Last Updated on May 11, 2020 by lifepolicyshopper
Life Insurance For a Senior Parent With Alzheimer’s Disease
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We can help guide you when you shop for life insurance. Here we discuss how to find a policy that meets your needs, fits your budget, and decide how much insurance you need. Using LifePolicyShopper will help you make informed decisions when you secure a policy for your aging parent with Alzheimer’s Disease.
Important things to consider for your parent’s policy With Alzheimer’s Disease
1. First Day Coverage. Your parent will be fully protected the very first day your coverage goes into effect with no exclusions and no waiting period.
2. Ease of issue. No physical exams.
3. Your aging parent premiums will never go up. Lock into a rate at their current age and the cost will never increase regardless of changes to their health and age.
4. Benefits will never go down. Regardless of changes to their health and age.
5. All programs build cash values.
6. The benefit is paid to their beneficiary tax free on the worst week of your life.
7. The policy can never be cancelled as long as premium payments are made.
8. This is a protected asset that you will never be forced to liquidate.
Be sure that you can handle premium payments. Can you afford the initial premium? Don’t sign an insurance application until you review it carefully to be sure all the answers are complete and accurate. Don’t buy life insurance unless you intend to stick with your plan. It may be very costly if you quit during the early years of the policy. Don’t drop one policy and buy another without a thorough study of the new policy and the one you have now. Replacing your insurance may be costly. Read your policy carefully.
Buying Life Insurance for your Aging parent With Alzheimer’s Disease
When you buy life insurance, you want coverage that fits your needs. First, decide how much you need—and for how long—and what you can afford to pay. Keep in mind the major reason you buy life insurance is to cover the financial effects of unexpected or ultimately death. Life insurance also can be one of many ways to plan for your future. Next, learn what kinds of policies will meet your needs and pick one that best suits you.
Then, choose the combination of policy premium and benefits that emphasizes protection in case of early death, or benefits in case of long life, or a combination of both. It makes good sense to ask a life insurance agent or company to help you. We can help you review your insurance needs and give you information about the available policies. If one kind of policy doesn’t seem to fit your needs, ask about others.
How Much Coverage Do You Need For your senior parent with Alzheimer’s Disease?
Funeral costs continue to increase every day. Families are faced with the difficult task of saying goodbye to loved ones. Did you know that according to the National Funeral Directors’ Association - as of January 2013 the national median cost of an adult funeral with vault costs $8,343.00 with additional expenses? Additional expenses can include a cemetery plot. Many funerals exceed $10,000.00 dollars and that’s before any outstanding debts or medical bills.
Planning your funeral requires careful consideration of all your final needs. Consider how you want to be remembered, where your final resting place should be, whether you wish to be buried or cremated, and what type of casket or urn you prefer. A funeral director will give you a list of the services and products that it provides. The value of your final expense life insurance policy should cover the expense of the package you choose, plus any additional costs.
The most basic, economical option is generally an immediate burial plan. An immediate plan may include a modest service at the graveside and a simple casket. The expense of a viewing is not included in most immediate burial policies. The costs of the plot, a headstone, and flowers must be paid for separately and should be included in the estimate of your final expense.
A traditional full-service option, including a viewing, a hearse, a formal ceremony, and entombment and cremation is more costly than an immediate or direct package. When you consider the costs of a package, you must take every extra expense into account in order to arrive at an accurate estimate of your financial expenses.
When planning for final expenses, it is important to remember that funeral and burial costs are on the rise. Over the past 25 years, funeral costs have consistently increased. The average funeral cost today is $8,5081. Additional fees for cemetery, monument, flowers, & obituaries can increase this cost to $14,8582. Considering the average costs over the past 40 years and projecting out at 5% inflation per year, by 2030 the cost would be $18,276.30. The Social Security Death Benefit only provides a lump sum benefit of $255 for those who qualify.
Benefit Information For Virginia Citizens Only
Alzheimer’s Disease Description
Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia, is a type of progressive, chronic, ultimately fatal, organic brain syndrome characterized by the death of neurons in the cerebral cortex. The result is neurofibrillary tangles, a tangled mass of nonfunctioning neurons, and their replacement by microscopic senile or neurotic “plaques.” Biochemically, acetylcholine production, used for memory processing, is reduced, resulting in progressive memory impairment followed by a gradual deterioration of judgment, reasoning ability, verbal fluency, and other cognitive skills.
This impairment and deterioration is accompanied by disturbances in behavior and affect. The disease affects mainly older persons, with 1 in 10 having Alzheimer’s disease after age 65. In a few families with a genetic disposition for the disease, symptoms occur as early as age 30 to 40.
Symptoms
In the early stages, the person with Alzheimer’s disease has small difficulties at work or in social settings with memory loss but generally can hide the loss and function independently. Depression may occur. As the disease progresses, the person exhibits mild mental impairment.
This impairment includes loss of short-term memory, inability to learn new tasks, and subtle changes in personality. Then increased forgetfulness, agitation, irritability, and extreme restlessness occur. The person may retell the same stories, and others can no longer reason with him or her, which may further increase the person’s anxiety.
Conversations become difficult. Eventually, the individual is unable to perform activities of daily living, becomes incontinent, and is unable to communicate. This person becomes emotionally detached and may show sleep disturbances, restlessness, and hostility. In the terminal stage, the person usually requires total care. The rate at which an individual progresses through the disease varies; within 5 to 10 years, there is a profound deterioration of intellectual ability and physical capability.
Treatment
There is no cure; however, there are two types of medication used to treat the cognitive symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. They are (1) cholinesterase inhibitors, which prevent the breakdown of acetylcholine and support communication between neurons, and (2) memantine, which works by regulating the activity of glutamate, one of the chemical messengers involved in learning and memory. Both drugs may delay the worsening of symptoms for a period of time.
Some medications may lessen behavioral changes in individuals, but they also have side effects. It may be more helpful to seek nondrug approaches when treating this disease. Another focus of treatment is to maintain client safety, reduce anxiety and agitation, promote independence, improve communication, and provide socialization for as long as possible. Treatment is merely palliative and directed toward maintaining nutrition, hydration, and safety. Emotional support and education of family members are important.
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