What are the pros and cons to Long Term Care insurance?

Long term care insurance is used by older folks, generally those 65 or older, who are uncertain about their financial future and want to make certain that if they find themselves with a health scare later in life, that their finances will not suffer. This has become a renewed and more important factor considering the uncertainty of Medicare and Medicaid with the upcoming administration.

Your health, well-being, and future obviously are of vital importance to you and your family, and you want to rest easy at night knowing that you and your family will be well-taken care of in the event of an injury or illness. Insurance companies are also aware of the stresses Americans face concerning their future.

One rule of thumb that may serve you well when considering long-term care insurance is to look at your assets. If your assets are worth more than three to five hundred thousand dollars more than the value of your home, it may be in your best interests to consider long-term care insurance as a safeguard to protect your assets and home.

If you look at the statistics, you can get a better understanding of how often LTC is used on a national level. One third of women over the age of will never enter a long-term care facility; this level rises to a staggering two thirds for men. And contrary to the term “long term care facility, approximately 10 percent of men who do enter a facility will spend more than a year there; that number rises to about 25 percent for women. And for everyone that enters a long-term care facility, less than half wind up spending less than a year at the facility. It is important to consider this long and hard. It may be a worthwhile investment, but it is often not necessary.

Source: findlaw.com, “LTC (Long Term Care) Insurance: Risks and Benefits,” Accessed, Jan. 12, 2017