Question:
Is it possible to be approved for LTC insurance if you already have ADL deficiencies?
Response:
No. Long-term care insurance companies will only insure people who they think are a good bet not to need long-term care in the near future, if ever. If you already need assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs), you’re a bad bet for the insurance company. Since, like all companies, insurance companies are in business to make money, they’re not going to insure you if you already need help with ADLs.
That said, I’ve run into one exception in my practice. I had a client who was still working when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. His company provided long-term care insurance as an employee benefit that was available to all employees with no “underwriting”— the process of vetting individual applicants. He was able to sign up for a policy which ultimately saved him and his family a lot of money.
