Anyone know what happens if THIS would happen....

[LiberalHeart]

My 92-year-old mom is in an assisted living facility, which is mostly paid for by some long-term insurance she took out years ago. If the insurance company goes belly-up, is there any protection at all for her? In other words, would a bankrupt company means she's poop-outta-luck and would be kicked out of her home?

[sarcasmo]

1. A good and scary question for which I have no answer. Looks like more of us adults will have wind

up taking care of our own parents instead of the nursing homes, which might not be a bad thing.

[lonestarnot]

2. I think that is what that means.

But then I'm no bankruptcy expert. Where would the home get insurance payments aside from medicare if the ins. co. kapootzes?

[leftofcool]

3. Read the policy to check for disclaimers

If you can't find anything, contact the insurance company directly and just ask. It is a fair question and if it is a reputable company, they should answer it for you. You might also check their web site to see if there is an FAQ on it.

[Newshues]

4. The answer is unknownable at this time

It really depends on how that particular company goes belly up.

If it does everything it can to hide its problems before going belly up, you're likely to be shit out of luck.

If it acts responsibly and walks into bankruptcy court when it is clear that it is in a long term losing position, it is likely that everything will be ok.

Consider what happens if your mom does get the short end of the stick, plan for it, make arrangements so the plan is doable and then pray it never comes to that.

[HamdenRice]

5. Generally insurance companies are highly regulated

by state governments. If one fails, the state regulators will try to create a merger with a healthy insurance company. Unless we are looking at a 30s style problem, my uninformed guess is that state regulators will do everything to make sure that the insurance policies are honored by someone.

[NNN0LHI]

6. I would move my mother in with me

That is my current plan when she can no longer care for herself.

Don

[LiberalHeart]

10. I tried to get Mom to move in before she went to assisted living...

She wouldn't do it. I'm glad she didn't now that I see how happy she is in assisted living. She has a much fuller life than she would have at my house -- visitors all day long because the staff loves to hang out with her (she's a lot of fun, very smart). She also gets good meals (I'm a lousy cook). She often mentions how much she loves her apartment. I can understand why. It's very nice.

[Marrah_G]

7. They are highly regulated. She is safe.

[Stinky The Clown]

8. Actually, the state may step in with some part of their Medicare.

It would be good to look into it, but I don't think she'll get put out on the street.

[TransitJohn]

9. What, she didn't buy insurance on her insurance?

:sarcasm:

[shraby]

11. If she doesn't have much in the way of

assets, she may qualify for medicaid and they will pay for the home.

[LiberalHeart]

12. The place where she lives doesn't accept Medicaid.

She has (or had till the meltdown) some assets. She'd be able to stay in the facility a while, but not long. It costs well over three grand a month. And if she has to go into a nursing home (as opposed to assisted living), it'll cost anywhere from six to nine grand, or so I've been told.

[Marrah_G]

13. Insurance policies are transfered to another company if an insurance co were to go under

Your mother's policy will be safe.

[LiberalHeart]

14. If her company fails (GE's Genworth), I doubt there'd be any left to take over.

[Marrah_G]

15. First of all:

The insurance company has to have a certain amount of cash reserves to cover policies. Secondly, they really are alot safer then some other financial institutions because of the high amount of regulation.

I'm sitting in a life insurance brokerage right now. (life and disability) I personally hate Genworth from a customer service angle and avoid them like the plague, BUT, they are stable and I really hate to think of you worrying over nothing.