Long Term Care Insurance

If a friend or family meber has received long term care services, whether from a home health agency or nursing home, you know that the financial burden, not to mention the mental and physical burden, can be overwhelming.

At Liberty Assurance Group, we consider our Long Term Care insurance product offerings to be among America's best. That's why we want to discuss the importance of Long Term Care insurance, as well as some product features to discuss with your agent.

Important: Use the information below for general reference only. Consult with your agent or tax advisor about the specific features of the disability income insurance product you are considering.

When you are fairly sure about what you need, tell us about it, and we'll refer you to an agent who can help you make a decision and apply for coverage.

When you cannot decide what you need, just tell us about your situation. We'll do our best to find a solution.

Send an e-mail, call us toll free at (888) 524-4621, or check out a general list of all our insurance products.

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Who Should Consider Long-Term Care Insurance

You need to consider Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCI) if:

• You have assets and income to protect against the risk of catastrophic long-term care expenses.
• You want to help protect your family from the burden of possible long-term care expenses.
• You want to have greater control over the quality and type of long-term care you receive, should the need arise.

What is Long-Term Care?

Long-term care (LTC) is the assistance that is provided to people who are unable to perform the Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) that healthy, fully-functional people do independently and on a daily basis.

The need for long-term care services arises from chronic health conditions and/or physical disabilities - such as a stroke, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's or Alzheimer's disease, and are provided over a long period of time.

Some people mistakenly assume that most people receive long-term care services in nursing homes. In actuality, a number of people in need of long-term care services receive them at an assisted living facility or in one's own home.

The Costs of Long-Term Care Services

The cost of long-term care services are significant and if they rise they rise a bit faster than inflation. By 2026, the daily rate could hit $486 a day, or $177,000 a year. The average yearly costs tell the story:

• Nursing Home - $68,988 (semi-private room)
• Home Care - $24,7003
• Assisted Living Facility - $35,6282

Those costs can quickly add up. With the average stay at 2.4 years, for instance, the average cost of nursing home care is now $139,200 per person or $278,400 for a married couple.

Have You Considered the Costs?

Once you are aware of the costs associated with long-term care services, and how these costs can impact your retirement savings, it is important to consider the options you may have. If you haven't taken the time yet to give this topic careful thought, you're not alone: only 12% of the respondents to a 1999 survey indicated that they have adequately prepared for their own long-term care needs.

Having good information will help you make good choices - and MetLife can help. Some people, for instance, wonder if the least expensive way to prepare for long-term care expenses is to "self insure" - in other words, to invest their money over time (in the stock market, for instance) to have when needed.

The risk, of course, is that the need will arise before you've saved enough, or that you will tap into your savings for another purpose beforehand.

Considering potential costs NOW may also help to ensure that you have options available LATER. For example, would you want to receive care at home, if the need arose? Purchasing a policy with Home Care coverage can help make that choice possible.

Who Pays for Long-Term Care Services?

Long-term care insurance is the only insurance designed to help cover the costs of long-term care services. Without it, chances are good you'll be responsible for paying most, if not all, of the costs out of your own pocket.

Long-term care services simply aren't fully covered by any other type of insurance.

• Even the best medical, HMO or PPO plan won't adequately cover it because their focus is "acute" health care.
• Disability income insurance is generally about replacing lost income and provides no long-term care insurance benefits.
• Medicare covers some care in nursing homes and at home, it does so only for a limited time subject to restrictions.
• What Medicare doesn't pay, your Medicare Supplement won't pay either.

Where Can I Receive Care?

Long-Term Care Insurance from MetLife can help you preserve the savings and assets you've worked a lifetime to build. With a wide range of benefits, you can help ensure that you will be able to get the type of care you need, where you want it.

Depending on the coverage chosen, including services you require and other considerations, your options may include:

• Home Care - for most people, the option to receive care in the comfort of their home is the choice they prefer most. Long-Term Care Insurance from MetLife offers coverage for care generally provided by a licensed nurse, or a licensed physical, occupational, speech or respiratory therapist. You can also receive care or services from a certified private aide, home health aide, homemaker, or from a care advisor from a care management organization.
• Adult Day Care Center - offers care, health support and rehabilitative services for adults during the day.
• Assisted Living Facility - for many, these licensed (where required) facilities, provide a great way to receive skilled nursing or custodial care in an environment that helps maintains independence and an active lifestyle.
• Nursing Home - your Long-Term Care Insurance policy from MetLife will provide coverage for all levels of care, from skilled to custodial, in a Nursing Home.
• Informal Care - many people would prefer to have a friend or loved one provide the care they need at their home. Care you receive at home from friends, neighbors, or relatives who are not health-care professionals. Some programs allow a benefit that provides some compensation to cover this care.

Why it Pays to Apply Now?

It's usually less expensive if you buy long-term care insurance when you're younger. In fact, with most plans, the longer you wait the more it will cost you - for the exact same coverage.

When you purchase coverage at your current age:

• You'll pay a lower premium.
• You'll avoid the risk that you won't qualify later for health reasons.

It's wise to apply when you're younger and in better health.

Research shows nearly half of all Americans will need long-term care at some point in their lives, and one in five Americans over the age of 50 is at a high risk of needing long-term care in the next 12 months. Additionally, the cost of long-term care services may be surprising.

That's why it's such a good idea to consider long-term care insurance as an integral part of a well-rounded financial plan. It may help protect your hard-earned assets, and provide more control over how and where you receive care should you need it.

Let MetLife, a recognized leader in long-term care insurance, help you better understand your options, how coverage works, and where you can get a policy that best meets your needs and budget. Helping you make an informed choice is our goal.