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Striving for longevity? You’ll need the right insurance coverage in place

Living longer requires logistical planning in addition to healthy physical and mental health habits

Written by Lauren Glendenning
For the Steamboat Pilot & Today
State Farm Insurance in Summit County

For more information about these three types of insurance or other insurance plans, call Debbie Aragon at 970-879-1756, or visit http://www.debbiearagon.com.

Editor’s Note: This sponsored content was brought to you by Debbie Aragon, State Farm Insurance

From health insurance to life insurance to assisted-living coverage, there are ways to ensure that living longer doesn’t become a burden to yourself or your loved ones.
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Humans are unlocking the secrets to longevity, but as we strive to live longer, healthier lives, there are also logistical issues to consider.

Debbie Aragon is a State Farm insurance agent who does her best to make sure local residents are prepared for their longevity by having the right insurance coverage in place.



From health insurance to life insurance to assisted-living coverage, Aragon said there are ways to ensure that living longer doesn’t become a burden to yourself or your loved ones.

One piece of advice from Aragon: you don’t have to wait until your senior years to think about these insurance plans. In fact, the earlier you get coverage in place, the more you can get out of it later in life when you really need it.



Here are three types of insurance that Aragon can help simplify for anyone who’s interested in learning more.

1. Supplemental Medicare coverage

“I try to demystify the Medicare process — it’s more complicated than it needs to be,” Aragon said.

Aragon reaches out to anyone in her client database who is turning 65 in the next three months to help guide them through the Medicare enrollment process, as well as supplemental coverage plans.

“Medicare is good, but it’s not comprehensive. Without a Medicare supplement, you could be spending a lot of money out-of-pocket,” she said.

Aragon helps her clients understand which supplement plan makes the most sense for each person. She also helps simplify drug coverage — Medicare Part D coverage.

“I’m more than happy to discuss this or educate people about the Medicare process whether they’re clients or not,” she said.

One of the biggest misconceptions about Medicare supplement plans is that you can switch plans easily down the road. Medicare supplement plans are not part of the annual Affordable Care Act open enrollment period, making it harder to switch plans. The pre-existing condition stipulation also doesn’t apply, unless you’re in the initial open enrollment period.

“If you want to switch (Medicare supplement) plans down the road, you have to pass underwriting. If you’ve developed some medical issues, you might not be able to switch because you might not pass the supplement insurance underwriting guidelines,” Aragon said. “So you want to be with a company that’s going to be there for you, pay your claims on time and not drastically increase your premium.”

2. Life insurance with a flexible care benefit rider

Debbie Aragon, State Farm Insurance.

If you’re 50+ years old and you’re shopping for long-term care insurance to cover assisted living or nursing home costs, that can get extremely expensive, Aragon said. Many insurance companies, including State Farm, aren’t even offering that type of coverage anymore.

From the insured’s perspective, this type of policy is risky because you might end up paying a lot of money for the premium and never using the benefit.

“That money you’ve spent on the premium is lost and you don’t get anything back,” Aragon said.

This is where a universal life insurance policy with a flexible care benefit comes into play. If you end up needing assisted living or nursing home care, you can borrow against a portion of the death benefit on the life insurance coverage to pay for that care.

For example, if the death benefit on your life insurance policy pays out $500,000, but you borrow $150,000 of that money to cover nursing home care, the death benefit would now equal $350,000.

“You still have the life insurance, which is the one claim you’re guaranteed to have, so you know it’s going to pay out eventually,” she said. “And around here, we’re such an active community, there is an increased risk in becoming disabled from skiing or bicycle accidents. So, this isn’t just about growing old — it happens to young people, too, who may need long-term care.”

3. Final expense life insurance

This is a smaller type of policy that covers burial expenses. Aragon said this policy is inexpensive, but it can be a huge relief for family members, and it can also provide peace of mind for the policyholder.

“It can help your family pay for burial expenses so you’re not leaving that burden with your family,” Aragon said.


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