Baby Boomers and Long Term Care Part II

In my previous article, "Baby Boomers and Long Term Care Part I" , we discussed why baby boomers should consider long term care insurance. With the rising cost of medical expenses, long term care expenses and much longer life expectancy, most of us are going to be faced with some kind of long-term care crisis. This article lists look at a couple of things in a little more detail. What is long term care and who needs long-term care.

What is long-term care?

Long-term care is needed when a person can no longer perform the activities of daily living. The activities of daily living are eating, dressing, bathing, toileting, continence and transferring. These "ADL's" usually are caused by chronic illness, a disability due to aging or an injury. Long-term care insurance is also needed in the case of severe cognitive impairment. This includes Alzheimer's, dementia and other brain disorders.

Who needs long-term care?

Anybody could need long-term care at any point in their lives. Approximately 40% of people receiving long-term care are between the ages of 18 and 64.

· More than half of the US population will require long term care at some point in their lives.5

· One out of five Americans over the age of 50 is at risk of needing long term care in the next 12 months.5

· For couples 65 and over, there is a 75% likelihood that one partner will need long term care.6

· 60% of people over age 75 will need long term care and need care for approximately 3 years.7

· There's a 68% probability that people age 65 and over will become disabled in at least two activities of daily living or of being cognitively impaired.8

In my next article, baby boomers and long-term care part three, we will look at the cost of long-term care without long-term care insurance.

Source:

1 Americans for Long-Term Care Security, www.ltcweb.org, August 2000.

2 The Wall Street Journal, June 2000. www.wallstreetjournal.com

3 Business Week www.businessweek.com

4 AARP. Beyond 50: A Report to the Nation on Independent Living and Disability, 2003. www.research.aarp.org

For More InFormation Click Here: More Information

About the Author

Terry Stanfield is SEM consultant with over 15 years of sales and marketing experience. His company, Clickadvantage, manages PPC and SEO efforts for his lead generation and ecommerce clients. For more information go to http://www.clickadvant.com today.

- baLooT Inc 2007 -

Baby Boomers and Long Term Care (Part I)

Baby Boomers Need to Consider LTC Insurance

Long Term Care and LTC insurance is an important issue for baby boomers, their parents and me. The reality of long term care is at the forefront of our minds because of the news and TV. We must ask ourselves what impact an unexpected illness or accident would have on our finances. What is long-term care who needs it and how much will it cost. Before we look at these questions let me share some fun facts about getting "older".

1. Over 40% of all Americans over the age of 65 will spend some time in a nursing home due to a prolonged illness or disability.

2. One year in a nursing home can cost $36,000 to $60,000. Currently, the average cost in a long term care facility in America is $41,000 per year. The average cost of a visit by a home health aide is $52. Daily visits would cost you almost $19,000 per year. Skilled nursing at home, to administer medication or oxygen, for example, five days per week for a year would cost you an average of $94 per visit, or $24,440 per year.

3. Health care plans and Medicare combined pay only about 3% of the costs of long term care. State Medicaid programs rescue only those families who descend to the poverty level. The rest comes out of pocket - nest eggs, funds earmarked for retirement, life savings - or from a long term care insurance policy.

4. In 1983, Medicare began a new program called the Prospective Payment System. Instead of reimbursing hospitals for the actual cost of treating patients, this program now pays a set fee according to 467 Diagnostic Related Groups, or DRGs. Once a patient reaches the arbitrary number of days in the hospital, Medicare payments stop regardless of the individual patient's actual condition or the need for continuing care.

5. 70% of people who are older than 65 will need long term care services.

6. 77 million Americans will turn 50 over the next 18 years. That's 1 person every 7.5 seconds.

7. 43% of individuals age 65 will enter a nursing home sometime in their lifetime, with 50% staying an average of 2.5 years.

8. The national average cost for 1 year in a nursing home is approximately $41,000; in larger cities from $50 to $60,000 annually.

9. 50 percent of all couples and 70 percent of single persons are impoverished within one year of entering a nursing home.

