Understanding the Long Term Care Waiver of Premium

Depending on your long term care insurance policy, it may contain the waiver of premium provision. When a policyholder qualifies for waiver benefits, he or she is usually not required to pay premiums as long as certain policy requirements are met.

The importance of the waiver

The waiver of premium can be a selling point for individuals desiring to buy long term care insurance. Potential policyholders are often intrigued by the possibility of not paying additional premiums if they are receiving home health care or nursing home care benefits for a specific period of time. While there is generally an extra cost for the waiver of premium provision, many policyholders are glad to add this benefit to their policies.

The purpose of the Waiver Provision

Not every long term insurance policy contains the waiver of premium benefit. However, if a policy does contain the waiver provision, it is not uncommon that a policyholder must receive home health care or nursing home facility benefits for 60 or 90 days, without a break in care, in order to qualify for the waiver. Some policies may have a shorter or longer waiver period for a policyholder to receive these benefits.

Remember, it is important to understand the policy’s language. Long term care insurance companies do not arbitrarily extend the waiver of premium benefits to certain policyholders. Therefore, you must meet each of the waiver conditions set forth in your policy. For example, if the waiver of premium benefits only applies to home health care benefit recipients, then you must be receiving payable home health care for XYZ number of days in order to qualify for the waiver.

Some policies only extend waiver of premium benefits to those confined in nursing home or assisted living facilities. Again, you must always refer to your policy’s language. Various waiver provisions can differ within the same insurance company. Contact your insurance agent or your long term care insurance provider if you have any policy questions.

Conclusion

The long term care insurance waiver of premium is often an additional policy benefit. Individuals usually purchase the waiver provision because the benefit will allow policy owners to stop paying premiums for a specific amount of time if certain policy requirements are met, such as nursing home confinement of 90 consecutive days or more.