Long-Term Care Insurance or Life Insurance? How About Both?
by Trish Sneddon, CSA, CLTC, MMA Counselor

Many of our clients are turning to long-term care insurance as a way to protect themselves from the large financial impact of paying for home care, assisted living care, or nursing home care. At some point, clients begin to re-assess whether life insurance or protection from long-term care costs is more important. Sometimes both types of insurance may be necessary.

FIFS offers a unique product that allows your beneficiaries to collect a benefit upon your death, or allows you to use the accelerated death benefit feature to pay for two-to-four years of long-term care. It also comes with a built-in "Return of Premium" feature. If, at anytime in the life of the policy, you choose to let the policy lapse, then you would get a full return of your premium, no strings attached.

Lump Sum Payment Option
This plan is typically funded with a single lump sum premium payment, so your premiums will never increase over time. For example, if you had cash value built-up in a life insurance policy you could add the flexibility of a long-term care benefit to your financial plan, then consider a rollover of cash value into this more flexible policy.

Clients who have just sold a home or inherited money may be looking for a creative way to tie up loose ends in their financial planning. In the right situation, this can be the perfect solution. Clients can receive the life insurance with the tax-free death benefit and the long-term care insurance protection. Plus, if you ever need to have the cash in-hand, you can have it all back.

For clients who are more comfortable with small monthly payments, traditional long-term care insurance is still the best way to go. But for clients who want the dual coverage and are comfortable with the single-pay arrangement, this is a great option to consider.

FIFS Connection, Summer 2006, Vol.3, No. 3