A lot of seniors have the idea that Medicare would cover their long term care expenses. That actually isn't the case. In fact, Medicare does not pay for long term care and people may want to consider private insurance.
According to a new survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), four out of five disability income insurance claimants are satisfied with their policy.
The survey of disability insurance claimants assessed their satisfaction with their policy and their experience filing a claim and receiving benefits. Overall, four out of five claimants (82 percent) said that they were satisfied with their disability income insurance policy. Specifically, claimants were satisfied with the process for filing a claim (81 percent), the promptness of the payments (79 percent), the responsiveness of the insurer (75 percent), and the overall communication from their insurer (71 percent).
Many baby boomers incorrectly believe they have disability income protection, according to a new survey conducted by Harris Interactive(R) on behalf of America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP). Most say that disability insurance is important to protect their income, but nearly half say they do not have any disability income protection.
The survey assessed baby boomers' perceptions about the need for disability income protection. Most baby boomers (56 percent) say that disability income insurance is important to protect their income should the primary wage earner in their household become disabled and unable to work for an extended period of time. Only nineteen percent said that disability insurance was not at all important.
However, nearly half of baby boomers acknowledge they do not have any form of disability income protection. According to the survey, only 52 percent of baby boomers say they have either short-term or long-term disability insurance.
Baby boomers were also asked what their primary source of financial assistance would be if they became disabled and were unable to work. A quarter (25 percent) said they would rely on their personal savings. Others said they would rely on Social Security Disability Insurance (15 percent), private disability insurance (13 percent), or Workers' Compensation (13 percent). Previous surveys have found that baby boomers overestimate the coverage available through public disability programs and most are not financially prepared to weather even a short term disability.
Here are the FACTS about Disabilities (they might SHOCK you!)
· Odds of a disability are nearly 3 times greater than death between the ages of 25-65
· At age 37, the odds of becoming disabled are 3-1/2 times higher than that of death
· 1 in 3 Americans age 35 to 65 will suffer a disability lasting at least 90 days
· 48% of all home mortgage foreclosures are due to a disability – only 3% are due to a death of the breadwinner
· 1 in 4 families that filed for bankruptcy protection identified an illness or injury in their family as the major reason for the bankruptcy
Despite all this, amazingly, 82 percent of Americans have little or no disability coverage.
The TRUTH About Workers Comp and Social Security Disability:
· Almost half of Social Security Disability Insurance claims filed from 1992 through 2001 were denied
· The average monthly Social Security Disability benefit received in 2003 was only $862
Nearly 60% of injuries happen off the job, which means they are not covered by Workers' Compensation
This podcast is brought to you by AccuQuote, a leading provider of term life insurance quotes. In part one of a two-part series, AccuQuote will talk about the various types of wills and living trusts and discuss their uses with Chas Rampenthal, General Council for LegalZoom.
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Learning about life, health, disability and long-term care insurance has always been a bit confusing. However, recently the nonprofit LIFE Foundation unveiled a significantly enhanced version of its award-winning website and moved it to a new Web address at www.lifehappens.org. The LIFE site has been completely redesigned and retooled to provide visitors with objective, easy-to-understand educational content on all the major types of life and health insurance. It features a wealth of multimedia content and interactive planning tools, including:
LIFE Happens En Espanol
Insurance Word Blog
Life Insurance Needs Calculator
Life Insurance Product Selector
Human Life Value Calculator
Disability Insurance Needs Calculator
Long-term Care Cost of Services
Healthcare Cost Estimator
Check it out. Also, be sure to visit AccuQuote for additional information as well.
Google recently unveiled Google Health, a long-anticipated health information service that combines the company's classic search services with a user's personal health records online. The password-protected service, which can be found at www.google.com/health/, stores a user's basic medical history and gathers relevant information connected to their health conditions.
How do you feel about this? Frankly, I'm a bit scared. It's hard enough the get stuff corrected in the MIB (Medical Information Bureau) if there is a mistake. How will this be used by insurance companies and underwriting groups when you apply for health, life or even disability?
Here's the full story by Reuters. Let me know your thoughts.