10. For every person receiving care in a nursing home, there are 4 people receiving care outside a facility.

11. The annual cost to companies for lost productivity from elder care responsibilities is $17 billion a year or $3,142 per employee.

12. By 2020, 1 in 3 workers will provide some type of elder care.

Sources: Life Insurance Selling, December 1992 CBS News - Census Bureau New England Journal of Medicine, February 1991 American Association of Homes for the Aging, 1989, Leimberg, 1992 HIAA, "Long Term Care -- Needs, Costs and Financing (1992) Leimberg's "Think About It" Stephan R. Leimberg, JD, CLU (November 1992) U.S. Administration on Aging, July 1991 USA Today, July 19, 1994 Wall Street Journal, July 19, 1995 USA Today, July 19, 1994 Long Term Care Conclusion

Most of us would never dream of not having home owners insurance, health insurance (that's another issue) or auto insurance. After looking at some of the facts and family medical history, the conclusion seems clear that as baby boomers, we must give this a serious look. The challenge for us is too learn as much as we can about long term care so that we can have options and not be caught off guard by an unexpected illness that could wipe out our retirement or add an undue burden on our families.

For More Information About long term care Click Here: More Information

About the Author

Terry Stanfield is SEM consultant with over 15 years of sales and marketing experience. His company, Clickadvantage, manages PPC and SEO efforts for his lead generation and ecommerce clients. For more information go to http://www.clickadvant.com today.

- baLooT Inc 2007 -

Understanding Pet Health Insurance

Insurance as we all know is a type of " risk management" mainly done to evade any sort of risks of prospective monetary loss. However, there are different types of insurance related to matters other than financial-for example different pet insurances to care of your pets.

Among these, pet care insurance or pet health care insurance, is the most common typeHere, some amount is paid to the person, whose pet falls ill or suffers any accident. The pet insurance policy that is paid, is usually limited by the sum that will be paid by three ways-either by putting a check on the total amount to be paid in a year or by putting a check on for each illness or accidents or even putting check on for every claim along with restricting the period of the claim. The pet owner generally has to pay some amount for any claim called premium.

Mostly, these types of insurances are available for cats and dogs only. Sometimes special insurances are also offered for horses. These policies are almost available in all (developed) countries. But the rules and other details regarding the policies differ.

After making a good study on different companies who are engaged in this business it has been found that till now ' the king of the jungle' is VPI pet insurance, which covers almost over 6400 illness, accidents or injury cases. They also cover for vaccines, though generally insurances are not paid for veterinary cares.

Pet insurance has now become the fastest growing form of insurance in the market as it helps us to get the best care for our pet and also helps us to get readyFree Reprint Articles, beforehand for any sort unanticipated emergencies. It also helps us to cope with the rising veterinary costs.

Source: ArticlesFactory.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Find more about Pet Insurance on http://www.LeanderNet.com/Pet_insurance/Pet_insurance.php

- baLooT Inc 2007 -

Pet Insurance : What To Look For

By: Nicholas Hunt

Keeping a pet is a rewarding experience which many of us enjoy, but it can also be expensive. As well as all the routine costs such as food and grooming, you can also come up against unplanned expenses such as veterinary bills through sickness or accident. These bills can unfortunately be very high, so to ensure that their pets can get the treatment they need many people decide that taking out pet insurance is a sensible way of helping to cushion these costs. But what should you be looking for in a pet insurance policy?

The first thing to consider is what kind of pet you have. The cheapest kind of pet insurance is that for the most common pets - cats and dogs. Prices for these policies can be very reasonable indeed, amounting to only the cost of a few tins of pet food a month. If, however, you keep a more unusual kind of animal as a pet, then the price you pay may well be higher. Make sure that any policy you take out specifically includes your kind of pet, as many will exclude more 'exotic' kinds of animal.

The main reason for considering pet insurance is cover for medical treatment, but there are some exclusions that you need to be aware of. Firstly, your policy will almost certainly not cover routine treatments such as vaccinations, flea control, or worming. Secondly, you won't be covered for any pre-existing conditions that were already known about when you took out the policy (you should also declare any existing conditions when you take out the policy, or you risk it being declared invalid when you come to make a claim).

