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Long term care often arises because elderly people can no longer manage a number of daily living activities without help and it is envisaged this will occur for their lifetime. It comprises of support with daily living activities like washing, dressing or walking and can be provided in the person’s house, in a residential home or nursing home.

Quite often a stroke or heart attack happens out of the blue, resulting in the need for immediate long term care. Other symptoms such as Alzheimer’s disease can develop more slowly requiring increasing levels of care.

How does a long term care insurance policy work? Basically this is a lump sum insurance plan that guarantees a regular payment to help pay for life time care. The purchase price is progressively cheaper relative to adverse health and older age unlike life insurance which is progressively less costly due to younger age and better health.

The way a long term care insurance works is that those who die too soon effectively pay for those who live longer. One insurance company guarantees a full refund if the person dies within the first 30 days and this progressively reduces over the first six months to zero death benefit. it is possible to buy extended protection against dying in the short term, but the protection is very limited and costly.

Long term care insurance plan premiums are calculated based on the individual’s life expectancy. this is forecast by reference to medical information provided by the person’s family doctor. Also insurance companies endeavour to speak to care home staff for an up to date hands on assessment. The cost of a care plan is less relative to correspondingly deteriorating health and frailty.

In addition to age, gender and state of health, the lump sum cost of a long term care policy is assessed by the level of monthly payments to the care provider. The monthly shortfall is calculated by deducting other regular income such as pensions and state benefits. The regular shortfall will help determine the amount of lump sum purchase price in return for a guaranteed income stream for life. The care benefits can be arranged to rise automatically every year by a given percentage to coincide with the care provider’s annual review date.

Why not suggest to the care home that they could agree to fixed 5% fee increases annually? In this way the care plan can be arranged to match these rises every year.

Even a guaranteed care plan cannot take into account increased care costs if there is a need the need to move care homes. This may be due to a requirement for nursing care or if the present care home closes for some reason or is taken over by a larger group. A regular NHS contribution is made for persons assessed as needing registered nursing care. However if the person’s health has deteriorated to such an extent that they qualify for continuing care, this is fully funded by the NHS.

One main advantage of this type of scheme over others is the tax efficiency. This is due to the fact that the benefits are paid direct to the care provider so has no impact upon the person receiving the care.

before to commence planning for long term care payments be certain to access Barbara Davies’s essential free report about long term care insurance plans .