May is Disability Insurance Awareness Month, which is coordinated by our friends at the Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education (LIFE) in order to raise awareness among consumers of the need for adequate plans of Disability Insurance.
According to the LIFE Foundation, unless a person is extremely wealthy or virtually penniless, the income the person earns is the heart and soul of his/her livelihood. It provides the means to buy food, clothes, a home, education, recreation, and hopefully a decent retirement. But the chances of sustaining a long lasting earned income cash flow is dependent on the consumer staying alive and remaining unencumbered by income interruptions, the major cause of which is getting sick or hurt and being in a state of disability, whether permanent or temporary.
Earned income is most peoples' only tool. Even a modest level of income earned week after week, month after month, and year after year is a very formidable weapon to be used against the ravages of destitution. A person, age 35, who earns $50,000 per year, will have earned over $1,500,000, even if he never gets a raise. At $100,000, the figure becomes $3,000,000 and at $250,000 the accumulative total is $7,500,000. Two factors need to be explained. One: Americans don't save money, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The saving rate last year was 0.05%. The other factor is: due to improvement and inflation most people will increase their income by 5% each year. The 35 year old who increases income 5% per year over his $250,000 annual income will have produced $16,609,700 by age 65. A formidable sum!
These glimpses into earnings makes it obvious that adequate income cash flow is indispensable if a life is to be lived without desperation or failure. The only dependable source of adequate income cash flow is from a well designed Disability Income Insurance Plan. It's like having money in a wall safe.
It is instant-you don't have to save over a lifetime.
It is TAX-FREE. This is valuable even to wealthy people.
It is always available quickly, and each time one is sick or hurt. It is not a fund that once used is gone forever such is the case with savings and investment accounts.
Nearly 49 top rated insurance companies offer quality disability insurance in adequate amounts to perform the task. It is available from over 256,000 licensed, professional insurance agents, brokers, and financial planners.
According to a study by Metlife, when asked to list their assets, many people do not include their ability to earn an income.
It's something we all take for granted. The ability to work. Just think about it. What would you do if you weren't able to earn money for ninety days, a year or even longer? How would you pay for your martgage, food, cars and other bills? How long could you adn your family survive?
In the event that an individual becomes unable to work because of sickness or injury, disability income insurance can replace a portion of lost income, helping to ensure that day-to-day living expenses are covered and that long-term financial goals can be addressed.
Repost from Feb 7th 2007 10:09AM by Byron Udell
This is a repost from last year. I'm going to start to revisit some of the older topics that I wrote about. There is definitely some good information and topics that need to continually be revisited over time. So, here's one about long-term care insurance.
Long-term care is when a person requires someone else to help him with his physical or emotional needs over an extended period of time. This help may be required for many of the activities or needs that healthy, active people take for granted and may include such things as walking, bathing, dressing, etc.
The need for long-term care help might be due to a terminal condition, disability, illness or injury. The need for long-term care may only last for a few weeks or months or it may go on for years. It all depends on the underlying reasons for needing care. Long-term care services may be provided in a number of ways, including but not limited to: in the home, at assisted living or in a nursing home.
Experts say that at least 60% of all individuals will need extended help in one or more of the areas above during their lifetime.
There are two types of long-term care:
Having a well-prepared financial plan can help you enjoy a comfortable lifestyle in your later years.
If you or a loved one experiences a medical crisis in the future, you may be covered under health insurance and government programs like Medicare. However, health insurance and Medicare do not adequately cover long term care costs. There are a number of great long term care plans available. Check with your insurance agent and make sure to shop around to find the best one for you.
This is not really new news, but a recent survey indicated highlights the importance of disability insurance. According to a new survey from the Council for Disability Awareness (CDA), income-limiting disability continues to rapidly rise among the American workforce. However, most workers are not preparing for the potential financial consequences that a disability can create. In fact, a majority of workers -- 56 percent -- have never discussed with anyone how they would continue to pay for their living expenses if a disability kept them out of work for several months or longer.
The survey found that two in three workers do not even think about disability when they discuss their "financial planning."
I always say, that your ability to earn an income is the most valuable thing you own. Why not protect it?
