You see, my apartment is right next to a nursing home. There's a bus stop in front of the nursing home where Arthur, a resident, sits most every night while eating dinner. He presumably eats there to get some fresh air and do some people-watching.
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The thing that I like about Arthur is his style. This elderly man wears some pretty snazzy duds while sitting at that bus stop eating his dinner. One day, while coming home from work, I stopped and complimented him on his dapper appearance, and now we routinely exchange a few pleasantries each day as I pass him by.
Arthur's Wisdom on Long Term Care Insurance I presume that you all know by now that I have a quirky obsession with cheap insurance. One day, while greeting Arthur, I thought about his situation. He was living at a nursing home, which can be very expensive. Being my nosy self, I asked him if he had insurance that paid for his nursing home expenses. Sure enough, he replied that he had invested in long term care health insurance when he retired, and it was the best investment he had ever made.
He told me that although the premium for his insurance cost over a few thousand dollars each year, his long term care insurance provider contributed over $70,000 to the expenses incurred in his first year at the home. That's a great deal for Arthur, especially since he may need to live at the nursing home for a while.
Affordable Long Term Care Insurance - Not an Easy Find According to the Consumer Law Page (consumerlawpage.com), a website dedicated to protecting the public from consumer fraud, almost 50% of people over the age of 65 will need to spend some time in a nursing home, and the average price tag for that stay is approximately $100,000 in major metropolitan areas.
As you can imagine, these statistics drive up the cost of long term care insurance premiums. However, paying a high yearly premium of a few thousand dollars is well worth the protection against losing your life savings in an extended nursing home stay.
Purchasing a Long Term Care Insurance Policy Because long term care insurance can be quite costly, you should make sure you clearly understand exactly what is and isn't covered before purchasing the policy. If you don't think you're capable of asking the appropriate questions or fully understanding the terms of a policy, you should find an attorney that specializes in analyzing insurance contracts to help you. This extra source of wisdom could save you a lot of money down the road.
Now that you are armed with some long term care insurance knowledge, start shopping around. Maybe you'll find a better deal than Arthur did. If you do, let me know. Just promise me that you won't tell Arthur. Instead, tell him he cleans up rather nicely. He likes that.
About the Author
Kirk Bangstad is an artist, manager, and singer working in Chicago, IL. His previous experience includes consulting for technology companies in the Silicon Valley and serving as a field director and publicist for a statewide political campaign. Kirk holds a B.A. in government from Harvard University.
