Long term care insurance is probably one of the least known about and most important types of insurance you can have. Over 70% of all people will use long term care in some form or fashion. It is estimated that 40% of these people will use care in a nursing home. As our society ages and lives longer, we are seeing that more and more people need long term care services. In fact, over the next 20 years, 80 million people are expected to retire. If the above numbers hold true, the long term care bill will be enormous. However, this risk can be passed on to insurance companies through privately held long term care insurance. In fact, only 5% of the current 'baby boomer" generation has LTC coverage. If more people were to have long term care insurance the cost of the coverage would reduce greatly and we could insure that the quality of coverage for our aging population stays good. LTC coverage might just be a lot cheaper than you think. Click here for your FREE LTC QUOTE.

Long term care coverage is best thought of in what is known as activities of daily living or ADL's. There are 6 ADL's, they are: bathing, eating, transfer or movement, continence, toileting and dressing. Medicare does not pay for any Medicare beneficiary that needs these services on a long term basis (after 20 days) either in home or at a facility. The average nursing home costs in New Hanover County, NC are around $6,000 a month in 2010.

Medicaid however, will cover long term care expenses, but only after assets and income have been spent down making the remaining spouse, if any,  "impoverished".  Assets that need to be spent down include retirement and brokerage accounts, savings, CD's and social security income. Medicaid will allow for an impoverished spouse to keep only 1 car, 1 home, and a very limited monthly income. Any additional vacation homes,vehicles, monthly income  or anything with real value needs to be sold, and proceeds used to pay for long term care needs. Medicaid usually requires an annual audit of finances to make sure that the impoverished spouse still qualifies for the assistance. For any additional information on this subject, feel free to contact us with your questions.

At Aarow Finacial Group, we can help you sort through our carrier's available long term care insurance options. Contact us today for a free, no obligation NC long term care  insurance quote - 800-343-3401.

A  good long term care policy is part of any solid financial plan. Long term care policies have come a long way in the past few years. In addition to traditional pay plans, and pay plans with return of premium riders, there are now plans that can be written with a lump sum deposit and no ongoing premiums. These plans are 100% liquid if you need to access the money deposited and may even grow with interest! This type of plan also offers a tax-free death benefit just like life insurance. (We recently worked with a 60 year old woman who had $25,000 in cash value in an old whole life policy that we were able to transfer into a lump-sum long term care policy. She immediately had over $40,000 in tax-free death benefit, over $150,000 in long term care benefits, and her money completely liquid for emergencies in case she needed it. Her deposit also accrued interest!) Lastly, we also offer linked-benefit long term care annuities that have just come about due to the changes in the Pension Protection Act in the first part of 2010. These can be a great option to provide long term care if you have had some pre-existing conditions and have trouble qualifying for traditional coverage.

Call us today to schedule an appointment to discuss your long term care insurance needs. Our office is located on Market Street in Wilmington, North Carolina. We would also be happy to meet at a location that is convenient to you. Thank you for considering Aarow Financial Group for all of your North Carolina insurance needs.