Under-65, Working Professionals Are Not Planning for

Raleigh, NC, July 9, 2008 – According to the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured , only 9% of all long-term care expenditures, which are in excess of $150 billion per year, are being paid for by private long-term care insurance coverage. The remainder of the costs is being paid privately through the savings of family and friends or by Medicaid. The cost of long-term care is draining savings accounts of the individual and the government, but this can be prevented through increased awareness and preparedness.

“A common and understandable misconception by younger working adults is that they are healthy today and will continue to be tomorrow. They will work and build up their savings so that they may retire well and continue to care for themselves in the future. Unfortunately, this isn’t always true. The fact is that 40% of all long-term health care benefits are provided to people who are between the ages of 18 and 64,” said Reilly O’Neal, founder and president of QuoteRetriever.com.

Long-term health care policies are typically available to anyone who is currently in good health. As with all insurance plans, each provider stipulates its own eligibility requirements. A knowledgeable company, such as QuoteRetriever.com, can help younger professionals compare long-term care plans from trusted providers that suit their background and potential future needs.

The long-term care policies are used by people who are no longer able to take care of their day to day functions, such as dressing or cooking on their own. Because long-term care coverage benefits are not standardized, the details of each policy vary from one insurance company and state to the next. Generally, however, the policies provide the insured with an allowance of money to cover their care expenses by the day or by the hour. For example, the insured may receive $20/hour to cover in-home care or $200/day to cover assisted living costs.

“It is scary for someone who is 34 to think of themselves in a position where they are no longer able to do the buttons on their shirt or visit the restroom whenever they need to, but it happens all too often. When these younger professionals are forced to leave the workforce, they find themselves unprepared to handle the costs associated with having someone come to their home to assist with their care or residing in an assisted living facility. Can you imagine what it would feel like to be dealing with all of the related emotional issues of this situation and then to also be worrying about how you will pay for your care? That’s why I always tell people that it’s simply better to be prepared now: even if you don’t use your coverage today, it can always be available to you as you approach the over-65 age group where the percentage of people who need this type of care increases even more dramatically. This means, little risk today and lots of peace of mind forever,” shares O’Neal.

Locating appropriate policies can be confusing, but with the new online comparison capabilities of QuoteRetriever.com and the team of licensed specialists who support the website, younger professionals can compare quotes and sign up for the best policy quickly. They simply complete a 5-minute questionnaire online at QuoteRetriever.com and an expert delivers their personalized quotes to their inbox within 24 hours.

Don’t wait until an emergency presents itself. Be prepared by visiting QuoteRetriever.com where you will learn more about long-term care coverage and find the best policy for yourself.

Kaiser Commission. “Medicaid and Long-term Care Services.” July2006: 1. The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Menlo Park, CA. 20 June 2008 < http://www.kff.org/medicaid/upload/Medicaid-and-Long-Term-Care-Services-PDF.pdf>.

One Hundred and Fifty Thousand Heart Attack Patients Pass Their Funeral Costs on to Family and Friends Each Year

Raleigh, NC, July 1, 2008 - Each year, more than half of a million people in the United States die from heart attacks and, according to the May 2008 Ipsos survey of American financial attitudes, thirty percent of these people do not have a life insurance policy. The lack of a life insurance policy leaves family and loved ones to assume the funeral costs of the individual who died, which can amount to more than five thousand dollars at today’s rates.

“As troubling as it can be to think about, the fact is that death can come suddenly and unexpectedly for many people. Top on everyone’s mind these days is Mr. Tim Russet of Meet the Press who passed away two weeks ago at age 58 from a heart attack. My thoughts go out to his family, of course, and I hope that they had a life insurance policy in place, but what if they did not? Who would have paid the thousands of dollars in funeral costs? How would the family and loved ones have continued to cover their ongoing living expenses without his income?” asks Reilly O’Neal, founder and president of QuoteRetriever.com, an online insurance marketplace.

Life insurance is a protection that you put in place while you are living to spare your family and loved ones unnecessary financial strain once you have passed. Life insurance policies are issued to applicants aged eighteen years or older and the most common type of life insurance, level premium term life, has level premiums for a specific period of time called a policy term. During the term, the insured, or policy holder, agrees to pay a premium, typically a low, monthly sum of money, to the insurance company. In the event of the policy holder’s death, the insurance company pays a predetermined death benefit, a sum of money that may be used to cover funeral costs and ongoing living expenses, to the specified beneficiaries, who are the family members and loved ones that are listed in the life insurance policy.

With six distinct types of life insurance policies available, knowing which policy to choose is confusing. The key to finding exactly the right policy to suit your needs today and in the future is to work with a licensed insurance specialist or advisor whom you trust and who will help you retrieve and compare a variety of insurance quotes.

“It can be an overwhelming process when you first consider purchasing life insurance and that’s one of the reasons that we have policy comparison charts available on our website, QuoteRetriever.com. But, even with all of that information out there to get you started, I don’t recommend diving into the process on your own. Work with a trusted representative, such as the licensed professionals we have on staff at QuoteRetriever.com, because they can help you obtain quotes from over one hundred insurance companies and then help you determine which is the best quote for your unique needs,” says O’Neal.

Be sure to prepare your family for a stable future in the event of your death: allow them to grieve for your passing when the time comes, instead of getting caught up in financial worries for the future. When you need help navigating this path, visit the QuoteRetriever.com website and contact one of their professionals to walk through the process, because 5 minutes spent today could spare a lifetime of suffering for your family and loved ones tomorrow.

About QuoteRetriever.com, LLC Founded in 2004, is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina and is a nationwide insurance brokerage company working with more than one hundred and fifty highly rated carriers and partners.

For more information, please contact:
T. Reilly O’Neal,
President/ Founder
877-306-2146 ext 100
reilly @ quoteretriever.com
http://www.quoteretriever.com/