Complete Guide on Life Insurance for Nursing Home Residents 2024
Last Updated November 23, 2024
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Life Insurance is generally an investment one makes in order to protect their loved ones in the event of a sudden death or tragic accident. Parents may get life insurance to ensure their dependents are financially cared for in the event of their passing. Seniors often use final expense life insurance in order to provide a small nest egg to pay for their funeral and burial expenses. However, you may find that purchasing life insurance for nursing home residents is far trickier than buying for a healthier or younger person. It is absolutely possible to get life insurance for a nursing home resident. We will go through the type of policy a person in a nursing home can have and what options are available to them.
Life Insurance for Nursing Home Residents
Someone in a nursing home has fewer options for life insurance than someone who may be of similar age that is not living in a nursing home. Insurance company underwriters assess risk when looking into who to accept for insurance. This makes it difficult and expensive for nursing home residents to obtain traditional life insurance like whole life and term life insurance. Underwriters will determine that a person within a nursing home is in too poor health for life insurance. In some cases, simply being in a nursing home will be enough of a disqualifying factor.
Typically, traditional life insurance policies will have health questionnaires with “knock-out questions”. Answering yes to those questions will mean you are denied that particular life insurance. Many health questionnaires will ask if the applicant is residing in or about to reside within a nursing home facility as a knockout question. Marking yes will have a disclaimer saying not to continue with the application and that the person filling out the form is now ineligible for life insurance. This leads many seniors living in assisted living or nursing homes to believe that they cannot get any kind of life insurance, but this is not true. Life insurance for nursing home residents is a type of life insurance called guaranteed issue (GI) life insurance.
Guaranteed Issue Life Insurance for Nursing Home Residents
Guaranteed Issue life insurance is a type of whole life insurance that does not require a medical exam, answering health questions, or reviewing any of your medical or prescription drug history. Insured age ranges between 50 to 80 years old for these types of policies. The big downside of GI life insurance is that they all have a waiting period. A waiting period means that there is a set amount of time the policy must be in force before the beneficiaries will receive a death benefit upon the policyholder’s passing. Depending on the life insurance company this period could be two or three years.
In the event that you or your loved one passes during the waiting period, they will get something. The beneficiaries are entitled to all insurance premiums paid thus far plus a percentage of interest which can vary depending on the company. Some insurance companies will have a graded death benefit for their guaranteed issue life insurance for nursing home residents. A graded death benefit is when the waiting period duration grants a portion of the death benefit until you can get the full amount. An example of this would be during a 2-year waiting period you would receive 30% of a death benefit during the first year of the policy, 70% during the second year of the policy, then finally receive the full death benefit amount after the waiting period is over.
Final Expense Insurance for Someone in a Nursing Facility
Another option for a loved one in a nursing home is to try to get Final Expense Life Insurance. This is a type of whole life insurance that lasts the duration of the policyholder’s life. Similar to guaranteed issue life insurance, most final expense insurance does not have a medical exam or take a look at your medical or prescription drug history. They do, however, have you answer a simple health questionnaire to determine your eligibility. Premiums for final expense insurance depend on your age, health, and sex like with other life insurance policies. The older you are the higher your premium amounts will be.
Final expense life insurance, like guaranteed policies, is designed to help seniors with health risks to be able to secure a life insurance policy. The small death benefits allow the insured to pay for funeral costs and some outstanding bills without the premium amounts being expensive. This allows you to ease the financial burden on your family when it comes to your final expenses and is a good choice should you have any health conditions like diabetes. The death benefit for a final expense policy is not just limited to funerary expenses; it can be used for credit card debt, mortgage payments, or to set aside money for a loved one.
Getting Life Insurance for Someone in a Nursing Facility
When it comes to getting life insurance for someone in a nursing home, underwriters will always assess the risk the potential insured is to the insurance company. Unfortunately, someone in a nursing home likely has health problems like pre existing conditions and can be considered a liability. However, the underwriting requirements may be different depending on which life insurance company you apply to. It is depending on both the health condition and how the issuer views those conditions. When it comes to getting life insurance for someone in a nursing home, the best option is to apply for several policies and then compare what insurance company will give you the best rate. Once approved for a life insurance policy for nursing home residents, the decisions and coverage are instant as your policy goes into effect immediately.
