Insurance

The NAIC advises consumers to make sure the following items are included in their long-term care policies:

• An “outline of coverage” that clearly describes the policy’s benefits, terms and limitations in detail. It is important to understand how much money the policy would pay, and how much the policyholder would be responsible for out-of-pocket.
• A clear description of the elimination period. Some policies have a set number of days that must be spent in a nursing home or in claims status before the long-term care insurance coverage kicks in.
• At least one year of nursing home or home healthcare coverage or both, including intermediate and custodial care.
• The right to cancel the policy for any reason within 30 days of purchase and receive a full premium refund.
• A guarantee that the policy cannot be canceled or terminated because of the policyholder’s age or physical or mental health condition.
• Consider an inflation protection option that periodically increases the benefit level without the need for the policyholder to provide evidence of insurability.