Tomatoes. Radio. Children. Secretary. Eagle. Knee. Floor. Hammer. Shoes. What do those words have in common? If you answered nothing, you'd be only partly right. There is a connection...but let me start at the beginning.
After weeks of research, contemplation and everything but flipping a coin, we've finally decided to purchase long-term care policies. It hasn't been an easy decision because there are compelling arguments both for and against them but past experiences, both in our family and the families of friends, tell us being prepared in a good thing. So last week we filled out a long, detailed application that dealt primarily with our personal and family medical histories and today was the appointment for the telephone interview.
The first few minutes were pretty easy...some personal information, more medical details, nothing too difficult. Then we came to the cognitive part. With the number of cases of Alzheimer's disease being diagnosed on the rise, long-term care insurers have become more choosy about who they take on as policyholders. They're going to be sure you've got your wits about you.
Some questions were obvious and not difficult at all, like what day was it and in what state did we live. We knew them. : ) And there were some "what would you do" scenarios, as in you overslept and missed your appointment at the doctor's office...what would you do. I think we knew all those too.
Then there was a whole series where it would have been nice to use a pencil and paper...but you couldn't. Math problems to do in your head. Repeat a series of numbers she gave you with the trick that the string kept getting longer. And those words. Without looking, home many can you remember? Yeah...I thought so.
The first time she gave them, she simply asked you to use them in a sentence so it seemed she was looking to see if you used them appropriately. Then she went on to one of the other tests, coming back to the words four or five minutes later. Use them in a sentence again; it could be the same sentence or a different one. Was she testing to see if we remembered the original sentence? By this point in the test, the anxiety was rising and I wasn't sure I was remembered anything correctly.
Off we went then to more tests involving following directions and seeing how many items in a given category you could name in 30 seconds. Then the pressure was on: Name the ten words. Ten, you're saying; there are only nine at the start of the post. That's because nine is all I can remember...and it's driving me crazy wondering what #10 is! It will probably come to me in the middle of the night if past experience is any indication...or three days from now.
Did we pass? I have no idea. We'd both probably do better on a test like this if taken in the future, if for no reason other than we have one under our belt and know a little about what to expect. There are multiple components to getting the policies issued and this is just one of them. Now if I could just remember the rest of them.....
Wait until you see the rates! We would all have to been smarter if we'd bought them quite a few years ago! Good luck!
Posted by: Linda P | July 11, 2012 at 09:33 AM