As we get older care costs are likely to be one of the biggest expenses we face. The rising average cost of care in the UK means for many people it can be difficult to fund all, or part of any care they might require. Moreover, it might have major financial and emotional implications for the family.
It’s a well-known fact that people are living longer these days. However, as we get older some everyday tasks that were once easy become gradually more difficult and may require assistance.
For example: getting out of bed, washing, dressing, feeding and everyday mobility - all present significant challenges when linked to declining mobility and general health.
Fitting essential assistive devices, combined with the provision of professional care services can mean the difference between continuing to live at home with a high degree of independence and going into expensive long-term residential care.
To help meet the needs of our customers, we have developed a new and innovative solution - Assisted Living Insurance, which provides vital financial assistance towards care and support, at a time in later life when it’s needed most.
It can give peace of mind knowing there is financial support available in the future to help towards the cost of certain care needs, allowing you to continue to live independently for longer.
By paying monthly premiums now, you can put in place cover to draw upon (when you fail at least two activities of daily living such as washing, dressing and getting in and out of bed) should you need to fund care support to make modifications to your home or require domiciliary care.
Monthly premiums start from as little as £27 per month for a 50 year old. You can apply for a policy from the age of 50 and 75 is the oldest age you can take one out, but you can hold the policy for your lifetime.
At National Friendly we are a highly regarded mutual organisation with over 35,000* members. We take great pride in the service we provide our customers. That’s why our medical claims service has been rated at 9.5 out of 10 over the last year.
We can offer two levels of cover to help towards living independently in later life – you can choose either £20,000 or £30,000 cover at the start of the policy. Once the policy starts you will then pay regular monthly premiums for the duration of the policy.
In the event of being independently assessed as being unable to perform two or more activities of daily living or having a severe cognitive impairment in later life, your policy will help fund the cost of your particular care needs up to the policy cover limits.
We will provide an Assisted Living Allowance which funds professional care services up to the value of £1,000 per month. Under the Assistive Devices Allowance there is up to £10,000 you can use towards the purchase and installation of assistive devices to help you perform those daily activities.
There’s even a respite care allowance of up to £2,000 which can be used for occasional short-term respite care, should an unpaid carer need to take a well-earned short break.
Our policy also includes giving you and your family access to a team of experienced UK-based care advisers - Grace Consulting, (worth £120 to non-customers), who are on hand to provide essential advice and guidance on the care and support options available in your local area.
*As at December 2016
Some people wrongly believe that the state will cover their care costs. It may well not be the case and will certainly involve intrusive means testing, with many people finding that they will be expected to meet some, or all, of the costs themselves.
In addition, if anyone is found to have deliberately deprived themselves by giving away assets, or to have spent excessively to avoid paying for care, local authorities have the power to reclaim these assets, or to include the amount in the value of an individual’s remaining assets. Local authority funding is not available unless the asset value has been reduced to below the threshold.
It’s quick and straightforward to receive a no obligation quotation here and now, and to find out more about Assisted Living Insurance.
Please contact our friendly Bristol based team by:
We’re open from 8.00am to 6.00pm, Monday to Friday excluding bank holidays.
info@nationalfriendly.co.uk
National Friendly
11-12 Queen Square
Bristol
BS1 4NT
It’s quick and straightforward to receive a no obligation quotation here and now, and to find out more about Assisted Living Insurance.
Once you’ve had time to consider the benefits and discussed it with your family, applying is simple and easy.
We all want our parents to remain independent for as long as they can, but financing domiciled nursing care or support may come at a surprisingly high cost. It could result in your parents using their savings or selling their home to move into residential nursing accommodation.
While they may be in good health now and the necessity for care seems a long way off, it’s important for you to discuss with them the need to plan for later life to help reduce the burden of some of their future care costs.
Jill’s daughter Megan advises us that, as a result, of a recent stroke her mother has partial paralysis. Jill is unable to wash or dress herself and has limited mobility. We receive an occupational therapist report that states she fails four of the policy’s six activities for daily living and so requires nursing care and a riser recliner chair.
After we accept the claim Megan arranges for a private nurse for Jill at a weekly cost of £200 for a period of time, and finds her mother a riser recliner chair which she could use without assistance, costing £400. We settle both costs directly.
A fall earlier in the year resulted in a lengthy stay in hospital for Dave. He has now sufficiently recovered to be discharged and has returned home. This is important to Dave; he is very independent, although he continues to be unsteady on his feet.
His partner Margaret who cares for him advises us that he is having trouble getting in and out of the bath to wash himself and everyday mobility, so after obtaining the appropriate assessment and accepting the claim, we authorise the claims cost to enable Dave to have a walk-in, non-slip bath to be fitted along with grab bars at a total cost of £2,650.
Looking after Dave is quite a responsibility for Margaret, so whilst Margaret takes a short break we pay for replacement private care out of his respite care allowance costing £750.
