BACK TO THE BASICS!

WHY SHOULD EVERYONE BUT THE TRULY IMPOVERISHED PURCHASE LONG TERM CARE INSURANCE?

I guess the most simple and the most powerful answer to that question is that we are currently blessed with a long life and should enjoy that blessing for as long as possible. Two frequently asked questions include, “Will I have enough money to retire the way I wish to?” and “Will the money I have last long enough?”

Frankly, one way to be as certain as possible that our golden years will truly be what we wish them to be is by purchasing Long Term Care Insurance. I often describe this product as our protection against a rainy day. Given the length of our lives, the need for this protection is IMMENSE. A male now age 65 has 1 chance in 3 of needing care at some point in his life. A female now age 65? 1 chance in 2...

Why are we so likely to need care? Because we have learned to take such good care of ourselves. When I was in my 30s (in the mid-1970s), I remember hearing about people retiring and then soon after their retirement, reading their obituary. When I was growing up, almost everyone smoked; there were very few gyms in Montreal (basically school gyms and the various YM(&W)CA’s and the MAAA); and the term “Healthy eating” was yet to be invented. All this has changed.

Plus medical science has EXPLODED!

The three most powerful events in my lifetime?

1-     The fall of the Iron Curtain,

2-     The invention of the internet,

3-     The December 3, 1967 news of the world’s first heart transplant.

From that point on, it seemed that medicine could do almost anything. Our life expectancy has grown by leaps and bounds. I never knew my great-grandparents, the only one I ever even heard about died one year after my father’s birth. All of my grandparents were gone by the time I reached my mid-20s. My son is 32 and has met his maternal great-grandmother and had his maternal grandmother until June 6, 2011. I know a young lady who suspected that she was pregnant – had she been, her child would have had two great-great-grandmothers. Go to any shopping mall, gym, or anywhere really, and you will see many people in their 70s, 80s and even 90s. It is wonderful!

BUT

There is a negative side to this wonderful news. Because we live long lives, and because we take such good care of our health, we reach a point in our lives where the body we have taken such good care of begins to break down, Perhaps we develop Alzheimer’s or some other form of dementia, perhaps we experience physical deterioration where we can no longer do things we routinely did when we were young. I remember – and this is going back more than 50 years – that my grandparents had a special shower with 5 heads. One was at the normal position, two were at shoulder height, and the last two were at my hips. I asked my grandparents what this was for because they certainly did not need it. One of their mothers (I do not remember which) was somewhat crippled and unable to shower normally. When my grandparents were first married (around 1915) the mother lived with them, they had the shower built, and just never took it down. Back then, this was unusual. Today it is very common.

Do NOT look at Long Term Care Insurance as “Nursing Home Insurance”. The last numbers I saw stated that 85% of claims were paid at home. This is “Let You Stay At Home” insurance. This is “I Do Not Want to Be a Burden to My Kids” insurance. This is “Let Me be a Customer – NOT A PATIENT” insurance.

The average claim will pay you back more than 4 times what you pay in. Just adjust the “pay in” part to fit your budget.

Click these for more information on the respective topics :
Long Term Care Insurance
Disability Insurance
Critical Illness Insurance
Life Insurance
Mortgage Insurance