Page 41 - Growing Old Without a Plan for Long Term Care is not for Sissies_Neat

Long Term Care Insurance: How Does This Stuff Work? 23 Chapter 4 Long Term Care Insurance: How Does This Stuff Work? o far, we’ve explored two of the three options for paying for Scare that we discussed in chapter 1. In this chapter we’ll take a look at option three: Long Term Care Insurance. Long Term Care Insurance is a relatively new insurance product compared to insurance for your auto, home, health or life. It was frst introduced in the late 1970s, initially as nursing home only coverage. The need for Long Term Care Insurance was created in part by the increased longevity our society has enjoyed. Around 1930 the average life expectancy was around sixty. Today it is approaching eighty. Many have found that living longer is both a blessing and a curse. It is a blessing that we have more time with our family and to enjoy retirement. Unfortunately a longer life also means we are more likely to develop health problems that make it impossible for us to care for ourselves. Long Term Care Insurance was developed as a way to share the increased risk of the cost of long term care with others. There is a big difference between the products frst sold as nurs- ing home policies and the comprehensive policies sold today, both in features and in pricing. Insurance companies have entered and left the market and today there are probably less than 10 companies that issue the majority of the policies. As with any new product or industry there have been some problems with Long Term Care Insur- ance, including coverage limitations, claim processing diffculties