Having a basic long term care insurance policy is a good foundation to start with, but to get a proper policy you may want to consider adding these additional riders to your plan.  Long-term care insurance companies charge extra for these optional riders but some such as compound inflation protection can more than double your benefits over time. To get an affordable long term care insurance policy, buy only a minimal number of optional riders such as 5% compound or 5% simple (equal) inflation protection.  The following are common additional riders offered when you are buying a long term care insurance policy.

Included Benefits for Long Term Care Insurance

Alternate Care Benefit

This benefit in your long term care policy will pay for additional care, services, treatment, supplies, equipment otherwise not covered in your plan.  If you, your Doctor, and the insurance company all agree that these items are in your plan of care your long term care insurance policy will pay for things like in-home safety devices, home-delivered meals, and medical alert devices.

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 so you do not lose your room.  This benefit is an important feature if there is a high demand for nursing homes in area you live in.

Waiver of Premium

All long term care insurance carriers will waive your premium immediately once you begin to receive benefits (cash) from the insurance company on policies sold today. Your premium will continue to be waived as long as you are on claim.  (On older policies sold before 1998 it will vary from company to company) 

Homemaker and Chore Services

Most long term care insurance carriers have some form of home maker and chore services included in the policy.  These benefits will give you extra flexibility with your Home Health Care coverage by paying your 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 buy a long term care insurance policy that pays you for the homemaker and chore services because almost all the time those types of services will be required.

Equipment and Home Modification Benefit

This feature of your long term care insurance plan will pay for incidental home modifications such as a ramp, a stair lift for going between levels of your home, rails and grab bars to help aid with bathing and toileting, widening door way so you can get a wheel chair through, care giving training, and any other thing to make your home safe for you to live in.

Optional Riders for Long Term Care Insurance

Inflation protection

This is the most important rider you should consider adding to your long term care insurance policy because 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 5% simple or equal inflation protection.  The inflation protection rider will increase 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 that will restore 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 4  years and you have used 2 years the restoration of benefits rider will put 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 one another's long term care insurance benefits when yours run out.

Survivorship Benefit

When both partners have held their long term care insurance policy 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 so 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 that you ever paid for your long term care insurance to a beneficiary tax free.  It does add about 50-100% to the cost in most cases.  Depending on the company slight variations apply so be sure to ask questions.

Non-forfeiture Benefit

If your policy lapses this rider will give you access to all the premiums paid if you need long-term care down the road.