Lesson 6: The Policies They Kept
Two policies. Twenty years of premiums.
One very good reason not to cancel.
Full Story
For more than 20 years, a Northwest Ohio couple wrote the same check every month: about $440 for long term care insurance. They bought their policies before we ever met.
It was a "Cadillac" LTC policy: no waiting period, lifetime coverage, and $130 a day in benefits for each of them.
Over the years, it would have been easy to question it. The premiums never stopped, and the need felt far away. But they had the cash flow, and I encouraged them to keep it.
Today, both are close to 90, and both have needed care for around six months now.
Their nursing home bill is about $9,100 a month. Their two policies combined pay roughly $8,000 of it. The savings they spent a lifetime building are protected from most of that cost.
Their children don't have to be caregivers. They can be care managers.
They can visit, advocate, and make sure Mom and Dad are well looked after, instead of providing the care themselves.
The Lesson
Long term care insurance feels like the wrong purchase for years, then becomes the right one. It protects more than money. It protects peace of mind, for the couple and for the family who would otherwise carry the burden.
When a good policy is affordable to keep, keep it.
Details have been changed to protect privacy. Individual results vary; policy terms, benefits, and costs differ.