Why Long Term Care Insurance

Long Term Care Insurance has been around in one form or another since the beginning of Medicare; however, the policies during this time bear little resemblance to today's policies. While early Long Term Care policies were similar to a basic Medicare supplement policy, Long Term Care insurance has evolved and typically covers a broad range of services including nursing home care, assisted living facilities and adult day care. Like other insurance products, Long Term Care insurance allows the insured to pay a premium to protect a potentially unaffordable catastrophic event.

Buying Long Term Care Insurance

Many planners refer to Long Term Care insurance as "asset protection." Individuals need to have assets worth protecting in order to justify the purchase of a policy. (Medicaid eventually pays for Long Term Care services once an individual becomes impoverished). In other words, if you are able to pay Long Term Care insurance premiums without having to change your lifestyle - you should transfer that risk to the insurance company.

Health is another important consideration. The state of one's health is a determining factor in one's ability to secure Long Term Care protection. This sometimes poses a problem as people don't often consider Long Term Care insurance until an unfortunate event has affected their health or the health of a loved one.

Long term care may be required by anyone, not just seniors. Care is usually required as a result of the effects of aging, either because a person has become physically unable to carry out everyday activities or because they experience cognitive impairment, such as Alzheimer's disease. Other times, long-term care may be needed because of chronic disease or while recuperating from an accident or serious illness.