Not unlike other insurance policies that you may have, long term care insurance policies do typically have a deductible. Although, technically this deductible isn't like the deductible that you are probably familiar with. The deductible for long term care insurance is typically referred to as the Elimination Period.
What Is The Elimination Period?
This is an important part of any long term care insurance policy - the Elimination Period. The Elimination Period is the period of time from when you first begin to need coverage until you actually begin to get paid the benefits of your long term care policy.
The elimination period for most policies range from 0 days to 100 days. The shorter the elimination period the higher the premium will be. If you choose to pay for a longer elimination period for a cheaper premium you will be faced with paying for your long term care expenses during the elimination period.
Anyway that you decide to go, you'll need to make sure that you can either afford a more expensive monthly premium for your long term care policy or you have enough money set aside to pay for your care expenses during your Elimination Period.
How Much Money Will You Need For Your Elimination Period?
One of the worst case scenarios that you'll face paying as you get older is nursing home care. To find out how much money you'll need to have set aside for your elimination period you'll want to find out the average daily cost of nursing homes in your area. If you find out that the cost is roughly $90 for your area and you have a 60 day elimination period the you will need to set aside approximately $5,400 to cover your expenses while you wait for your benefits to start once you need them.
The Bottom Line on The Elimination Period for Long Term Care Insurance
You can typically select a short or a longer length elimination period based on what your assets are and what you want to pay for your monthly premium. A good long term care insurance agent or company should be able to help you with determining the average cost of nursing home care in your area to help you determine how long of an elimination period you should elect for your long term care policy.
(New site)