Ensuring you choose the best long-term care insurance company within your budget and requirements involves being aware of the right choices. Additionally, the cost of long-term care is usually affordable, though the specific expenses are based on some factors.
Typically, these factors include age, health condition, coverage amount, and other considerations. Furthermore, older adults require long-term care as they age. For an individual reaching the age of 65 today, there is an almost 70% chance of requiring assistance with long-term care at some point in their lifetime.
What is Long-Term Care Insurance?
Long-term care (LTC) insurance is designed to pay off costs with extended care. Typically, it involves services such as adult day care, hospice, nursing home stays, and assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs), such as dressing and eating.
Additionally, the standard monthly expense for a private room in a nursing home is $7,698, and a home health aide charges over $20 per hour on average. Possessing an LTC insurance policy can significantly decrease the financial problems associated with long-term care expenses.
Best Long-Term Care Insurance
We evaluate coverage prices to identify the best long-term care insurance policies currently offering excellent options. However, these evaluations are based on factors like customer satisfaction ratings, financial stability, and the range of benefit payment options.
Bankers Life
Bankers Life’s policy offers a high maximum issue age of 84, making it the best. Additionally, it features a no-elimination period option, allowing immediate access to long-term care benefits.
Furthermore, due to its minimum average expenses, it provides flexibility with elimination period choices, including a unique 0-day option. In addition, it offers four levels of additional benefits (2%, 3%, 4%, and 5%) to counteract inflation.
However, it’s important to note that the maximum benefit period is two years, which may be insufficient based on your long-term care requirements. Also, informal family care is not reimbursable, compared to certain LTC plans offered by competitors.
GoldenCare
This is an online brokerage specializing in long-term care insurance and related products, including critical care insurance, prescription plans, and annuities. This policy collaborates with 20 various healthcare and insurance providers as it utilizes a quote form for extensive products and policies tailored to your requirements.
Additionally, it also assists with hybrid insurance plans, combining traditional life insurance with long-term care benefits.
Nationwide
Nationwide offers an extensive range of the best long-term care insurance options. The company provides three distinctive policies. This includes one with guaranteed benefits, a shared pool of benefits for couples, and a third combining universal life insurance with a rider for long-term care expenses. In addition, nationwide customers benefit from access to the caregiver advocate tool, which facilitates connections with local long-term care options.
National Guardian
National Guardian’s policy provides a lifetime maximum benefits option, setting it apart from competitors that may impose caps on long-term care benefits.
The policy presents a competitive cost for long-term care and a low elimination period of 30 days, which compares favorably to some competitors. However, the age limit for purchasing the policy is limited to individuals between 40 and 79 years old.
This is due to some competitors that may extend coverage to older buyers. Additionally, the policy does not reimburse for informal family care.
Mutual of Omaha
Mutual of Omaha stands out as the best choice for long-term care coverage to meet specific needs. The company not only provides standard long-term care insurance with an integrated care coordinator but also offers customization options.
These include inflation protection, which annually increases benefits in response to rising care costs, and a return of premium add-ons that refund premiums. In addition, it excludes used benefits at the end of the term.
Additionally, Mutual of Omaha allows for shared care, enabling the extension of benefits to a spouse or partner.
Thrivent Financial
Thrivent Financial enables individuals aged 18 and older to purchase this insurance, making it the best option for those in their 30s who find it challenging elsewhere. The policy offers an additional benefit period of 8 years, surpassing some competitors, and a minimum elimination period of 30 days.
With issue ages spanning from 18 to 79, Thrivent enables younger individuals to acquire long-term care coverage. Additionally, the reimbursement is equivalence for homemaker services and custodial care.
Moreover, Thrivent offers a combination of life insurance policies, combining life coverage with long-term care coverage components. However, it’s essential to be aware that Thrivent’s average long-term care insurance premiums were among the highest.
Northwestern Mutual
For individuals searching for a company with enough discounts to reduce premiums, Northwestern Mutual proves to be the best choice. Northwestern extends a 15% discount to both you and your partner if each holds a long-term care policy with the company.
Furthermore, discounts are available based on the payment method for your premium. Also, Northwestern’s offerings include separate policies as well as hybrid options that integrate a whole life insurance policy with a long-term care rider.
Lastly, this diversity provides flexibility for individuals exploring various approaches to long-term care coverage.
New York Life
New York Life secures its position as the premier insurance company for financial stability, offering superior financial strength ratings. Certain policies from New York Life have the potential to cover 100% of care costs.
Additionally, premiums on separate policies are assured for the initial three years, providing stability and a chance for policyholders. For those considering linked-benefit policies, New York Life offers a unique advantage with a return on premium features.
Furthermore, policies such as New York Life Secure Care and New York Life My Care are eligible for dividends, adding another layer of potential benefits for policyholders.
Is Long-term Care Insurance Worth it?
Long-term care insurance may prove valuable, but its benefits are not assured. However, policies come with a significant price and require extended care, or they could be for a brief duration.
Additionally, you could be considering life insurance coupled with an extension for long-term care. This arrangement ensures additional advantages beyond just coverage for long-term care.
Conclusion
The best long-term care insurance companies were selected considering the types of coverage offered, benefit flexibility, and the presence of local agents. However, third-party ratings were employed to gauge a company’s financial robustness and service quality.