While just having basic coverage when building your Long Term Care Insurance policy is a good place to start, it’s worth while considering adding riders to your plan. As optional riders come with extra costs choose a policy where the following benefits are offered automatically.

The Alternate Care Benefit allows your policy to pay for additional care, services, supplies, treatment and equipment which otherwise were not covered by your LTCI policy. What this means is if your doctor and your insurance company agree that certain items such as in-home safety devices, medical alert equipment etc are necessary for your care, then your LTCI policy will pay for them.

If there is a high demand for nursing homes in the area you live, it becomes necessary to reserve a bed in the nursing home for a certain number of days if you are in the hospital. The Bed Reservation Benefit in your LTCI policy will pay to reserve your bed in a nursing home while you are in a hospital.

Once you begin to receive cash benefits from the insurance company all LTCI companies will waive your premium on all LTCI policies.The Waiver of Premium Benefit ensures that premium will continue to be waived as long as you are on claim.

The Homemaker and Chore Services Benefit in your LTCI policy pays for some form of homemaker and chore services. This benefit pays for a home health care aid who provides services such as cooking and fixing meals, doing laundry and washing dishes, taking the trash out and house work such as mopping and light vacuuming. Such homemaker and chore services are services which will almost always be needed to some degree and it is important to ensure that your LTCI policy pays for such services.

The Equipment and Home Modification Benefit will pay for incidental home modifications such as widening doorways to accommodate a wheel chair, adding a ramp, installing a stair lift to go between levels of your home and adding grab bars or rails in the bathroom.