Long term care insurance (LTCi), like life insurance, can be a hard topic to bring up in conversation.   It fits into the mental category of car and property insurance, something you hope to never need, unlike the guaranteed result of life insurance (yes, we will die some day).  Yet long term care isn’t as easy to accept as car and property, damages under those policies are often caused by someone else; faulty wiring, stolen property, reckless driving.  Long term care is your own decline, be it physical or mental, which you are taking a gamble of insuring against.  Tough to swallow for anyone. 

Years ago we didn’t need LTC.  Families were more extended and would take care of ailing members.  An adult would be home during the day to care for older adults, but with increased demands to make money, more couples are both working.  Society pressure is not as great to be married, so many people chose to remain single.  As they age, there may not be anyone to care for them.  Nursing homes and assisted living facilities may charge over $100,000 per year.  Without the savings to cover multiple years of care, you may be forced to comply with federal insurance rules requiring you to give up most material assets in order to receive aid. 

Imagine another scenario that wasn’t your fault.  Age 53, driving to work one day, 12 years away from retirement and social security benefits, a semi hits your car sideways but doesn’t kill you.  You thought you had great coverage, but after the eighteen months of rehab, just to return to a semi-functioning level, you have maxed out your life savings and they are moving you to a facility with less physical therapy so you take another three years to recover to the point of being able to go to work.  You are now almost 57 and trying to find a job.  You suffered some brain damage and can’t function at quite the same level as before.  You are trying to start over without the experience and knowledge of your peers because of this tragedy.  Now imagine that you had a younger wife and school age children.  There are some situations where LTCi can be beneficial. 

When choosing a policy, be sure to pay attention to the waiting periods for it to start.  Although you may pay less for a six-month start, do you currently have the savings to live for six months unemployed?  You may find a trade-off between the premium and contributing to your savings. Find a company with a history of keeping prices consistent, and a good credit rating.  Look for inflation protection, especially if you may live another twenty plus years, just remember the way health care costs have skyrocketed over the past ten years.  Lastly, remember that LTCi isn’t a sign of your own weakness; it shouldn’t be a prediction of things to come.  It can be a step in your own control over your eventual aging process.