Reasons Not to Buy Long-Term Care Insurance

Long-term care insurance is designed to provide coverage to individuals who end up confined to a nursing or other type of long-term care facility. Long-term care insurance is a type of coverage that supplements medical insurance policies.

Time Frame

• Long-term care insurance policies all have a waiting period before coverage goes into effect. This time frame varies from policy to policy, generally from 60 to 120 days. The waiting period is an example of a reason not to buy long-term care insurance.

Existing Coverage

• A majority of health insurance polices contain provisions for long-term coverage. Before a person invests in a separate long-term care insurance policy, examining what is available in this regard in an existing health insurance policy is important.

Considerations

• Another reason why there may be no need for this type of insurance is the average consumer either never will enter into a long-term care facility or will not be there long enough to require coverage beyond traditional health insurance, according to Consumer Reports.

Effects

• The ultimate effect of purchasing long-term care insurance for many consumers is ending up "overinsured." These individuals pay premiums for insurance coverage they simply do not need.

Warning

• When shopping for long-term care insurance, a consumer needs to make sure that she is dealing with a reputable agent or broker. There are a variety of ongoing long-term insurance scams in motion at any given point in time.