Home Health Care

Nonforfeiture Benefit

Return of Premium

Shared Benefit

Inflation Protection

Waiver of Premium

Restoration of Benefits

Home Health Care

Sometimes you need to buy a rider to add home health care coverage if it's not part of a basic long-term care policy.  With home health care, you may be able to avoid going to a nursing home or assisted living facility even if you're no longer able to care for yourself.

Except in remote areas where you may experience difficulty finding a quality provider of home health care, it's an extremely important benefit to purchase and most people will need a policy that pays for home health care.

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Nonforfeiture Benefit

State insurance regulations often require that long-term care insurers offer nonforfeiture benefit riders and this option must be offered if you're buying a tax-qualified policy.

As the name suggests, this rider assures that you won't forfeit all of your benefits even if you stop paying premiums before making a claim.  According to the United Seniors Health Cooperative, an independent consumer advocacy group, you'll pay in the neighborhood of 40 percent more for a policy with a nonforfeiture benefit rider attached to it which is usually not cost-effective for the client.

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Return of Premium

A type of nonforfeiture benefit included in some long-term care policies or as a rider that provides a cash value accumulation and return of premiums in the future to insureds who receive no policy benefits or minimal benefits while the policy is in force. Exact provisions vary from policy to policy, but generally provide a greater return the longer the policy is in force and usually deduct the amount of any claims paid before returning premiums to the insured.  Some clients prefer this option as a hedge against not needing the insurance.  Only recommended if the client can afford the additional premium, otherwise not cost-effective.

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Share Benefit

A shared-benefit rider lets you extend the duration of your benefit if both spouses have coverage. If both the husband and wife have a policy, the rider lets either draw from the other's policy if their own benefits are exhausted.  It's less expensive than buying two separate policies and a rider we'd recommend with a joint policy.

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Inflation Protection

No matter which long-term care policy you buy, an inflation rider is an important option. These riders help ensure that your long-term care policy payments keep pace with the escalating cost of care. Because this coverage is so important, insurance regulators in many states require any purchaser of a long-term care policy to sign a special form indicating they are rejecting the inflation rider.

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Waiver of Premium

Any provision included within or as a rider to an insurance policy providing that, when specified conditions exist, the policy will continue in force without further premium payment. When the specified conditions no longer exist. the insured person resumes paying premiums.  This rider can come in handy on a joint policy when on insured begins receiving care.

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Restoration of Benefits

A long-term care policy may reinstate benefits you have used, after you have stopped needing care for a prescribed number of days. For example, if you have a 3-year benefit policy, receive benefits for one year, then do not require care for six months, the policy will "restore" a year of benefits which means you still have 3 more years of coverage. If a policy offers restoration of benefits, check to see what percentage of the benefit is restored and how long you must be free of treatment for benefits to be restored.

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*Please note that each company's long term care insurance policy will have it's own definitions of these terms.  Our recommendations are generalizations and it is imperative that you speak with your long term care insurance specialist regarding these recommendations and which benefits are most appropriate for your own situation before purchasing your policy.