OK, I want a show of hands--who has auto insurance? I bet all of you do. Who has homeowner's insurance? Again, I bet most of you do. Who has health insurance? Maybe not quite so many hands. Who has long term care insurance? I bet I'm in the minority now, with my hand still up in the air.
Some of you may be scratching your heads, wondering why on earth you need long term care insurance, and if you're younger than your late 40's, you really may not need to consider it yet. But if you're late 40's to early 60's, it's a good idea to consider long term care insurance.
You may or may not know that the cost of care that many older adults need is incredibly expensive. If you need paid caregivers in the home, you will have to pay between $16-25 an hour, which means 40 hours of care a week is $640-1000. If you need round the clock care, well, you can do the math, although you might not want to.
Assisted living in the Fort Worth area ranges from about $2700-6000, depending on how much help is needed, and whether memory care is needed.
The state tells us that the average cost of nursing home care in Texas is $142.92 per day, or close to $4300, but it's not uncommon to pay higher costs in urban areas.
Many of you may be thinking, "Well, that's why I have kids, they're going to take care of me", but can you really count on that? If you are caring for a parent, you know how hard it is, even if you aren't doing the day to day care. And you know the old saying: Be nice to your kids, they're going to pick your nursing home one day.
So back to long term care insurance. A long term care insurance policy allows you to choose from a variety of options: an overall amount of coverage, similar to a life insurance policy, that can be paid out incrementally as you need to pay for care, inflation coverage, so that as the cost of care increases you have more coverage, the ability to pay for care that is provided in your home, in assisted living, or in a nursing home, to name a few.
Long term care insurance is not cheap, but it is definitely less expensive than paying for care yourself. You want to make sure you purchase a policy while you are still relatively young and healthy, because health issues can result in higher premiums or even the inability to purchase a policy.
Your best bet is to find an independent insurance agent, who represents several different companies. A knowledgable agent will help you look at all the options and consider what will work best for your situation.
