Short-term care insurance provides temporary coverage that can be helpful if you have a lapse in your permanent coverage. This protects you from a sudden illness or injury that forces you to rely on others for your daily living activities. When you choose a plan, they give you the option to choose the benefit amount you want. The amount occurs in $10 increments, ranging from $50 to $300 per day. 

These benefits will be used to pay the daily cost of receiving home health care or living in an assisted living facility. Many of these facilities can cost hundreds of dollars per day, so a short-term care insurance policy can dramatically lower your end cost. 

Short-term care insurance benefits kick in whenever the insured is deemed unable to perform at least two of the six “activities of daily living” without assistance. These activities of daily living include eating, bathing, transferring in and out of chairs or beds, dressing, toileting, and continence.

Cognitive impairments may also qualify someone to start using their short-term care insurance benefits. Also, keep in mind that many short-term care insurance plans only offer a maximum benefit period of one year. If this is not enough time for the insured to recuperate, other insurance like Medicare can be used to help pay for care.