Does Long Term Care Insurance Fit Your Budget?   by Kourtney Acoff

in Insurance / Long Term Care    (submitted 2011-07-11)

Long term care insurance is a type of insurance that helps cover your LTC costs in the future, whether in an assisted facility, a nursing home, or in your very own home. It also aims to help protect your assets against the high cost of extended long term care. And more importantly, it frees your loved ones from the challenges of carrying the burden that goes with providing you long term care. You may not want to think that you'd be needing long term care in the future, but if worse comes to worst, at least you are ready.

However, there are lots of people who think that getting LTC insurance is not a wise move. They believe that this type of insurance is only for those who have significant assets to protect other than their homes, cars, and cash. Their belief could be true to some extent. But if you are among those who are torn between getting a policy or not, then you better first weigh the pros and cons. Also, try to consider these factors before you decide if long term care insurance is right for you: your personal risk factors, assets, costs, income, and available alternatives. How do you see your state of health in the future? Do you want to live comfortably after retirement? What are the assets that you have acquired and need protection? Can your income accommodate the premiums? Answer all these questions so you can arrive at a decision whether to purchase an LTCI policy or not.

Some people avoid thinking about long term care insurance altogether because they automatically think it is too expensive. In many situations this isn't the case at all. In fact, some people are pleasantly surprised and wonder why they didn't explore getting it sooner. If you are reluctant to consider acquiring LTC insurance because you automatically assume the premiums will be to hi than you should give some serious thought about reconsidering. As with most insurance products, the longer you wait the more expensive they become. If you receive a quote and the premiums are little higher than you think you can afford a good advisor should still be able to assist you in finding a policy that is more affordable.

But here's a very important note: the cost of long term care continuous to increase every year. So are you prepared for this? Try to see if premium payments can fit your budget because if yes, well you definitely have nothing to lose when the need for long term care arises.

About the Author

After recently having to assist my father with nursing home care I became interested in long term care insurance. My family would have been much better off had this option been available to us. I want to share my experiences, both good and bad, so that others can avoid some of the challenges our family faced.