The Right Time to Buy Long-Term Care Insurance

The older you are, the more necessary it becomes for you to purchase long-term care insurance. Seeing as the risk of dying increases with every year, long-term care insurance becomes more and more important. Even though long-term care insurance is more expensive, it is also more secure and necessary. If you're thinking about buying long-term care insurance (LTCI) and the thought of spending so much of your money on insurance scares you, keep in mind that you are only doing yourself good.

Deciding when to purchase your LTCI depends on your age and your ability to pay the premiums - which can be pretty frustrating. The younger you are, the less expensive your LTCI will be. However, even if it will be cheaper to buy your LTCI sooner, you will have to pay premiums over a long time period.

When is the right time to purchase LTCI? Even though insurance companies will write the LTCI policy between the ages of 40 and 84, most people purchase the LTCI policy when they reach their 50s or 60s. This way, they won't have to pay their premiums for a long period of time.

Should you buy an LTCI policy:

Every purchase that we make depends on your individual circumstances, and telling you whether to purchase something when we don't know you isn't right. However, you may want to consider purchasing an LTCI policy if you apply to some of the following criteria:

• You are in good health and therefore insurable
• You are between the ages of 40 and 84
• You have large savings and other asses that you would like to protect
• You can afford to pay the premiums now and in the future, as well

LTCI policy elements

This is a list of common LTCI policy features. There are parts that are included in the standard policy, while other parts are available as options for additional costs.

• Grace period for late payment
• Interval care coverage
• Trigger of benefits when one can't perform daily activities such as eating, bathing, toileting, etc...
• uaranteed renewable provision (policy can't be canceled)
• Premiums do stop while beneficiary continues to receive benefits
• free look provision
• Third-party notification of missed payments
• Inflation protection
• Coverage for care
• Choice of where care is received - home, nursing home, adult day-care center, etc...