When my clients buy long term care insurance (LTCi), they are typically healthy. The idea of actually using the policy benefits feels waaay out in the future. So when their health begins to decline, there can be a lot of emotional denial. They don’t want to accept that their change in health status is not temporary and they postpone asking for help. They forfeit collecting many thousands of dollars from their LTCi. This is all unnecessary hardship. The solution? File your long term care insurance claim as soon as you qualify.

Time to Get Real

Your close circle of support (spouse, kids, friends & neighbors) will pitch in and help you. They may also be in denial. They’ll do their best to provide the care they think you need, but their good intentions can only go so far.

Family and friends are not prepared or trained for the level of support needed. Often, there is undue stress, confusion, dysfunction, depression and resentment. People are re-acting, not pro-acting to circumstances. This produces the opposite of the dignified, graceful decline you envisioned for yourself.

When You File Your Long Term Care Insurance Claim

LTCi policies pay out large – often lavish – sums of money, enabling you to freely choose and access the type of care you want, with little pause or concern about money. LTCi’s purpose is to ensure your dignity, options, and choices. This is why you purchased it! If dignity, options and choices are what you want, this cannot happen until you are honest and realistic about your condition and prognosis, from the date of diagnosis! This is when you need to need to research, explore, make concrete LTC plans, and make them known.

Affluent people should self-insure for LTC, right?

You might think affluent people with more than enough money to “self-insure” for future long term care would recognize when it was time to pay for extra care. Nope! The decision to request help often isn’t about financial ability to pay. Facing the true condition of declining health is primarily an emotional matter.

For affluent people, having long term care insurance (and letting your family know you have it), provides a blueprint for your loved ones to follow. Your family is more likely to know what you want even if you may not be able to tell them at the time. The costs of your health care are taken care of which can help avoid unnecessary disagreements among your children. But not until you file your long term care insurance claim.

Both affluent and non-affluent families suffer from denial of long term care need. Yet the cost of this care can be so great that, even for the highly affluent, financial planners describe unplanned LTC costs as a dangerous “spending shock” that should be avoided.

Peruse my testimonials page for examples of families from both ends of the income spectrum where LTCi ownership made a huge difference for the best.

Here’s a great story by Christine Benz, who shares in her opening paragraphs how her parents could afford to self-insure for long-term care (LTC), but her family denied the need!

I encourage you to avoid denial of your need for long-term care! Use your LTCi as you originally intended: to prevent you from being a burden on those you love, and live out your life in comfort and grace! And it all begins when you file your long term care insurance claim.

Click here if you’d like a free quote on long term care insurance for you or someone you love.