You also need to check your policy for claim limits: there may be a time limit of cover, so for example a long-term condition such as arthritis may only be covered for a period of 12 months, after which you will be responsible for meeting the bills. There is also usually a limit to the total cost of medical bill claims you make in any one year, but this is usually high enough to cover almost any conceivable situation.

Another major reason for taking out insurance is to help you cover the costs of getting your pet back if it goes missing. Most policies will contribute towards advertising in local newspapers etcetera, and also to providing reward money for the safe return of your pet.

Another very important part of your insurance cover is public liability, especially for dog owners. Even the calmest and most well behaved of pets could possibly cause damage to someone's property, or even cause an injury to a person. In this thankfully rare event, you could be open to huge legal bills and compensation claims - make sure that your policy includes a substantial amount of third party liability cover as standard.

Finally, check whether the policy you're considering places a limit on the age of your pet. Many policies are only available to, for example, cats up until the age of eight years. As it is in later years that your pet is most likely to need treatment, it obviously makes sense to ensure your policy will cover this, especially if your pet has a few years under their belt!

Source: ArticleGOLD

- baLooT Inc. 2007 -

How to Get a Cheap Travel Insurance ?

Insurance is getting costlier by the day. In case you do not buy an insurance you may end up paying a lot more and may even end up bankrupt. This is a catch-22 situation, either way you have to pay. However the smart individual can reduce the amount he pays on insurance to a great extent by keeping in mind few things.

Buy travel insurance online-Buying travel insurance online can save up to 20% of the cost as you do not have to pay to an agent. Most travel insurance companies encourage buying online as it reduces their overhead costs also.

Group travel insurance-If you are traveling to a place in a group, it is smarter to buy group travel insurance or a cheap family travel insurance as the premium will be marginally higher than for an individual. However if all individuals buy separately they will end up paying lot more than if they had bought a group cover.

Existing insurance covers-Most health insurance covers in the United States provide for health insurance in foreign countries also. Hence check up whether your existing health insurance provides cover and to what extent and then buy a travel insurance policy. Also check up whether your home insurance covers and auto insurance covers. Most auto insurance covers do not cover for driving in foreign countries. The idea is if you are already covered partly, then buy the travel insurance to cover the remaining items you wish to, rather than paying for the entire cover.

Deductible-Deductible is the amount of the bill you pay and the rest of the bill is paid by the travel insurance company. The higher the deductible, the lesser the premium.

Co-insurance-Co-insurance is the percentage of bill that you will have to pay when claiming costs under an insurance cover. The higher the co-insurance the lesser is the premium. It is a matter of striking the balance between deductiblet, co-insurance and premium to suit your pocket.

Source: ArticlesFactory.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Find more about Travel Insurance on http://www.LeanderNet.com/Travel-insurance/Travel-insurance . More useful content on LeanderNet - http://www.LeanderNet.com

- baLooT Inc 2007 -

Travel Insurance – do I need insurance for a holiday in the UK?

Don't assume that Travel Insurance for a holiday in the UK is a waste of time. It can make sense - but buy online for a bargain.

Last week my wife and I booked a two centre holiday on the Scottish Isles. Seven days on Skye and then a ferry over to Steornabhagh for a further seven days on the Isle of Lewis. Wonderful scenery, plenty of walks and masses of peace and quiet.

You could have blown me over when my local travel agent assumed that I wanted travel insurance for an additional £27.50. Not on your Nellie the Lock Ness monster, I thought. Who needs travel insurance for a holiday in Britain? The National Health Service is free and in an emergency, my son could drive up and bring us home.

Later in the relaxing setting of my sitting room I got to thinking …………..

Holiday misfortunes don't only happen abroad. So with my pessimistic hat on, I made a note of the risks:

Some rotter might steal our luggage

Last week I bought an all singing and dancing digital camera especially for the trip. Got it on the Internet. I might lose it whilst away.

If either of us were hospitalized we wouldn't want to be marooned on Skye. We'd want to transfer to our local hospital in Warwickshire.