According to new research just published by the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance, one third (33%) of buyers of individual long-term care insurance protection in 2007 were under age 55. Younger individuals are not merely buying protection in anticipation of claims in their later years. The Association's new study revealed claims involving policyholders in their 20s and 30s.
Amazing isn't it? If you're in you're 20's and 30's you may want to consider long-term care, disability and life insurance as part of your financial plan.
As America's health care continues to improve, life expectancy is prolonged. But increased longevity does come at a price. Most all of us will need assistance with simple daily tasks like bathing, dressing, and housekeeping. But serious ailments that require professional help are expensive.
Long-term care policies are becoming increasingly attractive ways to manage the unforeseen expenses of our elder years. The younger you are when you buy, the less you pay. But do consider paying extra for the "inflation factor." Although it may eventually double your policy's annual cost, it will boost your benefits as well.
Activities of daily living, or ADLs, determine an individual's ability to care for themselves. Benefits only begin after you meet the policy's defined requirements for ADL assistance. However, most policies do not start paying until the end of an elimination period, which can be a set number of days on the calendar or the number of days you've actually been receiving care. (So if your home health aid visits once a week, benefits would kick in after 30 days or 30 weeks, depending on the policy.)
How you receive your money also varies. Let's say your daily benefit is $300. With a reimbursement policy, the insurer pays you or your service providers. If they charged $250, the insurer uses the extra $50 to extend the life of your benefits. With an indemnity policy, you get $300 for each day you have a receipt for services, no matter the cost. Finally, a cash policy pays $300 per day, no receipts required.
Very few people actually need lifetime benefits - the average stay in a nursing home is only 2.5 years. And if the policy seems too good to be true, get a second opinion from a certified financial planner or an elder-law attorney.
According to the Internal Revenue Code, the 2008 deductible amounts can be as high as --
-- $3,850 if you're 70 or over*
-- $3,080 if you're over 60 but not over 70*
-- $1,150 if you're over 50 but not over 60*
-- $580 if you're over 40 but not over 50*
-- $310 if you're 40 or under*
* Before end of taxable year, if medical expenses exceed 7.5% of adjusted gross income According to LTC Financial Partners LLC, the nation's most experienced long term care insurance agency, the tax benefits may not end there. For instance, when a policy is designed to pay on a per-diem basis, a limited portion of the benefits may be excluded from taxable income. Also, when a policy is paid for out of a Health Savings Account (HSA), there can be tax advantages. HSAs are funded with pre-tax dollars, and long term care premiums are eligible medical expenses, according to the IRS (Publication 502).
For businesses, the tax breaks can be especially attractive. For example, when small business owners pay the premiums -- for employees or themselves -- it's generally deductible as a business expense. The self-employed, S-corporation owners, and C-corporation owners are NOT subject to the 7.5% rule that limits the medical-expense deductions of individual taxpayers.
The unemployment rate is at a two-year high. The housing market in a slump. There's talk of a recession. You depend on your employer for your health, life and disability insurance. If you lost your job, you'd lose your health/life insurance coverage. If the worst happens and a recession costs them their job, what would they do?
Here are some tips to make sure your insurance coverage is recession proof:
· Switch to term life insurance policy - If you have a group life insurance policy, you most likely will lose your coverage if you lose your job. Look into getting an individual term life insurance policy. Not only is the coverage portable, but it's usually less expensive then group and if you're in good health, you can usually get more coverage for less money. You can get free life insurance quotes online.
· Compare individual health insurance policies – Start comparing individual health insurance polices before you run into a situation where you are forced into getting something right away. Don't be fooled, you could lose your COBRA rights up front and be left without health. If you lose your job and you can exercise COBRA rights to retain your current employer's health insurance policy, do so.
· Take care of important medical care - If you need significant medical care, do it now, while you're still employed and insured. Don't put off to tomorrow what you should do anyway today, while you still have a job.
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| # | Blogger | Posts | Cmts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Byron Udell | 24 | 0 |
| 2 | Valeria Weber | 2 | 0 |
| 3 | Jonathan Zajicek | 1 | 0 |
| 4 | Denise Mancini-Blonda | 1 | 0 |
