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Long Term Care Insurance Offers Safeguards in Financial Crisis

Mon, 13 Oct 2008, 13:42:51 EST

Edited by Carly Zander

KIRKLAND, Wash., Oct. 13 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- What's a good place for your money in times of financial turbulence? Gold? Treasury bills? Under the mattress? Maybe, but there's another often-overlooked, protected spot for some of your money: long term care insurance. Why? LTC Financial Partners, a leading agency, points to built-in protections and other financial benefits.

"It's one of the safest, most prudent financial choices you can make right now," says Denise Gott, Chairman of the Board of LTC Financial Partners, LLC (LTCFP), one of the nation's most experienced long term care insurance agencies. "It may take a year or five years for things to get back to where they were before this crisis, and while I'm confident that our stock markets and economy will recover, what if you needed long term care tomorrow? Where would you get the money? Would you have to sell stock or mutual funds that are down 30%?"

Monthly payments for a long term care policy should be considered investments in financial security, Gott asserts. She gives three reasons:

* LTC insurance protects all your other assets, whether stocks, bonds, real estate, precious metals, or money in the bank. "If you're not insured," says Gott, "the sudden need for expensive, ongoing care can drain your wealth." According to a Harvard study, the top reason for individual bankruptcy in America is ill or failing health. "LTC insurance is perhaps the single most important estate protection for middle-aged and older Americans."

* The financial benefits are fixed, not up to chance or vagaries of the market. "When you select your policy, you choose the benefits you want, and they're set in stone," says Gott. "The policies we recommend include inflation protection, so when people make a claim, they can count on the benefit payments they need."

* Strict government regulations protect policyholders. "Even when a company like AIG runs into trouble, their policyholders are protected by law," says Gott. "Stockholders and creditors may lose, but protections are in place to make sure policyholders' claims will be paid." This September the National Association of Insurance Commissioners issued a statement saying, "Claims from individual policyholders are given the utmost priority over other creditors ... and in the unlikely event that assets are not enough to cover these claims, there is still another safety net in place to protect consumers: the state guaranty funds. These funds are in place in all states."

Some people postpone financial decisions during times of economic crisis. Should you put off buying long term care insurance? "I wouldn't advise it," says Gott. "It's important to act now, while you're healthy and have options."

Gott's agency, LTCFP, includes over 500 long term care specialists serving all states. A list of them is available at -- web.ltcfp.com/ltcfp/find-agent.aspx.

Inc. Magazine has ranked LTCFP No. 1,353 among all companies, and No. 12 among companies in the insurance industry, in its annual ranking of the 5,000 fastest-growing companies in the nation. Among insurance agencies, LTCFP is the fastest-growing one focusing exclusively on long term care insurance sales. LTCFP plans to add 1,000 agents over the 2009 calendar year.

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