A Quick Comparison: Long-term Care Insurance, Long-term Disability Insurance & Critical Care Insurance

October 2nd, 2006 by Lara Belonogoff

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If you get sick and your regular health insurance can’t cover your expenses, what should you do? Below are three good options along with some pointers and explanations. If any of these types of supplemental policies have had positive (or negative) effects for you and your loved ones, we’d love to hear your story.

Snapshot: Long-term Disability Insurance (LTDI) is for working individuals younger than 65.

Some financial planners propose that LTDI is your best bet as it will protect your income if you are unable to work for a period of time. LTDI is also sometimes referred to as income protection insurance. With this kind of policy you must be unable to perform your normal occupational duties in your work environment. These policies are created for people who are actively working—although those in risky jobs may find that they are undesirable to insurance companies. If a covered disability occurs, then a specified monthly benefit is paid to you for a finite period of time (typically no more than two years).

Snapshot: Long-term Care Insurance (LTCI) should be purchased in your fifties or as soon after retirement as possible; it’ll pay out a monthly benefit for the type of care your policy allows. LTCI is geared toward the senior market.

There are three basic types of policies—each of which is based on where benefits will be paid: either in a facility, at home or both. This type of insurance stems from the idea that as you age you may need assistance with anything from the activities of daily living (e.g., dressing or bathing) to skilled nursing care—and that in-home caregivers and care facilities are not affordable for many of us. Furthermore, many worry about draining their personal financial resources, resulting in an inability to leave an inheritance for their loved ones, or even support themselves at all. For more information on when to buy LTCI, check out Is Long-term Care Insurance Worth It?

Snapshot: Critical care insurance pays one lump sum and then terminates, but your particular life-threatening condition must be enumerated in your policy.

With critical care insurance, you are paid a lump sum after you have been diagnosed with a critical illness. The idea is that auxiliary expenses tend to pile up when diagnosis occurs, even if a person is insured. With a critical care insurance plan, the beneficiary can decide where his/her benefits will do the most good—whether it goes toward skilled nursing care in the home, or lost wages for family caregivers, or other expenses of daily living that are difficult to meet when one is financially disabled. As the policy only pays once, it has some advantages and disadvantages—while you are responsible for managing the funds sufficiently, a large payment can ensure that debt isn’t allowed to accrue.

Posted in: Insurance, Long-term Care Insurance (LTCI), Planning for Long Term Care

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COMMENTS
2 Responses to “A Quick Comparison: Long-term Care Insurance, Long-term Disability Insurance & Critical Care Insurance”

aura1252 Says:

Thanks for the breakdown. I have diability insurance through my job which in some way I think I took for granted. But now I’m thinking what am I going to do as I after my fast appraoching retirement? The critical care sounds good since it’ll just give me the money and I can decide how to use it, but it seems like betting on a long shot, whereas the long-term care seems more likely to happen.
Jennifer Walls Says:

A forgotten issue in relationship to our care and insurance; when you retire or quit your job you no longer have Disability, Health and Life cover unless the policy is portable. You may decide to keep it however the premiums will at least double in cost. Having individual coverage will save you from later in life having to be evaluated if your health activity warrantes underwriting eligibility. I suggest to all considering any type of disability coverage; look into your families history. Their illness may be yours one day. Research their type of illness, age of onset and treatment received. This information will provide you will a strong guideline as to what type of coverage you may need in the future.