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Re: Shared Policies

Posted by Scott A. Olson, CLTC on February 23, 19101 at 08:04:04:

In Reply to: Shared Policies posted by Michael Lansky on February 21, 19101 at 20:39:12:

Michael,

As with all types of insurance, the question is, "is the rider a good VALUE?" Is what you are getting from the rider worth more to you than the premium.

Here's my two cents:

a) I'm not a big fan of 3 year benefit periods. I know a lot of agents almost always recommend a 3 or 4 year plan. And a lot of consumers like to buy only 3 or 4 years of coverage because everyone knows the "average stay in a nursing home" is 2.5 years. That is true, but that statistic does not include the length of the home healthcare leading up to the nursing home care.
So, to begin with, I'm biased towards longer benefit periods like 5 years or "lifetime/unlimited".

b) Rather than adding the "shared" rider, it may just be a little bit more premium for you and your wife to each buy 5 or 6 years of benefit. Compare the difference.

Scott A. Olson, CLTC
Florida Licensed Life & Health Insurance Agent

: One agent my wife and I met with suggested that we add a rider to our policies that would allow us to share each other's benefits. We weren't sure how to think about this? In one way I guess it would be good in case one of us needed more than the average amount of care. But, we could also use up each other's benefits, too. Do most couples get this shared benefit coverage?

: M.L.

Follow Ups:

Re: Shared Policies William Gray Associates, LLC 00:59:55 03/08/02 (0)

Re: Shared Policies : Michael, : As with all types of insurance, the question is, "is the rider a good VALUE?" Is what you are getting from the rider worth more to you than the premium. : Here's my two cents: : a) I'm not a big fan of 3 year benefit periods. I know a lot of agents almost always recommend a 3 or 4 year plan. And a lot of consumers like to buy only 3 or 4 years of coverage because everyone knows the "average stay in a nursing home" is 2.5 years. That is true, but that statistic does not include the length of the home healthcare leading up to the nursing home care. : So, to begin with, I'm biased towards longer benefit periods like 5 years or "lifetime/unlimited". : b) Rather than adding the "shared" rider, it may just be a little bit more premium for you and your wife to each buy 5 or 6 years of benefit. Compare the difference. : : Scott A. Olson, CLTC : Florida Licensed Life & Health Insurance Agent : : : One agent my wife and I met with suggested that we add a rider to our policies that would allow us to share each other's benefits. We weren't sure how to think about this? In one way I guess it would be good in case one of us needed more than the average amount of care. But, we could also use up each other's benefits, too. Do most couples get this shared benefit coverage? : : M.L.

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