Hybrid Long Term Care Insurance vs Traditional Long Term Care Insurance

Did you know that is more than one option when it comes to long term care insurance?

With the traditional long term care insurance you pay your premium, and if you need long-term care due to age or illness, the policy pays out a daily or monthly benefit. Some people think that if they die without needing long-term care, they feel they’ve “wasted” the premiums.

Hybrid Long Term Care Insurance

With a hybrid plan you can withdraw funds from the policy for long-term care, and the insurance company pays for care when those funds run out. And, if you die without having needed expensive long-term care, your heirs receive a death benefit.

Another consideration is that the benefits are guaranteed. If you pay your premiums (usually for 10 years or less), you will have a contractually guaranteed death benefit, guaranteed cash value and a guaranteed amount of long-term care coverage.

Although hybrid policies provide you the ability to elect your long term care insurance benefits at the outset, monthly benefit, benefit period, and inflation protection,  they are not as flexible as traditional plans.

Some hybrid linked benefit insurance policies are funded with a one-time single premium up-front such as $50,000 or $100,000. Others are paid over short periods of time, which can make them very costly.

Plus, the premiums you pay for hybrid policies are not potentially tax-deductible, because hybrid policies are not considered tax-qualified policies.

Traditional Long Term Care Insurance

With a traditional stand-alone policy, which can be custom-tailored to suit your needs, you elect your benefits at the start:

• Monthly Benefit
• Benefit Period (2 years, 3 years, 4 years, 5 years, 6 years, Unlimited) (Individual or Shared)
• Inflation Protection
• Waiting Period (30 Days - 180 days)

Your premium is guaranteed renewable.  Premiums are typically paid on a monthly, quarterly, semi-annual or annual basis. As long as you pay your premium, you will have coverage in-force.

Most importantly because traditional policies are able to be customized, you are able to design the policies to account not only for your current needs but also to account for future inflation.

Give us a call and let’s discuss if it’s worth it for you to consider a hybrid insurance policy or if a traditional long term insurance policy makes more sense.