Kelly Greene has written an excellent article in the Wall Street Journal about the purchase of long term care insurance. The LTC insurance industry is in flux for reasons Kelly Greene describes below.
Long-term-care insurance: It can make the difference between living out your life the way you want and becoming a burden to your family or a ward of the state.
But it is becoming significantly more expensive, more complicated and harder to get with each passing year.
Average premiums on new policies—which help pay for nursing-home, assisted-living and home care—have risen some 6% to 17% in the past year alone, according to the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance, a trade group. Some insurers have even doubled their premiums on existing policies. The increases come as the industry grapples with low interest rates and policyholders who are living a lot longer than the actuaries said they would.
For suggestions on how to purchase a long term care policy, i recommend reviewing this article.