Acting Commissioner Ken Kobylowski has released advice for consumers to follow.
In a news release from the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance, Acting Commissioner Ken Kobylowsky has provided a list of long term care insurance shopping tips to help consumers to make more informed and appropriate decisions regarding their own coverage needs.
According to the HHS, 21 million people over 65 years old will need these services in their lifetim
es.
The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has reported that their data indicates that over 70 percent of individuals within that age group will require services within their lifetime that would be covered by long term care insurance.
According to Kobylowsky, “Long- term care insurance is something to carefully consider for those New Jersey citizens interested in protecting assets, minimizing dependence on family members and controlling how they receive nursing or home care.” He then added that “This is a very complex and personal decision that necessitates a close examination of many factors, such as family health history, dependent relationships and personal finances.”
The struggle is that there are so many forms of long term care insurance that it’s hard to choose.
It is very difficult to know what services will be needed for a prolonged illness, disability, or cognitive disorder. For this reason, it can be challenging to decide on a type of long term care insurance policy, as it may not be known what type of medical, personal, and social care services will be required.
For this reason, the acting commissioner has offered the following long term care insurance buying tips:
• Speak to a financial services professional to know if coverage is needed, and how much.
• Understand the policy before you buy, so that you know what is and is not covered.
• Get to know how your premiums will change as you age.
• Ask about exclusions of pre-existing conditions.
• Never enroll over the phone unless you have called the insurer. There is no way to verify that someone calling you is who they claim to be.
• Don’t trust advertising, especially if it claims to be long term care insurance through Medicare.
