Each of us shares a horrible fear that someday as we grow old we will become sick and unable to care for ourselves, and that we may become a burden on our families. The insurance companies that sell long term care insurance coverage know all too well about this fear, and they offer insurance products to provide us peace of mind so that if and when the time comes that long term care becomes necessary, there will be money to pay for it.
We are seeing an increase in long term care insurance claim denials involving people with AIDS, Multiple Sclerosis, Arthritis, and other debilitating diseases.  Often this is due to ambiguous language found in their policies, such as an undefined requirement for “continual” or “substantial supervision.” Every state has laws protecting policyholders against such ambiguous policy terms, and the court will define any ambiguous language in a manner that is most favorable to the policyholder.
The fact is, you don’t need to be bedridden or significantly impaired in order to require long term care.  Although the insurance company would like you to believe your condition does not warrant your insurance claim, most often they are simply trying to unjustly escape their responsibility to pay your valid claim.