There was a time when buying long term care insurance was fairly easy and pretty cut and dry. Times have changed for this particular type of insurance and anyone considering buying it would do well to spend some time investigating carriers and coverage levels as well as premiums.
Generally speaking, the cost for a nursing home resident today is about $71,000 annually, which works out to around $200 a day. The cost for non-resident, assisted living comes in at around $32,000 a year, or $88 dollars a day. In both cases, that is a lot of money over the course of time.
The major reason people want to buy long term care policies is so they can protect their assets in the event they need to pay for nursing home occupancy, assisted living expenses, or home care expenses. Those who do not have this type of insurance are often forced to liquidate their assets in order to get the care they need. For many people this means selling the home, cashing in on retirement funds, and depleting savings accounts.
On average, if you have more than $300,000 in personal assets, you may want to look into long term care insurance as a means of protecting yourself.
The age...