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Strategies & Market Trends : Retirement - Now what? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: SAM who wrote (193)	7/18/2007 2:17:33 PM
From: deeno	Respond to of 288

expensive two things to consider 1. family history of long term care needs 2. ability to self insure. I have found most people of means dont need it. IMHO

To: SAM who wrote (193)	7/18/2007 7:06:00 PM
From: Investor2	Respond to of 288

I briefly looked into it. It seemed like it would be too easy for the insurance company to get out of paying. There were too many hoops to jump through to document that you really NEEDED long term care. (Maybe things have changed since I looked at it a couple of years ago??) Best wishes, I2

To: SAM who wrote (193)	7/18/2007 9:06:30 PM
From: Steve Felix	Respond to of 288

My opinion is that it is another way for insurers to show something that you "need". If they convince you that you need it they make out. Insurance and life are both a "game of chance". Had a cousin, age 62, die today of a massive heart attack. He didn't have it, or need it. Personally I am not putting money into something where, poof it can be gone. But to each his own. Some pros and cons. Here are some of the benefits of LTCI:•If your family history predisposes you to certain diseases, LTCI may bring you peace of mind•Automatic inflation adjustments may be applied to the benefits, which keeps benefits from eroding with time•Coverage reimburses the insured for long-term care expenses•There are online tools available to help you decide which plan suits you best•Tax breaks are available for qualified LTCI policies, and generally the benefit payments received under such policies are tax-free•You can deduct premiums from your taxes as long as you itemize deductions and your medical costs are in excess of 7.5% of adjusted gross income Here are some of the arguments against it:•Preexisting conditions are often excluded from coverage•Inflation protection can be expensive•Typically, benefits are a fixed amount per day of reimbursed expenses or a set percentage, which may not fully cover the cost once you need the care•Insurers can also increase premiums for entire classes of individuals, such as all policyholders over the age of 70•Different policies may use different definitions, making it difficult to carry out an apples-to-apples comparison of policies. businessweek.com