisted living facility.” source
One of the major benefits to this insurance, is that it can protect his retirement savings from being consumed too quickly. It can also help him remain at home and have the assistance he needs to be safe.
Now that we have determined that Dad needs assistance with his Personal Home Care and safety, we decide it’s time to look into the Long Term Care Insurance policy that Grandpa has been paying on for a number of years. It can be a long and confusing process so next time we’ll look at that process.