Adding Benefits to Long Term Care Insurance

Having basic coverage is a good place to start when building a Long Term Care Insurance policy;  however, you may want to consider adding a few additional riders to your plan.  Because insurance companies charge extra for these optional riders, you need to choose carefully.  

The following benefits are offered automatically with most Long Term Care policies:  

Alternate Care Benefit

With this benefit, your Long Term Care policy will pay for additional care, services, treatment, supplies, and equipment otherwise not covered in your plan.  In other words, if you, your doctor, and the insurance company all agree that items such as in-home safety devices, home-delivered meals, or medical alert devices, for example, are necessary for your plan of care, your Long Term Care Insurance policy will pay for them.

Bed Reservation Benefit

This benefit in your Long Term Care Insurance policy will pay to reserve your bed in a nursing home for a certain number of days while you are in the hospital.  This way, you do not lose your room.  The bed reservation benefit is an important feature if there is a high demand for nursing homes in the area in which you live.

Waiver of Premium

On policies sold today, all Long Term Care Insurance carriers will waive your premium immediately once you begin to receive benefits (cash) from the insurance company. Your premium will continue to be waived as long as you are on claim.  (On older policies sold before 1998, this benefit varies from company to company.) 

Homemaker and Chore Services

Most Long Term Care Insurance carriers have some form of homemaker and chore services included in the policy.  These benefits pay for a home health care aid to do activities like cooking and preparing meals, laundry, taking out the trash, light house work such as vacuuming, mopping, and washing dishes.  It is important to purchase a Long Term Care Insurance policy that pays you for the homemaker and chore services because these services will almost always be required.

Equipment and Home Modification Benefit

This pays for incidental home modifications such as a ramp, a stair lift for going between levels of your home, and rails or grab bars to help aid with bathing and toileting.  Other modifications include widening doorways to accommodate a wheel chair.

Optional Riders for Long Term Care Insurance

Following are optional riders for you to consider when building your Long Term Care policy:

Inflation protection

This is the most important rider you should consider adding to your Long Term Care Insurance policy, especially if you are purchasing a policy in your 40's, 50's, or 60's.  Over time, if your benefits do not automatically increase, you will lose purchasing power because of inflation.  Most Long Term Care Insurance plans offer a 5% compound inflation protection or a 5% simple, or equal, inflation protection.  The inflation protection rider increases your policy's benefits each year on your policy anniversary date.  Your premium will not increase each year, but your benefits will.

Restoration of Benefits

Most Long Term Care Insurance companies offer this rider.  It restores your policy benefits to the original maximum value if you come off claim for 90 days and no longer need Long Term Care assistance.  For example, if your policy has a maximum benefit of four years and you have used two years, the restoration of benefits rider will add the two years of money you spent back into your policy.  Essentially, you will have a brand new Long Term Care Insurance policy.

Shared Care Rider

This option gives you and your spouse/partner the option to use each other's Long Term Care Insurance benefits when one of your policies runs out.

Survivorship Benefit

When both partners have held their Long Term Care Insurance policies for at least ten claim-free years and one partner dies, the surviving partner's premium is waived for life and they have full benefits.

Waiver of Home Health Care Elimination Period

This rider waives the deductible or elimination period for Home Health Care coverage.  This way, instead of having to wait out the elimination period, you will receive your home health care benefits on day one of your claim.

Return of Premium Benefit

This rider will return all the premiums you have ever paid on your Long Term Care Insurance policy to a beneficiary, tax free.  It does add about 50 to 100 percent to the cost, in most cases, however.  Depending on the Long Term Care Insurance company you choose, slight variations will apply.  Your agent can explain these variations to you. 

Non-forfeiture Benefit

If your policy lapses, this rider will give you access to all the premiums paid if you need Long Term Care on down the road.