Best $10,000 Burial Insurance Companies
These $10,000 coverage policies have steady and affordable premiums for the life of the policy. If you are looking for great coverage with low monthly premiums, we recommend these top carriers for all of your final expense needs. This is Final Expense Benefits best $10,000 insurance policies for seniors.
| Company | 50 y/o Male | 50 y/o Female | 60 y/o Male | 60 y/o Female | 70 y/o Male | 70 y/o Female |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
$34 |
$27 |
$51 |
$40 |
$73 |
$58 |
|
|
$39 |
$34 |
$52 |
$41 |
$86 |
$65 |
|
|
$30 |
$24 |
$43 |
$32 |
$74 |
$53 |
|
|
$36 |
$30 |
$47 |
$37 |
$81 |
$60 |
|
|
$55 |
$38 |
$68 |
$53 |
$106 |
$80 |
These figures were obtained from the NFDA and are estimates only. For a detailed quote, please contact an agent. Rates are based on one $9.95/month unit.
Can the Nursing Home Take My Life Insurance?
Like any other debt collection or money owed, the nursing home facility may try to make a claim on the death benefit. Some nursing homes and insurance companies may try to take advantage of residents but beneficiaries have rights. The death benefit will always go to the beneficiary that is named within the signed contract with the life insurance company. Nursing homes will not have a claim over that money or any type of public benefit or retirement account the insured may have had.
Make sure that your beneficiary knows you have a life insurance policy taken out and be sure to name a secondary beneficiary just in case. This is for circumstances when the initial or primary beneficiary cannot accept the death benefit. If you have no beneficiary named, nursing homes will try to say that the death benefit is for their payment. Be sure to lay out all instructions clearly during your funeral planning process so your beneficiary knows where the money is coming from and where it needs to go. Should you need it, there are different types of medical insurance specifically geared towards helping you pay for living medical debts such as a nursing home facility.
How Final Expense Benefits Help Nursing Home Residents Get Life Insurance
If you are looking for life insurance for a nursing home resident, getting the best type of coverage is crucial. You may need to search multiple providers before you find one that will cover your loved one in a nursing home. That is where we come in. The agents at Final Expense Benefits can save you time and money by helping you locate the best option for you or your loved one in a nursing home. Final Expense Benefits partners with over 20 carriers with customer satisfaction guaranteed. They offer no medical exam options at much more affordable rates that fit your needs. Some of our highly-rated carriers include:
If you are looking for trusted and affordable final expense insurance, Final Expense Benefits experts have got you covered. Call one of our talented agents today at 1 (866) 311-4338 to get an affordable quote with one of our highly-rated insurance carriers.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Medicare and Medicaid are provided to seniors who are in need of financial assistance for their health expenses. You may qualify for long-term care insurance if you have Medicare or Medicaid. That would allow you to cover any expenses related to a nursing home or hospice facility.
Long-term Care (LTC) insurance is supplemental insurance that provides coverage for nursing homes, home health care, and adult daycare. They cover all aspects of assisted living facilities for people who are over 65.
You should not make a nursing home or funeral home your beneficiary because all of the funds from the death benefit will legally belong to them. Instead, name one or two beneficiaries that are trusted family members or friends. Devise a plan with them on how to use the funds upon your passing. Be mindful of the fact that most long-term care policies have a specified dollar amount that they cover. Always review your insurance policies.
There are options if you are looking for life insurance and suffer from a terminal illness. Guaranteed life insurance is a great option if you are looking for life insurance and have a serious illness like cancer.
Term insurance plans cover you for a set duration of time. Typically these policies span from 10 - 20 years. These policies are often the most affordable and have lower monthly premiums. You can renew policies if the term is up but you still need life insurance.
Unlike term, whole life insurance is a type of policy that lasts for as long as you pay the premiums. Usually, the policy has a clause to end if you live over 100 years old. Whole life insurance also has a cash value that grows over the lifetime of the policy.