Long-Term Care Insurance

Long-Term Care Insurance: Good Investment for Houston Families

Published on: December 1, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Nursing home and other long-term care expenses can be a financial burden for most families. And although long-term care insurance policies can help offset those expenses, LTC premiums are on the rise and can be quite costly. It can take careful planning to determine if LTC premiums can be paid for, without dipping into retirement funds.

When people purchased their policies 10 to 15 years ago, nursing home costs were about $150 or $200 a day. In some parts of the county, today’s costs can exceed $400 a day, or $12,000 per month for higher levels of care.

The expense incurred by the insured going on claim has caused the long-term care insurance industry to downsize. Those companies still offering policies are bumping up the premiums amid the rising cost of long-term care.

Long-Term Care Lapse Logistics Impact Houston Families

Published on: February 28, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

In the meantime, cases like this demonstrate anew how vigilant families need to be. If your older relative has a long-term care policy, photocopy the page listing the company, policy number and claims contact information. Keep the insurance company updated on new addresses, yours (if you are the third-party designee) and your relative’s. It wouldn’t hurt, if the policyholder is becoming forgetful, to check bank statements or call the company to be sure premiums are paid.

Do your elderly loved ones have a long-term care insurance policy or something similar? If yes, then they likely are relying on it to cover the potentially catastrophic financial risk that is long-term care. If yes, then what happens if they forget to pay the premiums?

Do I have your attention now? If yes, then you will want to read a recent horror story in The New York Times – The New Old Age Blog titled “The Policy Lapsed, but No One Knew.”

Insurance And Financial Planning Go Hand In Hand in Houston

Published on: December 13, 2013 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Discomfort with the details prevents many people from obtaining the necessary coverage.

The kinds of insurances we are “required” to buy help us with the minor bumps and scrapes in life and are sometimes easy to think about, shop for or ensure that we have adequate coverage. Auto and homeowners insurance, for example, come immediately to mind.

On the other hand, disability insurance, long-term care insurance and life insurance are another matter entirely. As USA Today points out in a recent article titled “Insurance is most ignored in financial planning,” these three insurances are all too often ignored, misunderstood and difficult to think about emotionally. Nevertheless, they are often essential.