Long Term Care Insurance - Are you Insurable?

Article submitted by Rosemarie Hurley, CSA, Long-Term Care Insurance Specialist. She can be reached at 239-274-6678 or visit: www.longtermcareinsurance-online.com.

Buying a Long-Term Care policy is a very good idea, but many folks don't understand the insurability factor and how important it is.

Here's how the process goes. Once the benefit parameters are selected and all of those decisions are made, the application is completed and then submitted to a company. Usually a telephone or a face-to face interview is required. Once completed, medical records are requested from the primary care physician. That process can take 4-6 weeks depending on the doctor's office.

But the most important part of this whole process is underwriting. Some of my clients are confused and think that to qualify for coverage, you must be perfectly healthy. Now while that would be ideal, it is rarely the case. Like all forms of insurance, the underwriting is based on risk. Some companies are willing to take more risk than others.

Basically if you have a health issue, i.e. elevated blood pressure or cholesterol, what is of a concern to the companies is how well controlled it is with the medications. Other health problems like, a TIA (mini stroke), or serious arthritis, will be looked at in combinations with other problems like obesity or smoking. And of course, there are a variety of health problems that are completely uninsurable. Since the underwriting guidelines differ with each company, an experienced LTC Specialist can sort through it to help you chose the company where you will have the most success for a favorable decision. There is nothing more difficult for me to explain to a client that they were not approved for coverage. That is why it is very important for me to know as much as possible about your health BEFORE we submit the application.

There is no cost to apply and all deposits are refunded if you are not approved. But that is a long process for a disappointing outcome. Sometimes there are notes in the doctor's records that are unknown to the patient. Those things are impossible to know, but a thorough and experienced Long-Term Care Specialist can help to guide you through the process for a favorable decision, or instruct you as to whether or not you should complete an application at all.