Insurance professionals are often asked when the best time is to buy long-term care insurance. Normally, people begin to think about such a policy in their 50s or 60s, but keep in mind that young people can require
assisted living or home healthcare as well. This can result from a catastrophic accident or illness.
While health insurance will pay for medical treatment and disability insurance will cover a portion of your lost income, long-term care insurance steps up to pay for assisted living or an in-home health worker.
You can purchase long-term care insurance, often abbreviated as LTC, as a stand-alone policy, as a rider to life insurance, or as part of an annuity. There are only a handful of companies offering stand-alone LTC insurance, but your agent can help you sort through the different coverage options and price, so you get the most relevant selection.
Riders, sometimes called “hybrid policies,” are more affordable, but they
typically have lower or fewer benefits than the traditional stand-alone
policy. One advantage to a rider, however, is that—on many policies—you can get a guaranteed return of your long-term care premiums if you never use the LTC feature.
Your agent can help you determine the savings benefits of hybrid policies, as compared to the payout benefits of stand-alone LTC.
