Long-Term Care Insurance

Long-term care includes help with daily activities such as bathing, dressing, eating and moving around, provided at home, in assisted living facilities or in nursing homes. It can be very expensive and is often not fully covered by standard health insurance or public programmes.

Long-term care insurance usually pays benefits when the policyholder cannot perform a set number of daily activities without help or has a severe cognitive impairment, such as dementia. Policies set a daily or monthly benefit amount, a benefit period and a waiting period before payments begin.

For example, a policy might pay up to a set amount per day for care for up to three years, after a 90-day waiting period.

Premiums depend on age and health when the policy is bought and are usually cheaper for younger buyers. In the United States, many insurers have raised premiums sharply on existing policies because claims were higher than expected, and some have left the market. Hybrid products combining life insurance with long-term care benefits have become more common. Availability and public provision differ greatly between countries.