By Michelle Andrews for The Los Angeles Times
People don’t like to think about what will happen if they become too ill or infirm to manage on their own. Experts say that partly explains why sales of long-term-care insurance policies are so anemic; only about 10 percent of seniors have such coverage.
Given the complexity of these policies, experts agree it’s tough to decide whether they’re right for you. The policies have many moving parts: After a waiting period, they generally pay a set daily benefit for a certain number of years. They typically cover care in a nursing home, an assisted living facility or at home.
They also tend to have high premiums. A 60-year-old might pay $200 a month for a policy that pays $150 a day for a maximum of three years, according to a 2009 study by Avalere Health, a research and consulting firm, and the Kaiser Family Foundation. (Kaiser Health News, which produces this column, is a program of the foundation.) Purchasing at a younger age can help trim premium costs.
