If you’re looking to purchase LTCI, it’s important that you buy from an established national company with financial strength and stability. Don’t forget, you’re purchasing insurance that you may not even need for years to come – you want to ensure that the insurance company is still doing business.

You’ll also want to search for flexibility as well. Be sure that the policy will cover in-home care, nursing home care, and even respite care. You’ll want to ensure that diseases such as Alzheimer’s and other long-term cognitive disorders are covered – this is important as some companies will charge a higher premium or fully leave out certain diseases.

Shop around and don’t fully commit to one company. Remember, insurers can raise their premiums at any time. Be sure that you do not look for the lowest premiums. What might seem like a great price now may raise later.

Purchasing long term care insurance is primarily dependent on your budget and your health. The odds of you spending the rest of your days in an assisted living facility are going to be low if you’re in good health and have no history of illness in your family. Now, if you’re considering being a burden to your entire family, or do not want to be in a nursing home or assisted living facility for the rest of your days, you’ll want to consider long term care insurance.

On a side note, it makes no sense to purchase long-term care insurance if you’re behind on your bills or are going to struggle with the monthly premiums. Since it’s a costly investment, you’ll want to make sure that you have the capital to support yourself when it comes to making the decision to purchase LTCI.

At least half of the population that’s over 85 years of age requires help with some activities of their daily living. This kind of home care is provided when someone can no longer independently perform daily activities such as eating, dressing, bathing, etc. Now, most people think of long-term care as something that’s needed by the elderly, but an accident or even a debilitating illness can hit someone of any age. And, when it does occur, they may find themselves in a precarious position and need assistance.

Traditionally, many women in the United States have provided this care. However, fast forward to today, smaller families may be scattered throughout the country with a majority of women working outside their homes. This creates a significant gap for those requiring home care. What’s more, caring for a loved one full-time can overwhelm even the most loving family member. This results in more caregivers turning to outside resources such as home care agencies to assist with the care of a family member.

Retirees and Long-Term Care Insurance

The costs of health care, as you already know, are a huge concern for those that going into retirement. Here are a couple of facts:

70% of individuals over the age of 65 will require some type of long-term care at some point in their lives. Statistics have proven that over 6 million people aged 65 or older will require long-term care within the next one or two years after turning 85.

Now, for couples that are married, the chances that one spouse will require in-home care skyrockets up to 90%.

Since long-term care insurance provides seniors with the opportunity to stay in the comforts of their own homes, which is an important factor in the selection process. Now, if this is where the insured individual chooses to be, as opposed to a nursing home or an assisted living facility, long term care is likely the obvious choice.

There are numerous things that work against the appeal of long-term care insurance. One of the biggest problems is the expense. As you may already know, the insurance industry has seen a dramatic increase in rates over the past years as a result of new drug development and better care to extend one’s life span. And, as a result of this, there are numerous insurance providers that got out of the business due to the lack of profits.