Financing Long Term Care

When Should You Consider Buying Long-Term Care Insurance?

Print Print
Email Email
CommentsComments (5)

exit sign

The short answer to this question is: the month before you need to make a claim!

But since none of us have a crystal ball to tell us when we will be having a stroke or heart attack, or be diagnosed with a debilitating disease such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's or Alzheimer's, we simply can't rely on waiting till the last minute to buy long-term care insurance

The truth is that anyone, at any age, can have an unexpected accident or change in their health that they could not possibly have foreseen that will require long-term care. A couple of well-known examples of such a situation are Christopher Reeve and Michael J. Fox.

Unfortunately, many people think of long term care insurance as protection that is mainly for older folks. But that is simply not the case. In fact, almost 40% of those receiving long term care are younger than 65 years of age! This surprising statistic testifies to the unpredictability of such a need arising at almost any age.

So, I suggest that the best age to purchase LTCI is at the earliest age that you:

1. Can comfortably afford the premium.

2. Have enough income and/or assets to protect that it justifies the cost of the policy.

Another sound reason for getting long-term care insurance earlier in life is that the premiums are much less and you will most likely easily qualify for coverage, perhaps even at a preferred rate that will save you considerable amounts of money throughout the life of the policy. Unfortunately, as we age, most people stand a higher risk of developing health conditions that could cause them to become uninsurable at some point, or at least substantially drive up the cost of a good long-term care insurance policy. My recommendation is to avoid these problems by investing in LTCI at a relatively early age if you can.

And since the cost of long-term care is not covered by medical health insurance, it only makes sense to protect your assets against one of the most devastating threats to your personal finances. In most cases, the earlier you get coverage for long-term care, the better.

Until next time...Duane

  

Duane Lipham is a Certified Long-Term Care (CLTC) consultant. You can get more free information, news and articles regarding long-term care and aging at The Long Term Care Consumer Guide Web site and The Long Term Care Review Blog.

Posted in Financing Long Term Care: Duane Lipham, Insurance, Long-term Care Insurance (LTCI), Paying for Care

Print Print
Email Email
CommentsComments (5)
COMMENTS
6 Responses to “When Should You Consider Buying Long-Term Care Insurance?”
  1. Jill Gilbert Says:

    Great post, Duane. I just returned from the National Council on Aging Conference in Chicago and long-term care insurance was a big topic of discussion.

    Unfortunately there hasn’t been enough importance paid on the need for LTCI - especially when you compare it to the necessity of life insurance. I find it interesting that people are more concerned about what happens after they are gone and less concerned about the quality of life when they are here on earth. Maybe if we thought about it that way, we’d all run out and sign up for a LTCI policy.

    It would be great to hear about the best places to find a TRUSTED long-term care insurance agent. What should we look for? What questions should we ask? What questions should they be asking us in determining the best policy?

    Thanks for pointing out the benefits! I think we need to get you out on the speakers circuit to help increase awareness…Jill

  2. Duane Lipham Says:

    Thanks for the great response Jill. You’re right about LTCI being an underused and misunderstood investment. Most of us LTC agents who specialize in the field often feel frustrated at the lack of appreciation many people have for the risks and challenges that long-term care brings—not only to the individuals themselves, but especially their family as well.

    Generally speaking, those who have already experienced some form of caregiving in their family usually understand the need for LTCI, while those that have never seen the difficulties up close and personal often just don’t get it. Part of the problem is that until recently most long-term care for frail parents and relatives was handled within the family, and so most people have just gotten used to the idea that someone would be there to take care of them when they got older.

    However, family dynamics have changed considerably in recent years and many family members may not live anywhere close by. If you add the fact that many women, who have traditionally been the caregivers in the family, are now working to help support the family income, it’s clear that the challenges of a prolonged long-term care situation can become almost overwhelming for many.

    Let me try to answer your questions about how to find a trusted LTCI agent too.

    I would first recommend that you look for an agent that specializes in LTCI, as this is an indication of the kind of commitment that they bring to the subject. It would also be good to look for one that has the CLTC designation, because those who have been certified as having made an in-depth examination of long-term care issues can usually be more helpful in assisting you to draw up a long-term care plan that will be best for you and your individual circumstances.

    Make sure that the company or companies that they represent are leaders in the field and have excellent rate stability history as well as exceptional financial strength so that they will be there when you need them, perhaps even decades down the road. It’s also wise to compare quotes from several companies to make sure that you are getting a good value, although you should never make your selection based on just price alone.

    The best LTCI agents will do their best to try to help you understand the foundational features of a good LTCI policy first, and then work closely with you to help tailor the policy design to your particular wants and needs. You should feel comfortable with them, not pressured or rushed.

    I hope this helps ………… Duane

  3. cesar Says:

    This site is great! I have been thinking about purchasing ltci for myself and my wife. Every time I looked online or asked friends about it I got overwhelmed and couldn’t figure out where to start. Thanks for these useful tips, Duane! I’m going to go check out your site now.

  4. Duane Lipham Says:

    Cesar, don’t feel bad about feeling somewhat overwhelmed at first when you start looking into LTCI. A lot of people feel the same way. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been a lot of good education about the subject that makes it all easier to understand. And no doubt that also contributes to the lack of appreciation for LTCI on the part of some.

    However, the truth is that there are only five foundational features of a good LTCI policy that you really need to pay most attention to. That’s not to say that some of the other optional features can’t be useful at times, but I see way too many folks get bogged down in those secondary features when they really need to be focusing on the parts of the policy that is going to have the most impact on the actual care that they will receive.

    I have authored a guidebook on the subject entitled “Bringing Simplicity To Long Term Care Insurance” to try to help folks learn more about how to effectively and economically design a good LTCI policy. I’m happy to offer a complimentary copy to the readers of this blog. You can download it at http://www.duanelipham.com/ltcsimplicity.pdf if you like. It’s an Adobe Acrobat file, so you will need that program to be able to view it properly.

    Enjoy the guidebook ……… Duane

  5. Rachelle Boer Says:

    Hi Duane,

    I am new to the insurance industry and your site is terrific. I was hoping to learn more about LTC. Can you recommend industry conferences that I can attend to learn more about LTC? Thanks

Leave a Comment

Advertisement