My wife's parents are getting on. God forbid, but I'd have to cancel the holiday if something happened to them just before we're due to go.

One of us could be taken ill before we depart and we'd be forced to cancel. As the ferries and the hotels were non-cancellable, we'd lose everything we'd paid.

There may be a major delay at the ferry going over to the Isle of Lewis. Besides the inconvenience, we have to arrange an extra overnight stay on Skye.

One of us might be called up for jury service.

Then it struck me. If I were holidaying in the Britain, my existing Home and Contents policy might cover me for loss of my camera or luggage. I dug out the policy document. Lucky I did. I was only insured for “personal possessions” if they were listed and as I'd just bought my digital camera I hadn't got round to listing it as a valuable item on my policy.

Another aspect struck me. I'd lose my no claims discount if I made a holiday related claim on my Home & Contents policy. That wouldn't be a good idea. I've got a ten year claims free record that policy and it still cost me £310 a year. I jotted down a another note – remember, when the policy comes up for renewal, see if I could get it cheaper on the Internet.

By now a travel policy at £27.50 for was looking worthwhile after all.

Now my wife says I'm a bit of an old skin flint. So keep up the image! I know, get back online and check out the travel agents' policy at £27.50. Is it competitive?

Not all the web sites I surfed could offer me a single trip travel policy for a holiday within the UK but within ten minutes I'd found what I wanted - and a saving of over £10!

Time to study the small print to confirm I had the cover I wanted. GreatFree Web Content, all the risks I had noted were covered. The insurer would even pay out £30 if my ferry was delayed for up to 12 hours and then give me the option to cancel my trip to the Isle of Lewis and get my money back.

Now what wouldn't they pay for? I wasn't covered if my holiday was for less than two nights or my hotel was less than 25 miles away from home. I also had to meet the first £30 of any claim. Seemed fair to me.

The decision was made. Simply type in my credit card details and I was insured in a CLICK.

Peace of mind restored!

Source: ArticlesFactory.com

- baLooT Inc 2007 -

10 Important Things to Remember When Buying Life Insurance

It is always better to find out vital information about life insurance prior to buying cover. This ensures that you obtain the best cover your money can buy.

10 facts about life insurance are:

1. Research the market: It is nearly always preferable to investigate all the cover available and to be clear about the monthly fees before deciding. A great place to source this info is online.

2. The sooner the better: Do not procrastinate in buying a life insurance policy. The best time to purchase a policy is when you are young and in employment. This will give you a choice of great policies.

3. Do not get too much: Try to have just the correct amount of insurance that is within your budget. Getting too much cover will attract increased costs which is unnecessary.

4. Always tell the truth: Never try to misguide when completing the insurance application. If you are discovered hiding facts, such as smoking, the insurance provider may terminate your plan.

5. Stay healthy for lower costs: Health conscious individuals pay the least expensive fees. But, habits like cigarette smoking, too much alcohol, intake of drugs and obesity can make your premium sky high.

6. Never pay unnecessary fees: The fees of some insurance coverage are high due to the fact they also incorporate the commissions of the broker. To prevent this, go with an insurance company that offers policies sold direct.

7. Monthly fees can cost more: One way to keep costs down is to avoid monthly costs. You should therefore go for bi-annual or annual premiums, which are discounted.

8. Check your cover from time to time: You should check your cover when there is a major change in your circumstances, like the birth of a child or your children starting university. Occasional reviews help you to ensure that you are paying the right fees, and that you have the right level of cover.

9. Do not rely upon your employers insurance cover: Most employees are provided with company insurance by their employers. But this may be insufficient for your requirements. Additionally, the group insurance policies get cancelled when you depart the company and because of this can not be relied upon.

10. Higher cover could be cheaper: With life insurance, monthly fees get less expensive as you go for increased cover. As such there is nothing wrong in increasing the coverBusiness Management Articles, if your budget will allow it.

Don't leave it to chance. Get financial protection for your family with life insurance from Protected .

Source: ArticlesFactory.com

- baLooT Inc. 2007 -