A lot of excellent advice has been given here. I'll add a few points that haven't been mentioned.
AARP has an excellent free booklet that covers the topic in depth. Not everyone needs LTC insurance. For example, people who do not own a home and do not have large assets may qualify for government help if they need nursing home care. The Medicaid programs are different in every state. Even if one has a home and assets, if one partner needs nursing home care and the other spouse continues to live in the home, in most states a lien cannot be placed against the home and the spouse is able to keep about $80,000-100,000 of their joint assets. But the rest must be "spent down" for the nursing home care before the Medicaid coverage kicks in. These laws and rules do change from time to time so the overall situation must be assessed by a knowledgeable, honest professional.
I was lucky enough to have such a person guide us when hubby and I explored the subject 8 years ago. He knew the ins and outs of all the different policies available through several major insurance companies. The main feature he liked with one company was that if we both became insured on the same policy, once it was in effect for 5 years, if either of us died thereafter, the surviving spouse was covered for the rest of their life without having to pay any further premiums. He had already purchased the same policy for himself and his wife.
John Hancock took over the policy 3 years later but assured us that they would still be bound to provide that benefit (state law requires it). I'm not sure if that provision is still available. But it's worth finding out. We had talked to other salespeople before settling on this policy, and none of them ever told us such an option existed.
We referred a lot of our relatives and friends to this salesperson but then he retired to Florida and gave up selling policies. He was doing it as a "retirement thing" to keep busy. (He had been a utility company executive in his "former life.")
We didn't know who else to recommend until we attended an Open House night at a local Sunrise Assisted Living home (just wanted to look around "in case"
). They had excellent speakers on a variety of subjects of interest to seniors. This included a very bright, compassionate female attorney (about age 35) who had been a psychotherapist and then became immersed in the needs of the elderly when she had to care for her own mother. So she went back to school and obtained a law degree, and now specializes in elder care issues. She is so knowledgeable and can guide one in ways you would never think about.
So perhaps asking a respected "home' in your area for the name of a person like this would be the best way to understand and select the options appropriate to your individual needs.
By the way, New York State has a provision that they will pick up the tab through the state Medicaid program if one has paid for a LTC policy and has exhausted 3 years of benefits. (The insurance company has to be on an approved list, but most of the big companies are). In other words, the patient is fully covered, as if they were indigent, without any of their personal assets being touched. Some, but not many, other states have a similar program. If it exists in your state, it's an important part of the decision making as to how much coverage you need. Oh, and the premiums paid can be deducted on a NYS tax return as a "credit" thus returning 20% of the premium paid each year.
So find someone who knows all these extra things that can make a big difference. We bought in our 50's so our premiums come to less than $2300. a year, and then we get that 20% tax break. I'm so glad we have it. We might not qualify if we had to apply now. They are very fussy about the applicant not having even slightly elevated blood pressure or cholesterol or being overweight.
