I will now explain some options for long term care funding that aren't always immediately obvious.
- If you have a good financial plan, you might have a greater need for long term care insurance than life insurance. It is important to review existing policies to see if they still meet your needs or if they might need to be repositioned to cover long-term care costs instead. You might have needed the life insurance while raising a family and building net worth, but as needs change, your insurance plan should.
- You might have some idle cash that isn't earning a competitive rate. One could consider buying a fixed, low risk annuity paying a better rate which also contains some long- term care protection. This option is usually more attractive than a traditional policy which is 'lose or use'.
- You might have an existing annuity or life insurance policy to which long term care coverage can be added. (An application process, called underwriting, will likely be required).
- You might have a need for both life insurance and long-term care coverage and should consider a hybrid policy which covers both.
- You might have enough liquid assets that you don't need to purchase coverage from an insurance company. Working with a good Certified Financial Planner® professional to create your financial plan can illustrate if you are in this category. We can run 'what if' scenarios to see if your portfolio can withstand the cost of long-term care, while also showing the effects of long term care costs on inheritance.
Please call the office at 210-953-7797 to schedule an appointment if you would like us to see if one of these options, or others, are in your best interest. And stay tuned for my next article.