How to Negotiate the Best Rate for Long-Term Care Insurance
Long term care insurance prices are, to a degree, regulated by each state’s insurance commission. There are steps you can take, however, to make sure that you are getting the best possible rate that you are eligible for.
- Have all the information ready that your agent will need. This includes basic information, like your name, address, social security number and driver’s license number, along with your medical information.
- Know your family history, including how old your parents are now or how old they were when they died, and any diseases your parents or sibling had or have.
- Know what medications you take, in what dose and frequency, what you take them for and how long you have been taking them. Have handy the name, address and phone number of your primary care physician and any specialists you see regularly.
Understand the product you are purchasing and any terms. Know what the current going rate is in your area for long-term care, and do not buy more insurance than you need. If you purchase a policy with a $300 daily benefit and your nursing home costs $250 per day, the policy will only pay the $250 your care actually costs. You will have paid a higher than necessary premium for a benefit you will never receive.
Get quotes from more than one company. There will not be a wide variation in the basic rate from one company to the next, but different companies may offer different riders (optional features) that will impact the cost. Make sure you understand exactly what these riders will and will not do, and carefully consider whether you need them.
Hidden fees and costs:
All fees and costs should be spelled out in the contract, but be sure you understand them. For example, some policies offer a “return of premium” rider that refunds to the beneficiaries the policy premium if the insured dies before needing long- term care. Understand that the cost of the rider itself, which can approach the premium amount, is not included in the refund amount.
Get referrals. Ask friends, family and neighbors to recommend agents and/or companies with whom they have had a good experience.