These days, there seems to be insurance for just about anything: you can even insure your pet’s health. But while you can probably get away without health insurance for Fido, there are certain kinds of insurance that can wind up being very important. One of those insurance options is long-term care insurance.

Long-term care insurance is meant to cover any extended illnesses or disabilities. It’s meant to cover all the assistance you need, whether you’re at home, in an assisted living facility or in a nursing home. Those last two may convince you that long-term care insurance is meant just for senior citizens, but it can be important no matter what age you are. While illnesses may be less of a concern if you’re young, what happens if you’re in an accident and need care beyond a short hospital stay? If you don’t have someone who can help you out at home, if you need extended physical therapy or other care, long-term care insurance can really save your bacon. According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, 40 percent of people receiving long-term care services in the U.S. are between the ages of 18 and 64.

Where Can You Get Long-Term Care Insurance?

Unfortunately, long-term care insurance isn’t as available as one might hope. It isn’t covered by Medicare or Medicaid in most cases and even Medicare supplement insurance won’t usually help. Some employers have started offering long-term care insurance in benefits packages as more insurance companies offer it. Those companies offering this type of insurance also offer it to individuals.

The costs can vary significantly for long-term care insurance — but the younger you are, the better the deal you can get. Many companies charge $7,572 for insuring a 79-year-old for $150,000 — but that amount drops to $564 for a 50-year-old. That amount is a yearly premium: your premium will typically stay the same as the day you purchase your policy, so the younger you are when you purchase long-term care insurance, the less you’ll pay during the life of the policy. You can get even cheaper policies if you’re willing to cover more initial expenses: most plans have a deductible or elimination period during which you must cover out of pocket before the insurance kicks in. That period can be anywhere between 20 days and 100 days. A policy with a 100 day elimination period is certainly less expensive up front — but you’ll have to pay for more than three months of care out of pocket before your insurance becomes effective.

Uninsured Issues

The type of care covered by long-term care insurance is the stuff that uninsured horror stories are made of. Any kind of extended illness or injury can easily wipe out a person’s savings — even if they’re doing pretty well beforehand. That concern can make long-term care insurance very attractive. After all, it isn’t impossible to cover basic health care out of pocket — why not focus on a policy that covers the stuff a person really can’t pay for even if they have solid savings?

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