How your long term care policy is priced

If the time comes to purchase long term care insurance, you need to become familiar with your many options, including the companies that sell policies and the coverage you can receive.

Early in the process, you want to learn as much as possible about how long term care insurance is priced. This will help you understand what to expect in terms of your premium.

In short, long term care insurance coverage reimburses you a daily amount for covered services, such as eating, dressing and bathing. When purchasing a policy, you can select from a variety of benefits and care options.

Your long term care insurance premium is based on these factors:

— Your age when purchasing the policy. As a general rule of thumb, the younger you are the less it will cost.

— The maximum amount your policy will pay out per day.

— The maximum number of days your policy will provide benefits.

— The inclusion of optional benefits.

Every long term care insurance company has its own way of doing things, so you should not expect the premium to be the same from one provider to the next.

Even if you think you are in good hands with your policy, you may find that this is not the case if you make a claim. Instead of receiving benefits, your insurer may deny your claim.

A denied long term care insurance claim can be very frustrating, as you have paid your premium and you expect to receive benefits in return. If you are put in this position, you need to understand why the claim was denied and how you can appeal.

Source: LongTermCare.gov, “What is Long-term Care Insurance?,” accessed June 29, 2015