What is an Elder Law Rider on an Insurance Policy?

If you’re here, that probably means you have questions about how to protect your home and life savings from long-term care and nursing home costs and are probably considering long-term care or other insurance as part of your plan. In this video, I’ll discuss long-term care insurance as one option for covering those costs, and in particular, what an elder law rider is.

According to multiple studies, approximately 72% of people over the age of 65 will need some form of long-term care, whether that is in the form of a home health aide, assisted living or even in a nursing home. We also know that the average length of care for a man is 2.2 years and the average length of care for a woman is 3.7 years. In 2021, according to Genworth. the national average cost for a home health aide was  $5,148 per month, the average costs for assisted living was $4,500 per month, a semi-private nursing home room was $7,908 per month and a private nursing home room was $9,034 per month. The costs for both MN and FL were higher than the national average. In fact, if you would like to learn more, check out my free guide, “Save My Home: How to Protect Your Home and Life Savings from Long-Term Care and Nursing Home Costs” at www.SaveOurHome.com and there is a link in the description below.

That means the average married couple is likely to spend anywhere between half-million to nearly $1.5 million dollars in the next few years to cover costs. One of the ways of paying for it, is long-term care insurance.

However, there are a number of potential issues with long-term care insurance.

1. Not everyone can qualify. Many people, due to age and or current or prior health history do not qualify.
2. Not everyone can afford it. The costs of care are skyrocketing. That means premiums on policies have to go up as well to keep pace. Therefore, many people who have long-term care policies are finding they cannot afford to keep them as they age and are most likely to need them.
3. The policy may not cover everything. Many people discover that the policy they have do to monthly and/or lifetime policy limits and/or policy exclusions, are unlikely to cover all of their care costs.
4. Some people are concerned about paying for insurance they may not need. I’ve had a number of people tell me they are concerned about paying for long-term care insurance since it is expensive and they are concerned they may not need it. One, that is the nature of insurance (we buy auto and homeowner’s insurance in case we ever need while hoping we never do. Long-term care insurance is no different). Secondly, we know 72% of people over age 65 are going to need some form of long-term care so the likelihood is good you or your spouse or a family member will need it.

So one option is to add a long-term care insurance policy, or elder law rider as it is sometimes known, to a life insurance policy. By adding it as a rider, it helps to keep the premiums down. It also has the added benefit that if you somehow beat the odds and do not require long-term care, the life insurance proceeds will still be paid to your family upon your passing.

If you would like to learn more about Why Your Existing Estate Plan  (or lack of one) Fail Just When Your Family Needs It Most, and How You Can Put a Plan in Place to Make it as Easy and Inexpensive as Possible For Your Family While Protecting Your Assets… I will be hosting a free, online masterclass, where I will be revealing what you need to know about powers of attorney, living wills, health care directives, wills vs. trust, tax minimization strategies, how to protect the assets you leave to your family in the event they get divorced or sued and much more, just click the link in the description below.