Symponia - Do You Want To Plan Ahead?
Sadly, as each of us gets older, we have to face the possibility that we may need some form of care at an unknown time in the future, and it is this totally unknown factor that can make any forward planning difficult.
That said, Symponia believes that it is possible to take a longer-term view, and by applying a pragmatic approach, conducting some realistic future planning, genuine peace of mind can be achieved.
Can we take out an insurance care plan?
Back in the early 1990s, Commercial Union & PPP Lifetime Care introduced the first long term care insurance plans, and by definition these were insurance policies designed to pay out an agreed amount of money towards care costs, at an undefined time in the future.
Policyholders would submit future claims when they were unable to perform certain daily tasks (known as activities of daily living) and/or when they were suffering from a mental impairment such as dementia or Alzheimer’s.
Premiums were paid either on a regular basis (monthly or annually) or by a single premium.
Over time, other insurance companies, such as Norwich Union, BUPA, Scottish Widows and Scot Am (now Prudential) entered the market place, and whilst each company had its own idiosyncrasies, the objectives of the plans were the same.
However, by 2004, the vast majority of players had withdrawn from the marketplace, and had stopped offering plans to new policyholders, various reasons were given for this; firstly the initial take-up rate was lower than anticipated, but more importantly we believe the claims experience was higher and more prolonged than was first envisaged.
Most policies also had an integral "review factor", and during 2004 amidst a flurry of media attention PPP Lifetime Care started to review the relevant policies, and some of these reviews have been considerable (in places up to 250%).
These reviews were higher than anyone could have expected and several main broadsheet newspapers have run stories about the effect the requests for higher premiums are having on policyholders.
Symponia believes that these stories and the personal implications will continue, and although one company (Partnership Assurance) still promotes a "pre-funded long term care insurance plan", we do not necessarily advocate that people view it as a universal panacea.
Sadly, as with the previous products the premiums/benefit levels are not guaranteed and this fact in itself means that the plans cannot provide the reassurance and peace of mind people crave and deserve.
We still want to plan ahead - what can we do?
Symponia would ask you to meet with your local member, and although standard insurance plans no longer offer a universal solution, there are steps that you can put in place to ensure as knowledgeable and secure a future as possible.
A consultation with your local Symponia member will enable you to look at a variety of scenarios, focusing on the most likely outcome(s), these will of course be tailored to your individual circumstances, and as no two clients are the same, the advice and recommendations will be personal to you and no doubt different every time.
From experience we know that where a married couple are involved the particular concerns and potential situations are likely to centre around what happens if:
- One of you needs care in a care home, whilst the other partner is alive and well and living at home.
- Both of you need care in a care home
- One of you needs care in a care home (as the surviving partner)
Alternatively, where a single person is involved the particular concerns and potential situations are likely to centre around what happens if:
- The person needs care in their own home
- They need care in a care home without nursing care
- They need care in a care home with nursing care