Long-term care coverage exclusions
No matter what insurance policy you buy, there are always going to be exclusions; things your insurance policy will not cover. In almost all cases, this will include important facts that you did not disclose prior to taking out the policy, intentional acts that cause a financial loss that the insurance would cover, and conditions that are excluded by the policy itself. Obviously, all insurance excludes losses due to fraud by the insured.
The same things apply to all long-term care policies. Preexisting conditions are often not covered and there is also a likely waiting period before coverage kicks in. The reason it does so to prevent people from taking out coverage only when they know that they will have a loss. This is much like property coverage in coastal communities where no new policies will be written in the path of an oncoming hurricane.
In many cases, preexisting conditions will terminate over time and full coverage can begin in 6-12 months.
One of the biggies to look for is a permanent exclusion of Alzheimer's Disease or any other specific ailment. Alzheimer's Disease is a leading cause of nursing home admissions and you don't want to find out too late that your insurance doesn't cover it.
Obviously, other conditions apply as well. Self-inflicted injury or suicide attempts are often excluded and many insurance policies exclude problems coming from drug addiction or alcoholism.
