American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance

People who purchase long term care insurance typically are preparing to retire or they knew someone who had experienced a long-term care situation.

Life events tend to trigger the decision to plan according to a national consumer study of long term care insurance purchasers. Mutual of Omaha commissioned the MSR Group to conduct a telephone survey with its own policyholders as well as those who own policies from other companies.”Planning for retirement or entering retirement was the primary motivator for 52.1 percent of buyers,” explains Jesse Slome, executive director of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance.   “More than a third (34.7%) were influenced by an experience with a loved one who needed long-term care services.”

Nearly a quarter of respondents (23.6 %) shared that protecting their assets was the primary purpose for purchasing a long-term care insurance policy.   Security or peace of mind knowing future needs would be met was cited by 18.1 percent and 17.4 percent wanted to avoid being a financial burden to family.

When asked why they purchased a policy when they did rather than waiting, most of the survey participants said they were aware that the cost of long-term care insurance increases with age.  Concern about future health was cause for action by 11.4 percent of policy buyers.

“The sweet spot for investigating long term care insurance is between ages 50 and 65 because individuals must still be relatively healthy,” suggests Jesse Slome, director of the American Association for Long Term Care Insurance.  “Some insurance protection in combination with Social Security income and savings is not just a prudent way to plan, but makes this protection far more affordable than many expect.”

According to the Association’s 2013 Long-Term Care Insurance Price Index a married couple both age 60 would pay $1,816 annually for a policy providing each spouse with $162,000 of protection.  “We advocate a ‘Good, Better. Best’ approach to long-term care insurance planning,” suggests Slome.  “A policy should be tailored to your individual situation so you achieve both affordability today and peace of mind and security tomorrow.”

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