Seniors are inundated with a never-ending onslaught of insurance offers. Disability insurance, Medigap, supplemental, mortgage life, self-funded healthcare, long-term insurance, permanent life, term life…and the list goes on.
Salesmen use many questionable tactics to get seniors, who are often times too trusting and too easily fooled, to buy insurance policies they don't need. For example, the pitch may offer a very low-cost first month premium, but the small type grants the insurer the right to charge your parent's credit card at a greatly inflated rate every month. They might try to sell your parent a long-term care policy which, because of the person's age at the time of purchase, is very expensive while providing very little financial benefit. Or, a salesman will scare your parents by saying their current policies are in danger of being canceled or the insurer not able to pay out.
Anyone caring for an aging parent should know what policies their parent has and be involved in future purchasing decisions. If you are not aware of what policies your elder parent has, now is the time to do some research. Checking your parent's insurance coverage will not be your most exciting caregiver assignment, but it may prove to be one of the most important. Identify questionable policies and pricing so that unnecessary coverage be canceled or changed.