PEACE OF MIND AND LONG TERM CARE INSURANCE

Often overlooked when one is contemplating whether to purchase an insurance policy or not is peace of mind.  Statistical and actuarial data will give one the “hard,” objective information on which to make a decision, but I contend one should equally consider the “soft,” subjective information also.  And peace of mind is subjective, but I contend it is very important.
 

Years ago, is a different life, I worked for a business machine manufacturer, repairing mechanical  calculators, adding machines, dictating machines and cash registers.  The company made most of its money selling their machines, but earned considerable profits in repairing and servicing the machines in the customers’ offices.  To maximize our profits, and simplify our service procedures, we offered our customers insurance on their machines, which we labeled “maintenance contracts.”  When you analyzed the cost- benefit aspects of these maintenance contracts, you could see that the customer was financially better off without this insurance.  In other words, if the customer bought a new machine without a service contract, used it normally over the years, paid for service as needed from time to time, he came out ahead financially than he would have if he paid for our service contracts over that same period of time.  Of course, there would be the occasional “lemon” or catastrophic machine that would have benefited more from such insurance, but that was always the exception that proved the rule.

However, despite the negative cost impact, many machine owners still chose to purchase one of our service contracts.  As justification for so doing they cited reasons such as convenience, one-time payment, not worrying about the machines, ease of putting in service calls, and less hassle.  Obviously, what they were seeking was freedom from having to worry about their machines as much as possible, which I will call peace of mind.  And, if an owner or a manager of a business could free up his emotional mind in this area, it would give him more energy to invest in other areas of his business.

Nowadays, friends will occasionally seek my advice as to whether they should purchase a similar service contract on their new automobile or large home appliances.  Based on my past experience and current knowledge of things mechanical, I always give this advice: "  Financially you’re way ahead without it, but if convenience and peace of mind  are important to you, and you can easily afford it, go ahead and get a service contract.”

I think this is true of all insurance for people, too—even more so.  You can always replace an automobile or a washing machine if it goes kaput, or pay relatively small amounts to get it fixed, but, with us people, our health and lives are all we’ve got, and peace of mind about ourselves is very important.  And as we age we’re less likely to be financially ahead without insurance, especially health and long term care insurance.  Long term care insurance may be right for you: If convenience and peace of mind are important to you regarding care in your senior years and the financial security of your estate, then long term care insurance is something you should have.  It will also protect your nest egg that you worked so hard to accumulate by working for 30-40 years.  Who want to give their nest egg to a stranger who own a nursing home if they can prevent it.  Spending pennies to protect dollars makes sense if you have something to lose.  If you'd like to learn more about long term care insurance to see if it might be a good fit please take a moment to fill in the quote request below.  Thanks for reading out blog today.